UW-Madison veterinary school featured in Super Bowl ad

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine will be featured in a Super Bowl commercial which highlights a dog that survived cancer.

WeatherTech, which makes pet care products among other things, is paying for the $6 million, 30-second ad.

The star of the commercial is Scout, a golden retriever whose owner is WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil.

Scout was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer last summer that left him with no more than a month to live.

MacNeil turned to the doctors at the school’s teaching hospital, the State Journal reported. The ad follows Scout’s road to recovery and asks for donations to the school.

“We wanted this year’s Super Bowl effort to not only raise awareness, but also financial support for the incredible research and innovative treatments happening at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, where Scout is still a patient,” MacNeil said in a university statement.

All donations will be used to support research and purchase specialized equipment that will help clinicians better diagnose, treat and prevent cancers, the university said.