A Sweet Detour and a Lasting Legacy

In a career spanning laboratory animal medicine, animal welfare, and bioethics, Margaret S. Landi, V’79, MS, DACLAM, MBioethics, has tackled many vexing questions. One in particular came while she was teaching a bioethics course at Penn. A student asked, “Do you think it’s ethical for people to go into debt to have pets?”

“It was a good question,” Landi said. “My honest answer was that I really hope people don’t have to make that decision.”

This year, Landi decided to do more than hope. To help pet owners faced with those hard financial decisions, she created Maggie’s Fund at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital. The fund provides support to clients who need help covering a portion of emergency care costs.

It was established through a qualified charitable distribution, which allows individuals to direct required minimum distributions from retirement accounts for philanthropic purposes.

A sweet start

Maggie’s namesake is a Miniature Dachshund who came into the family in a sweet way.

Landi, her husband Tom Goodwin (also a veterinarian), and their two daughters were vacationing in Vermont. Goodwin and one of the girls took a quick run to a local candy shop that sits on a working farm with lots of dogs.

“They came back and told me there were puppies,” said Landi. “We were not looking to add another dog at that time.” The family already had a Standard Poodle named Buzz Lightyear. “I reminded Tom of Buzz. He looked at me sheepishly and said, ‘But they’re Miniature Dachshunds.’ Tom’s parents always had Miniature Dachshunds.”

Thus, Maggie Tyler entered their lives. Named for a friend of Landi’s daughter and the vacation spot in Vermont, Maggie was a special dog.

“Dachshunds have this reputation of being barkers and snarlers,” said Landi. “But Maggie was quiet, an observer. She wasn’t intimidated by anything and won everybody’s heart.”

Maggie lived into her senior years, moving from “secondary dog” to Buzz Lightyear to the dog who “had to stand up for the family” when the older poodle died. She became the teacher of the house when a new Standard Poodle, Tucker, joined the household.

As she aged, Maggie developed intervertebral disc disease and heart disease. Surgery at Ryan Hospital and long‑term medical management gave her many good years. “She always came home—until she didn’t,” Landi said. “I was holding her when her heart failed as we were driving to the hospital one last time. And though Maggie could not be replaced, a companion for Tucker was found, a goofy, joyous Goldendoodle, Gema.”

Grief and gratitude

When Landi reached the age to take minimum distributions, she saw a way to honor her beloved friend and address the perplexing student question.

“Last year was the first I had to do the required minimum distributions for my savings,” she said. “So, I thought about how I wanted to use my money and decided to invest it in Penn Vet.”

She arrived at Penn Vet in 1975 with a biology degree from William Paterson University in New Jersey and without traditional veterinary experience.

“In my interview, I was asked about the lack of experience and explained I’d worked my way through college in other ways. The School took a chance on me,” she said. “Giving is a way to honor that.” In addition to Maggie’s Fund, she supports the Vet Class of 1979 Scholarship Fund.

After graduating, Landi built a career in laboratory animal medicine and research. She retired in 2023 after 41 years at GlaxoSmithKline, most recently as chief of animal welfare, ethics, and strategy. A diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Landi holds a second degree from Penn—Master of Bioethics. Today, she runs Landi Animal Research and Bioethics, PLLC, consulting on animal welfare, ethics, and strategy.

Leaving the world a happier place

Maggie’s Fund is also rooted in family legacy.

“I’m the oldest of five kids whose parents were first‑generation immigrants,” she said. “My parents were wonderful people. They felt the only way to move up, if you will, within the U.S. at the time was education.” Her father, in particular, shaped her worldview. “He just wanted to leave the world a happier place,” she said.

Maggie’s Fund is Landi’s embodiment of this ethos, inspired by a small dog who picked her people and left them with a love worth carrying forward.