My pets are part of my family. I would not give a med student a blanket consent to treat anyone in my human family unless I knew their credentials and reputation.  I know that hospitals would not allow this to happen as they would be afraid of a lawsuit.  As our pets are legally thought of as property there is a thought process that if anything goes wrong you can just get another one, no big deal. If the school wants to lower their standards then they should also have to face higher penalties for when things go bad as these students are supposed to be their responsibility.  That's only fair.  Thank goodness I live close to North Carolina as I at least have other options.