The ESAVS was founded in 1991 by three veterinarians, one from academia and two from small animal practice. The basis of its foundation was the belief that any veterinarian, regardless of their income, country of residence or the veterinary school they attended, could attain first-rate professional competence and success according to ability or achievement with the support of state-of-the-art training at an international postgraduate veterinary school designed to enable upward professional development for all.

The ESAVS of today demonstrates that this ambitious aim has been amply realised. ESAVS stands as a broadly-based, international, non-profit organisation, which is quite different from the commercial CE providers which have emerged in recent years. ESAVS has succeeded in coupling the desire for self-improvement and the thirst for knowledge amongst veterinarians in a way that can be likened to the "the charm of anticipated success”, as presented by Alexis de Tocqueville (The American Dream), which spurs students towards professional excellence. This philosophy and the outstanding teaching quality of the ESAVS have drawn over ten thousand veterinarians from all over the world to the study programmes and courses of the ESAVS.

ESAVS is a member of FEDE (an international association of ca. 500 private schools of higher education, which holds participatory status in the council of the European Union). The ESAVS has an outstanding faculty with over 400 veterinary lecturers from over 20 countries. All are certified specialists with excellent didactic skills.

ESAVS offers continuing education based on residential courses in various European locations and distance learning. The ESAVS is a leading international continuing education organization in clinical veterinary medicine for companion animals. It has over 30 years of experience. More than 650 residential courses in 21 clinical disciplines have been organized for over 15.000 participants from 51 countries. ESAVS courses and study programs inspired many to continue their professional development becoming diplomates of European and American specialist colleges and lecturers at universities.