working with vets

8/13/2019 Working With Vets

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In a shelter in the same city as one of the nation’s most prestigiousveterinary colleges, animals were

being killed for something as simple asthe common cold. In anothercommunity, shelter administratorsclaimed they didn’t have the knowledge

or ability to care for sick or injuredanimals although a veterinary collegenot twenty minutes away was able andwilling to help in the lifesaving endeavor.

In the former case, the shelter haddeclined to work with the veterinarycollege. In the latter example, theshelter never bothered to approach

college administrators and ask for help.With the hiring of new leadership at bothshelters, all of that changed. In both cities,animals now make their way to the college,and in some cases, veterinary students maketheir way to the shelter.The shelter gains interms of subsidized spay/neuter, diagnosis

and treatment of shelter animals.And thecollege gains in terms of cost effectivetraining in animal handling, physicalexamination, diagnosis, treatment andsurgery skills for the students.

Furthermore, the relationship allowsveterinary students to volunteer at theshelter on a regular basis, providing the

Working with VeterinariansWorking with VeterinariansA Shelter Guide to Success

One of the most comprehensive studies to look at why people surrender

their animals to shelters found that the presence of a relationship with aveterinary provider mitigates against shelter abandonment. In other words,the better the relationship between a client and his/her veterinarian, the lesslikely that person will be to surrender their pet to a shelter. Moreover, whensick animals are taken to veterinarians after adoption from a shelter, how aveterinarian frames the issue will go a long way to protecting a shelter’simage or hurting it.A veterinarian’s casual remark that “animals I see fromthe shelter are sickly” can harm a shelter’s reputation. Finally, veterinarianscan help with spay/neuter, treatment, and other support which can go a long

way to achieving a No Kill Community. Good relations with the veterinarycommunity are therefore key to saving lives.

Unfortunately, too often the relationship between veterinarians and animalshelters is non-existent or adversarial.While a partnership with theveterinary community is readily available to many shelters nationwide, it isone of the most untapped resources today.These relationships can lay thegroundwork which will improve delivery of animal care services, providecost-effective treatment for sick or injured shelter animals, and allow fortraining of shelter staff and volunteers.



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students with reallife “on-the-job”training, whileshelter animalsreceive high-qualitycare under thedirection of thecollege faculty. It is aclassic “win-win” forall involved. (Theseprograms can alsobe developed withveterinary technician schools.)

In addition, working with sheltersallows local veterinarians to gainclients among the shelter’s newlyadopted animals while the shelterreceives high quality care at very littlecost.

Developing the RelationshipHow can a shelter tap into the manylifesaving resources of the veterinarycommunity? The first rule for sheltersis not to ask for a “hand-out,” but topromote the program as providingbenefits for both parties.The secondrule is for shelter directors to bereasonable in expectation andaccommodating where necessary. Butthe most important rule is that theshelter must be willing and able tofollow-through on agreements.

When approaching the veterinarycommunity, a well written “whitepaper” which outlines the benefits toboth parties and the scope of thepotential relationship can provide the

game plan for success.While manyshelters seek veterinary partnerships forspay/neuter and treatment, this is onlythe beginning.And while initially focusingon spay/neuter and treatment can beused to build the relationship for furtherservices, comprehensive programs shouldbe developed which cover all of thefollowing areas:

Veterinary colleges• A student organization to learn hands-on diagnostic skills under the oversight of a clinician while doing rounds at theshelter.• Primary care for shelter animals.• Spay/neuter of shelter animals.• Development of temperamentevaluation and behavior modificationprotocols.• Expert witnesses for cruelty cases.• Train shelter staff in animal behavior,handling, cleaning and other care.• Emergency service provider for injuredanimals who are beyond the shelter’sability to treat.• Identify strains of viral infections andmodify vaccination/cleaning/containment



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protocols as necessary.• Shelter medicine residency programusing the shelter for training.

Veterinary technician schools• Student organization to learn hands-on veterinary technician skills underthe oversight of a clinician while doingrounds at the shelter.• Primary care and spay/neuterservices for shelter animals.• Shelter veterinary technician trainingprogram at the shelter.

Private veterinarians• A free health exam within 30 days of a shelter adoption to encourageveterinary care for recently adoptedanimals.• Rounds at the shelter (one day aweek for one month of the year) inexchange for a modest stipend (e.g.,thirty dollars) and referral for peoplewho adopt animals they have treatedat the shelter.• A fixed-fee spay/neuter voucherprogram, or otherwise assist in

providing a sliding scale low-income spay/neute

program.• A bid based system of treating shelter animals• Donate recently expired drugs that are stillefficacious to the shelter.

• Forum where privateveterinarians are made awaof viral strains and otherissues in the shelter andprovide that information toclients in a positive manner

• Continuing educationmodule for privateveterinarians revolving aroushelter medicine issues, sucas pediatric neutering.

Programs at Cornell,University of Pennsylvania,and the University of California at Davis provide

opportunities to emulate existing models

working with vets

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