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Shelter medicine is a relatively new concept. Historically, animal shelters were little more than processing centers where dogs and cats were either adopted or euthanized within a very few days. Pets coming in with any signs of injury or illness were generally euthanized immediately.

With the rise of the no-kill movement and a decline in shelter intake that started in the 1990's, many shelters began to house animals longer and to treat pets who were sick or injured. In these shelters, veterinarians are a must if adequate care is to be provided.

The growing demand for shelter veterinarians has prompted roughly a dozen veterinary colleges to provide shelter medicine education through coursework, residencies, or externships. (Maddie's Fund is proud to have awarded the University of California, Davis a three year grant to start the nation's first comprehensive shelter medicine program in January 2001.)

Generally speaking, the study of shelter medicine in veterinary colleges consists of small animal population health management with an emphasis on infectious disease control and prevention. Other aspects covered by shelter medicine courses include individual animal care, behavior assessment and environmental enrichment. Related areas include surgery, cruelty investigation, forensics, facility design and shelter management.

As encompassing as shelter medicine is, however, veterinarians in many shelters are still tasked almost exclusively with spay/neuter surgeries. This begs the question: what is the role of the veterinarian in today's animal shelter?

We can find a good model in human medicine. Hospitals employ both a CEO and a Medical Director who reports to the CEO but is responsible for overall patient care. In my opinion, shelter veterinarians should have the same authority to make decisions for patient care as the Medical Director in a human hospital.

Veterinarians in animal shelters shouldn't be tucked away in surgery suites doing nothing but neutering. They should be writing policies and protocols for vet techs, kennel attendants, adoption counselors and volunteers. They should be providing wellness programs for the healthy, directing treatment or rehabilitation plans for the sick, and performing corrective surgery on animals in need. They should be out on the floor to see that animals are properly housed. They should make sure that cleaning, handling, vaccination and quarantine protocols are followed, and they should ensure that behavioral needs (rehabilitation, enrichment, exercise, companionship) are met.

A shelter veterinarian should constantly scrutinize the overall wellbeing of the shelter's animals. If a veterinarian spots deficiencies that put an animal's physical or mental health at risk, it is the veterinarian's responsibility to report that to the shelter administrator and to recommend changes. They may not have the authority to make the changes in all cases, but as the shelter's medical expert, the veterinarian's opinion should be very carefully considered, just as one would listen to legal counsel or to the chief financial officer in corporate America.

To some, especially to the new breed of shelter veterinarians, this sounds obvious and so elementary it's barely worth mentioning. And yet, it's disappointing to hear that many shelter directors still don't give veterinarians adequate responsibility and authority to protect and provide for the health of the shelter animals. Periodically we hear horror stories about shelters where animals are suffering in terrible conditions even though a full-time veterinarian is on staff. Either the doctor can't or won't step in because they are relegated to spay/neuter surgery, or when they do try to advocate for the animals, their opinions and suggestions are ignored.

Maddie's Fund believes that the education, expertise and talent of veterinarians practicing in shelters require that they do far more than perform spay/neuter surgeries. If shelter directors fail to consult their veterinarian or ignore their veterinarian's recommendations at the animal's peril, they need to be held to account.

Kathleen Hoffman, DVM:
Shelter Veterinarian

Dr. Kathleen Hoffman is a full-time shelter veterinarian at the Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL), an adoption guarantee shelter (and Maddie's^® Pet Rescue lead agency) in Phoenix, Arizona. Kathleen worked in private practice before joining the AAWL four years ago. She has been a practicing veterinarian for nineteen years.

When Kathleen first arrived at the shelter, she says "I was a little overwhelmed but not surprised. Our biggest problems are URI in both dogs and cats, along with such things as diarrhea, bacterial infections, parasites, ringworm, etc. Although parvo and ringworm are not conditions I saw a lot of in private practice, we do see it frequently in the shelter, largely due to the fact that so many animals with unknown histories are housed close together."

Kathleen's medical team consists of herself and three vet assistants; two assistants work in the shelter's clinic, one in the infirmary. The infirmary is in a separate building and houses animals with contagious diseases such as kennel cough, URI, and parvo.

AAWL animals come from Maricopa County Animal Care & Control and from the Arizona Humane Society—intake is approximately 2,000 cats and dogs per year.

Kathleen oversees every aspect of the animals' wellbeing in the shelter, although her focus is almost exclusively medical. A very large and successful animal behavior program operates pretty much independently, relieving Dr. Hoffman of the need for daily oversight. (She does meet with the animal behavior team at staff meetings and when specific problems arise.)

"As the first full-time shelter vet at this facility, I was able to bring consistency to the program. My typical day starts with rounds in the infirmary. Then I look at the animals that have medical problems but don't require time in the infirmary. The third component is surgery. Much of this is spay/neuter but we also perform other types of surgery such as amputation or the removal of bladder stones. One day a week we spay/neuter ferals for AzCATS and help other organizations that don't have full-time veterinarians."

Dr. Hoffman is a huge advocate for shelters and shelter medicine. "I loved private practice, but this is more rewarding. I can help dozens of animals per day in the shelter, as opposed to five or six per day in private practice. I think shelter medicine is the best thing you can do as a vet—you make such a huge impact every day on so many lives. I feel I'm lucky to be here, especially at a facility that has the resources to treat—we do many things here that couldn't be done at other shelters. To me, it never gets old—the animals need you—you're it. It's a great feeling to help the animals get a second chance."