Submitted by:
Claudia J Baldwin, DVM, MS
Diplomate ACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine)
Director, Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-1250
Overview
The Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at Iowa State University has been very successful! We have connected much more actively with the sheltering community in Iowa and the surrounding states since our program began. We have addressed issues that affect no-kill, traditional shelters, and animal control units and have worked with all of these groups. Maddie’s Summer Scholars Program has been instrumental in engagement. The scholars communicated with 40 shelters in Iowa and surrounding states. They visited 19 shelters in Iowa and Nebraska, six of which call themselves no-kill, representing 32% of visited shelters! Two other traditional shelters they visited have numbers to suggest that the shelters also are no-kill. Interesting data on the fostering of companion animals and prevalence of parasitism has been generated from that program. Analysis is continuing and our goal is to share findings and conclusions with the sheltering and veterinary communities. All three Maddie’s Externs have traveled to exceptional no-kill shelters and brought back experiences that would not have been possible without Maddie’s Program. The desire for senior students to experience shelters not previously connected with Iowa State University has grown to be inclusive of low-kill and no-kill facilities. We strengthened veterinary medical education at Iowa State University through Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Course, completed in the spring of 2004. Three internationally known speakers, and several community contributors shared their knowledge and skill in Maddie’s Course. The classroom was open to all students and members of the community. Maddie’s also sponsored speakers for The Veterinarian in Society Course, and the Feline and Shelter Medicine Student Organizations. In addition, Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Director was able to present three seminars to sheltering directors, personnel, and veterinary technicians. We continue to look forward to the education and learning that Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program has brought to Iowa State University. We continue to develop our website so that learning can occur beyond the campus and local community.
Education of Veterinary Students
A pilot Shelter Medicine Course was concluding when we received funding from Maddie’s in the spring of 2003. Approximately 40 students in the first through third year of the veterinary curriculum completed the course. The course outline of topics was developed with strong representation of no-kill issues, and issues pertinent to all sheltering units. (Appendix I) We were very pleased with the enthusiasm of the community contributors. The one individual who had the greatest impact on the students’ understanding of the no-kill philosophy and how to make it work was Mr. Richard Glessner, Executive Director of the Quad Cities Animal Welfare Center. Mr. Glessner enthusiastically provided knowledge, through his experiences, for the students. I watched many of them move from belief of the old paradigm of traditional sheltering to the new of no-kill. This course was a wonderful way to introduce the Maddie’s Fund and our program. It also allowed me to engage students in other educational endeavors (Externships) and discovery (Summer Scholars).
Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Course was introduced in the Spring Semester of 2004. Eighteen freshman and two sophomore veterinary students enrolled and completed the course. The course outline was very similar to the pilot course but there were notable differences. (Appendix II) Community contributors who presented excellent material in the pilot were invited back. This included Dr Jennifer Doll of Iowa City, a contract veterinarian for shelters and owner of “Witty Kitties” no-kill shelter, and Mr. Tom Colvin, Executive Director of the largest shelter (traditional) in the state of Iowa. There were new contributors as well. The new Executive Director of the Quad Cities Animal Welfare Center, Ms. Patti Lahn, presented “Components of the Successful No-kill Shelter”. (Appendix III) Ms. Janet Ashman, board member of the no-kill Johnson County Humane Society, presented how to successfully shelter by fostering. Dr. Gerryll Hall of Schering Plough Animal Health shared her expertise on shelters as transient populations and disease control. Other speakers were supported by the Maddie’s Fund. Ms. Dana Fedman, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and owner of Pupstart™, presented behavioral information and training methods for housesoiling in dogs. (Appendix IV) Dr. Jacqueline Neilson, a boarded veterinary behaviorist trained at the University of California Davis, engaged the students with behavioral issues of shelter cats. (Appendix V) Dr. Kate Hurley, Director of University of California Davis Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program, concluded the semester with a great presentation on opportunities in shelter medicine. (Appendix VI) Because Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Class is held over the noon hour, many students not enrolled were able to attend, as were community members. During one class period, over 100 people attended! The class conducted by Mr. Rich Avanzino was very informative and well attended. Students asked some tough questions that were met with respect and thoroughly answered. It was fortunate that his visit overlapped with the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association Winter Conference, allowing Rich the opportunity to address the veterinarians of Iowa. Maddie’s Director presented other topics. A selected topic is labeled Appendix VII. A certificate of appreciation that we are sending to all Maddie’s Speakers can be found in Section 1.
Several Maddie’s Speakers were scheduled during Spring Semester 2004. Ms. Dana Fedman returned and spoke in the required Veterinarian in Society course for all freshmen. She spoke about canine behavior issues leading to abandonment. She brought with her a former bad actor pup and the devoted owner. The demonstration was tremendous! Dr. Jacqui Neilson also presented in the Veterinarian in Society Class on common behavior questions and the correct answers. A third Maddie’s Speaker, who we could not schedule into Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Course, presented in the Veterinarian in Society Class. The speaker was internationally known Ms. Sue Sternberg. Ms. Sternberg is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Head of Rondout Valley Animals for Adoption shelter in New York. Her topic was temperament testing in dogs. We also held a noon seminar where Sue presented behavior assessments in rescue and re-homing. This speaker is thought to be controversial by many but was very popular. There was standing room only and many from the sheltering community attended. Both sessions have been videotaped and are available for faculty and students on the College Vet Zone. Finally, Dr. Kate Hurley presented an outstanding Maddie’s Seminar to faculty and students on virulent systemic calicivirus disease. Support for these speakers was essential to the program success. Additionally, Iowa State University does not have a boarded veterinary behaviorist and so many of the other veterinary students benefited as well.
Assignments for Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Course involve reading and writing assignments, information gathering from the Internet and reporting findings, and position statements about issues. One of my favorite assignments has been to ask students on the first day of class to write how they see themselves interacting with or working with or for shelters as licensed veterinarians. The papers have demonstrated a full range of experiences and have been very educational for me. Select papers are included in Section 1. I have included one paper on management of feral cats that is particularly well done. Additionally, I have included select papers written at the conclusion of the pilot course. At the conclusion of Maddie’s Course, I asked students to submit to me what they thought should be deleted from the course and what should be added. When asked, “If a second shelter medicine class were offered would your enroll?” Nineteen of the twenty students answered yes. As an educator, this is most pleasing.
Maddie’s Externship Program has had a tremendous effect on the senior students who have completed their clinical externships. This was the first opportunity for any student from Iowa State to complete an externship at a no-kill shelter. Other shelter externships that are offered at ISU have focused on spay and neuter. Maddie’s Externship Program allows for a diverse educational experience. In addition to the honorarium given to the students to support their travel, they received 2 credits toward graduation. Three junior students were selected from a pool of approximately 12. The students began their senior year in May of 2003 and by mid July, the first student was at the San Francisco SPCA. This student was still a bit leery of the no-kill philosophy to start, but shared with me that she certainly understood and believed in it after the externship experience. In August, the second Maddie’s Extern spent two weeks at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. She related that the experience was more than she could ever have hoped for. The third Maddie’s Extern completed her program at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in December 2003. She was able to see “the most amazing place on earth”. Maddie’s Externship Program has given vastly important experiences to these students that they will never forget, as they become practicing veterinarians. Maddie’s Externs are required to complete a paper describing the importance of the experience in enriching their education. The papers are published on Maddie’s Shelter Medicine website
(http://www.vetmed.iastate.edu/services/vth/maddies), and are also included in Section 2.
Maddie’s Externship Program has stimulated interest among other students to attend no-kill shelters at their own expense. I have established an elective for programs at low or no-kill shelters. One student attended the San Francisco SPCA this spring! Another student completed her program at a low-kill facility in the Midwest. Euthanasia is an issue that shelters must deal with, even those that are working to place all healthy adoptable companions. This second student chose euthanasia for her paper, which is deeply moving. Both papers are included in Section 2.
Engagement and Discovery
Maddie’s Summer Scholars were enrolled officially in the Veterinary Summer Scholar Research Program. Two students, one sophomore and one junior, designed and implemented their projects with direction from the faculty co-investigators, Drs. RB Evans and JAC Jarvinen, and myself. One area of investigation involved fostering via surveys; the other involved parasitism. The Institutional Review Board approved the investigation techniques. The students worked through the entire summer and presented preliminary results at the CVM Scholars Research Day poster session August 15, 2003. These are displayed in Section 3. The event was well attended by faculty and graduate students of the entire university and the Associate Dean of Research of the College of Veterinary Medicine was very impressed by the investigations and the results.
Fostering: Five surveys were developed and distributed to shelters. (Section 4) All but one shelter approached about participating agreed to be included. Twenty-two fostering shelters, 18 non-fostering shelters, and 50 foster families associated with the fostering shelters were surveyed. The response rate was 68%, 61%, and 66% respectively. Some surveys were received after the poster presentation so numbers here are different from ones reported earlier. We were very pleased with the response rate. In the homes of the 33 foster families that responded were 31 individual animals and 43 litters. One very interesting finding was how fostering effected the health of family pets. Only one of 12 family dogs displayed any clinical symptom of disease after initiation of foster care. Family cats, however, were reported to display symptoms of disease at a rate of 37.5% (9 of 24 cats). Still, foster families were very satisfied with the experience. (See Section 4)
Parasitism: A total of 385 fecal samples were collected from 19 shelters. Most (307) samples were randomly collected from animals housed in the shelters; the remaining (78) samples were from foster animals. Samples were analyzed by a number of methodologies to detect both common and uncommon parasites. Deworming information was also collected. The overall percentage of positive samples was 38%, which is similar to earlier reports in the literature. The proportion of animals with parasites in foster homes was not different, statistically, than the proportion housed in shelters. There were some surprising findings suggesting that shelter held animals, greater than three months of age, were less likely to be parasitized than fostered animals of that age group but statistical analysis is pending. These are displayed in Section 5. Acid fast staining to detect cryptosporidium has been most problematic. Technical difficulties will not permit accurate assessment of this important organism.
This endeavor served as an educational tool for Maddie’s Summer Scholars, an engagement opportunity for Iowa State University with the sheltering community, and also in the very important arena of discovery of new information. Further analysis of data is ongoing and will be shared with the sheltering and veterinary communities.
Other Engagement Activities
The Maddie’s Director has completed three engagement activities involving continuing education. All topics are of importance to no-kill and traditional shelters alike. At the First Iowa Animal Sheltering Conference in Des Moines, November 13 & 14, 2003, a one-hour seminar on Zoonotic disease was delivered. There were over 100, primarily traditional shelter workers and administrators, in attendance. The level of knowledge most had at the beginning of the hour was minimal. Additionally, several veterinarians were present. On March 12, two presentations were delivered at the Annual Spring Fling in Norfolk Nebraska to 100 veterinary technicians. Present were only a handful of technicians employed at shelters but 50% had more than casual exposure to shelters. Zoonotic disease and inappropriate elimination were the topics. The third presentation delivered was to 15 shelter directors at a meeting of the Iowa Federation of Humane Societies on April 9, 2004. The topic was feline upper respiratory disease. There were three directors of no-kill facilities in attendance. Some of the materials presented during these programs are present on our Maddie’s web site. All can be found in Section 6. Maddie’s certificates of attendance are distributed for all lectures attended. Some have been for more than one hour of attendance. To date, no one has attended the 15 hours needed to receive a Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Certificate. Examples are in Section 6.
Summary
We are very pleased with the progress we have made in reaching our goals. Education is a powerful tool. We have already seen a change in attitudes towards the no-kill movement and an increase in respect for the opinions of others among the students. The students are engaged with shelter medicine! One senior student is going to the San Francisco SPCA, another the New York SPCA, others are still making plans. This level of involvement by the students would not have happened without Maddie’s support.
We have collected new data regarding fostering and parasitism, which will be of great interest to shelters everywhere. Because many communities who become no-kill use fostering, this data should be especially relevant to this movement. We have identified some problem areas, such as record keeping, in shelters. We plan to create ways for shelters to collect and retrieve information and indicate ways in which this data will be useful.
Engagement with the sheltering community has been very beneficial. We have disseminated information and learned a great deal about companion animal shelters in the Midwest. A dialogue has begun about the pros and cons of the no-kill philosophy. There are some who chose not to participate in that dialogue and this is most unfortunate for all of us. My goal is to keep the engagement and discussions alive and keep the focus on a home for every adoptable animal.
Engagement with veterinarians is an area of focus for us now. Shelter Medicine was recently featured in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The discipline has been described in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. A grassroots group is meeting in June of 2004 at the Annual Forum of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine to discuss shelter medicine education and development of a specialty. I am proud that Iowa State University is among that group. On a more local level, discussions need to continue with the veterinary community. I am pleased to act as a companion animal section contributor to ISU’s Vet Med Continuing Education Newsletter. This has allowed me to include essential information on shelters that is disseminated to all graduates of this college. See section 7, page 15 of the newsletter.
Finally, we are excited about the future of shelter medicine. Our program has benefited tremendously from the support of the Maddie’s Fund. We look forward to expanding education, generation of new knowledge, and engagement.
