1. Shelter Medicine What is it and how can I get my vet involved?
Dr Maggie Roberts BVM&S MRCVS
Director of Veterinary Services
Cats Protection UK

2. What is Shelter Medicine?
No idea???

3. What is Shelter Medicine?
Shelter Medicine is a field of veterinary medicine dedicated to the care of homeless animals in shelters or other facilities dedicated to finding them new homes.
Defined by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians

4. Why is this different to normal vet work?
Individual pet
Owned
Good general health
Adequate resource
Adequate attention
Many animals living together
No owner
Varying health problems
Limited resource
Limited time per animal

5. Herd Health
Looking after the welfare of the herd while still considering the needs of the individual.
Have to consider the greatest good of the greatest number

6. Challenges in a shelter
Large number of animals in a confined space
Constantly changing population
Coming from different locations
Varying health status
Many different infectious agents present
Stressful environment

7. Aspects of shelter medicine
Veterinary care
Housing
Husbandry (every day care)
Rehabilitation (physical and behavioural)
Disease prevention policies
Population control
Early veterinary involvement is ideal!

8. Pragmatic decision-making
Pragmatic means:
dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

9. Pragmatic decision-making
Resources are limited – time, people and money
Aim to help as many animals as possible
Trying to resolve health issues quickly
Trying to get animals into new homes quickly

10. Diagnosis Can be very expensive! Don’t do every test straight away
Follow a logical pattern
Only do tests that will affect the outcome

11. Treatment Choose the cheapest appropriate course of treatment
Some treatments may not not appropriate in the shelter
Delay homing
Cause suffering
Expensive
Limited chance of success

12. Prevention is better than cure!
Health check on entry
Vaccination
Parasite control
Neutering
Screening for disease
Microchipping

13. What makes a good shelter vet?
Empathy with your cause
Puts animal welfare first
Makes pragmatic decisions
Involves shelter staff in decision making
Plays a part in the every day running of the shelter
Helps you to help as many animals as practical

14. Remember…….
……the vet who offers cheap prices for neutering and vaccines may not be the cheapest (or best) overall!

15. How to get your vet involved
Shelter medicine is a specialty in the US
Association of Shelter Veterinarians
Shelter medicine programmes
Further professional qualifications
Resources

16. In Europe We’re a bit behind the US! Association of Charity Vets
advice and support for vets working for or with shelters or low cost clinics
Animal Shelter Veterinary Platform
run by Eurogroup for Animals

17. Resources - books

18. Resources - books Advert alert
Coming in 2017!
The BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Shelter Medicine

19. Websites Association of Shelter Veterinarians www.sheltervet.org/
Association of Charity Vets
Cats Protection – information for vets

20. Working with universities
Some run shelter medicine programmes
Research
Work experience for students

21. Vet students
Get them young!

22. Thank you