Shelter Education Activities
In January of 2007, we were informed that our proposal to present at the Infectious Disease Special Interest Group (SIG) Session of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine annual meeting was accepted!
The SIGs historically have been very focused sessions on specific diseases and sometimes focused as narrowly as diagnostic testing for specific diseases. In June, Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Director and Associate Director, along with Dr. James Roth of the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University, and Drs. Kate Hurley and Patricia Pesavento of the University of California-Davis, presented an interactive session on “Infection Control Procedures for Routine, Emerging, and Exotic Pathogens”. This two hour evening presentation and discussion dovetailed nicely with the current national efforts in shelter medicine, the emerging diseases that are being recognized and with Dr. Petersen’s project in development: Infection Control Manual for Veterinary Students and Animal Shelter Veterinarians supported by the Maddie’s Fund®. The session included a short presentation by each of us and then questions. There were 40 attendees and many questions. This was a great opportunity to share new information and showcase our efforts in shelter medicine. It was a distinct pleasure to present at this meeting, which is considered a gem in the arena of national meetings. Another scholarly contribution is completion of a book chapter on “Canine Kennel Cough Complex “, written by Dr. Baldwin for the textbook Infectious Disease Management in Animal Shelters, edited by Drs. Lila Miller and Kate Hurley.
An additional engagement area is the development of an AVMA Specialty in Shelter Medicine. These efforts have been led by Dr. Kate Hurley, University of California-Davis and Maddie’s® first shelter medicine resident, Dr. Lila Miller, highly respected veterinarian working with the New York SPCA as Vice President and Veterinary Outreach Advisor, and Dr. Jan Scarlet, Director of Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University. After a preliminary go ahead by the AVMA, a meeting was planned to determine what shelter veterinarians do and to demonstrate how this is different than any other established specialty in Veterinary Medicine. A one and one half day meeting was held in January of 2007 in conjunction with North American Veterinary Conference. Eleven academic specialists, shelter veterinarians and consultants from across the country worked to create or develop a curriculum identifying what shelter veterinarians do. Another effort, led by Cornell’s Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Program and Dr. Kate Hurley, is working toward establishing standards for residency training in shelter medicine. A meeting of 11 individuals is planned for January of 2008, at the conclusion of the North American Veterinary Conference. We are very pleased that Iowa State University has been invited to and involved in both of these extremely important endeavors. Our program has been greatly strengthened by the support of the Maddie’s Fund® and has earned national recognition!
Another area of pride and evidence of our impact of our 3 years of funding from Maddie’s® is the career choices made by our graduates from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Elise Gingrich, the 2005 recipient of the Iowa State University Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Excellence Award, began her residency training at Colorado State University in Shelter Medicine. This is a first for us and Elise joins less than a dozen others who have entered into or completed residency training in shelter medicine. Our 2006 recipient, Dr. Michael Severin, began his rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery. Michael has had a special interest in shelter medicine. We look forward to hearing of his future path in veterinary medicine. A current senior student has applied for rotating internships to begin following graduation. Top on his list is a rotating internship at Colorado State University in shelter medicine. We look forward to the internship match results. One of our other graduates, Dr. J.C. Burcham, was featured in the October 07 Veterinary Medicine Journal, a Special Report focusing on the euthanasia problem and how practitioners can help. This is a celebration for all of us in shelter medicine as this is the first special report devoted to euthanasia and shelter medicine that is in a widely disseminated veterinary medical journal. Dr. Burcham, of Olathe Kansas, is featured on page 668, describing how she offers basic behavior counseling for every pet at every visit, to build the human animal bond. She is also featured on page 680, describing how she champions animal welfare in her community. It states that “her class in shelter medicine at Iowa State University and the time she spent in two preceptorships at animal shelters opened her eyes, she says, so she graduated in 2004 with a desire to be a community activist.” This segment is followed by one on Rich Avanzino! Dr. Burcham is quoted in other areas of the publication as well and is certainly doing her part in helping place and keep pets in homes. The link to the publication is: www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/advanstar/vm1007. Maddie’s® Director conducted a very important investigation of unusual disease causing abscessation in cats at a shelter in the Quad Cities area. A senior student, Abigail Risius, traveled with Dr. Baldwin because of her strong interest in shelter medicine. We spent several hours at the shelter and did find one cat affected. A final diagnosis of Streptococcus canis was made and the cat was successfully treated. Recommendations on sanitation and disinfection were made. There were also discussions with the veterinarian and the shelter director and printed materials were supplied. S. canis is an emerging pathogen which has been described in breeding cat colonies but is now being seen in shelters in North America.
