In 2016, when the UW School of Veterinary Medicine’s (SVM) Program for Shelter Medicine – in partnership with the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory – identified that H7N2 avian influenza had infected cats in NewYork City shelters, the outcome looked bleak. With concerns that the disease could spread to humans or other animals, depopulation of animal shelters was suggested as a means of controlling the outbreak. Instead, Shelter Medicine played a key role in mitigating impacts to cats and eradicating the virus through a very different route.
In cooperation with the USDA, CDC, New York State’s Department of Agriculture, and New York City Public Health, Shelter Medicine introduced a life-saving approach to offer free diagnostic testing and open a quarantine facility in partnership with the ASPCA. According to Sandra Newbury (DVM’03), director of Shelter Medicine, the extraordinary initiative – made possible, in large part, by the generous and ongoing support of Maddie’s Fund – saved the lives of thousands of cats and exemplified the benefits of Shelter Medicine collaboration in action.
Newbury felt strongly that depopulating the cats was not the right choice for the animals, the people, or the organizations involved. The Shelter Medicine program has a commitment to support animal lives and well-being. Her experience had shown that life-saving approaches are the best way to increase participation in public health and control infectious diseases. She knew many of the adopters of the more than 1,000 cats who had already left the shelters would not willingly bring their new family members back to be euthanized. Instead, offering free diagnostic testing, quarantine, and treatment worked to control transmission, support the human-animal bond, and boost willing compliance from health agencies and the public. After these life-saving efforts, the virus has not been detected since early 2017.
“[This story] really helped set a precedent that, when you’re trying to manage infectious disease, you need to first set your goals and figure out what’s possible while thinking through what unintended consequences may come from whichever public health approach you take,” Newbury says as she reflects on this fall’s 10th anniversary of the program. “You have to take human behavior, the value of animal lives, and the strength of the human-animal bond into consideration as you’re thinking about how to respond to public health problems.”
Shelter Medicine works directly with shelters, partner organizations and communities across the country. Since 2014, the program has increased the life-saving capacity of animal shelters, communities and veterinarians through four key facets: education, shelter outreach, development of new knowledge and community engaged care. Recent outreach-based research has included gaining community perspectives on animal law enforcement along with redefining the way shelters respond to infectious diseases and guiding standards of care.
Throughout the 10 years of the program’s existence, its foundational goals have remained central to the mission. Shelter Medicine continues to strive for the development of meaningful relationships with students, veterinarians, shelters and communities.The program also continues to advocate for well-being, life-saving, and community engagement to be fundamental components of any plan for animal services, shelter care, or infectious disease outbreak response.
All current DVM students with a small animal focus now experience clinical practice through a Shelter Medicine rotation, which includes guided clinical experience at Dane County Humane Society and community care experience through house calls in neighborhoods with low access to veterinary services in Madison and Milwaukee.
Students have reported gaining valuable experience through this contextualized care approach, being able to learn to match their care plan to the animal, the person, and the environment. Nandita Chittajallu (DVMx26) said that one of the most valuable skills she has gained from working with the Shelter Medicine program is gaining a deeper understanding of the experiences of shelter medicine staff.
“The staff experiences some of the highest highs and lowest lows, yet they show up every day with unwavering dedication to care for and advocate for the animals.” she says. “Their focus is always constructive and supportive, which reinforces for me the importance of interpersonal communication and how crucial of a tool it is when trying to elicit change. This is a key takeaway for not just future experiences as a veterinarian, but life in general.”
As the program has grown and as the world comes out on the other side of a global pandemic, the importance of prioritizing knowledge of, and experience with, infectious disease continues to grow. At the same time, the broader veterinary medical field of Shelter Medicine is evolving. Currently, several residents from the program have graduated to become board-certified in Shelter Medicine, which was only just recognized as a specialty in 2014.
With great progress there have also been some challenges. With a shortage of veterinarians in the United States, interest in veterinary post-graduate training programs has also diminished. To address this, Shelter Medicine recently expanded focus on their fellowship programs with an aim to train and build community among veterinarians and leadership staff working in shelters and community organizations. The program has grown from offering one fellowship of six fellows annually to now offering three fellowships with a total of 18-24 fellows each year.
Looking ahead to the future, Newbury said that the most pressing issue for the program, not surprisingly, is funding.
“Grants and private donations are what allow us to do the outreach, teaching, research and community engaged care work that is central to our mission, and critical for animals, organizations and communities we serve,” Newbury says. “It is also what allows up to support the students, shelter staff and veterinarians who learn from the work we do.”
As Shelter Medicine marks the milestone of 10 years, Newbury – who has led the program since it’s inception at SVM in 2014 – is grateful for strong and longstanding support from key funders which has been instrumental in supporting and advancing the program’s work: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, which supports many different aspects of the program; Maddie’s Fund, a family foundation that has generously supported educational and outbreak response work; and Jeff (83’) and Sara Wiesner (’85), active volunteers in shelter and rescue organizations for almost two decades who were early supporters of the program.
“We’ve seen first-hand the extraordinary impact veterinarians can have in improving outcomes for animals in shelters,” says Sara Wiesner. “Access to basic veterinary care, coordinated spay and neuter programs, and infectious disease treatment are among the examples where vets make a huge contribution. It’s game changing.”
Adds Jeff Wiesner, “When we first started working with [the SVM], there wasn’t a formal Shelter Medicine program. It has been incredibly rewarding to partner with the school and see the program grow into one of the best in the country under Sandra’s leadership.”
Looking ahead to what the next 10 years might bring, Newbury cites a significant and growing need for community engaged care in all aspects of veterinary medicine: more focus on the human-animal bond, as well as increased community engaged access to care and services to support both pets and the people who care for them. Shelter Medicine has recently expanded direct access to care outreach work through partnerships with Native Nations.
“It’s about listening and understanding what your community wants,” Newbury says. “If New York City shelters had been told to depopulate [due to the influenza outbreak], there would have been heartache. Instead, if we offer free quarantine facilities along with diagnostic testing and treatment, that’s a different scenario. We’re fortunate to have donors that will support that kind of intervention, and the results show what can be accomplished when you’re taking that kind of community-focused, engaged approach.”
– Simran Khanuja and Maggie Baum