New program offers UF veterinary students hands-on exposure to animal shelter medicine

For the first time, University of Florida veterinary students now have the option of spending two weeks at the local animal shelter doing everything from spay-neuter surgeries to shadowing animal control officers and treating shelter animals for medical problems.

Working under the supervision of Natalie Isaza, D.V.M., who holds the newly created position of assistant professor of shelter medicine at UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine, students who sign up for the new shelter medicine rotation are able to sharpen their clinical skills in surgery and in the treatment of infectious diseases.

But the prolonged, day-in, day-out exposure to shelter medicine that comes from working on site contributes to students’ knowledge in other key ways, say those involved with administering the program. “They also leave with a deeper understanding of the plight of unwanted animals and the importance of educating the community where we live about the importance of spaying and neutering,” Isaza said.

Veterinary pharmaceutical company Merial has contributed both money and equipment to the new collaborative effort between UF and the Alachua County shelter, supplying all vaccine, heartworm preventive, and flea and tick control medication. Merial also pays a portion of Isaza’s salary.

“Without Merial’s support and vision, this program would never have been possible,” said Colin Burrows, B.Vet. Med., Ph.D., chairman of the college’s department of small animal clinical sciences.

In addition, Sedecal donated a $16,000 X-ray machine, which Caliguiri said greatly bolsters the shelter’s diagnostic capabilities.

The Alachua County Animal Services’ shelter received 11,998 animals in 2002, of which 2,175 were adopted. The college has had a relationship with the shelter dating back to the 1980s, through which animals were brought to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for spay-neuter surgeries. Veterinary students have also completed occasional externships at the shelter.

“We would only get students through the summer, however, and it was one or two at a time if we were lucky,” said Randy Caliguiri, the shelter’s director of animal services. “Now it’s four or five at a time, and it’s a part of the school’s curriculum.”

Caliguiri, a veterinarian for 23 years who has held the county shelter director post for three years, remembers when the shelter would transport animals to the veterinary school and bring them back following spay-neuter procedures.

“That was the extent of the students’ shelter medicine exposure,” he said. “Here, we’re involved with basic, real street medicine, treating victims of animal fighting and cruelty cases. Some students come in knowing this and have an idea what to expect. For others, however, it’s like ‘holy cow.’”

Isaza said the shelter rotation exposes students to a variety of clinical cases.

“Here, students may treat scabies, cat bite abscesses, dehydrated 3-week-old kittens and aural hematomas in a given week at the shelter,” Isaza said. “They are typical of what veterinarians in private practice might see every day, but most of those kind of cases never make it to the vet school because they are handled by practitioners and not referred there.”

Students are able to see infectious diseases such as kennel cough, upper respiratory infections in cats, parasitic diseases and parvo virus. They also are able to perform physical examinations on cats and dogs as well as the occasional rabbit, snake, iguana, ferret and exotic bird.

“Surgeries usually start around 9:30 a.m. and end by 3 p.m. on good days, 5 p.m. on bad days,” Isaza said. Physical examinations then are performed on adoptable dogs, and surgical packs are prepared for the next day’s surgeries. Animals are then fed and walked, and their cages cleaned.

“Any animal that needs medical attention absolutely gets it, no matter what,” Isaza added.

Caliguiri said that while the number of animals admitted to the animal shelter is overwhelming, fewer euthanasias are being performed. Recent figures released by Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project indicate that overall dog and cat adoptions are up 32 percent in Alachua County, while shelter deaths are down 18 percent.

“I believe the euthanasia rate has declined because of the formation of the No More Homeless Pets in Alachua County coalition and to the coalition’s being a recipient of the multimillion-dollar Maddie’s Fund grant,” Caliguiri said. “Those two programs have elevated community awareness to the pet overpopulation problem and to the importance of spaying or neutering their pets. In addition, people have become more aware that they can adopt great pets from the shelter and rescue groups to reduce the numbers of unwanted pets.”

Junior veterinary student Debbie Burd said she enjoyed the shelter rotation so much she hopes to take it again as an elective course in the spring.

“When you are doing two to three surgeries a day, you’re getting incredible experience,” Burd said. “In surgery class, the doctor performs the surgery and the students close the incisions, but here, the students get to do it ourselves. I think it’s awesome.”