Shelter Animal Medicine Program
In April 2006, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine launched its Shelter Animal Medicine Program in which senior veterinary students participate for the first time in a surgery rotation on-site at Philadelphia’s municipal animal shelter, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). Dr. Michael Moyer, VMD, was recruited as the School’s first Director of Shelter Animal Medicine, and a Shelter Animal Medicine course was added to the School’s core curriculum.
This cooperative program with PAWS, the Vet School’s Department of Surgery and the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society will ensure that students also experience and learn about other shelter issues and topics, including homeless animal management, the role of veterinarians in animal shelters, pet animal overpopulation, infectious disease control, behavior problems and evaluations, and animal cruelty, neglect and hoarding. For more information on this exciting new initiative, please visit the Web site of the Shelter Animal Medicine Program. Funding for this vital new initiative has been provided by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), PetSmart Charities and a private donor. >>More