Florida Tomorrow is a belief...
that every pet deserves a loving home.
Pets in Need
Bones, a cat named for his skeletal appearance, needed a new name. Following surgery and weeks of care in the University of Florida’s shelter medicine program, he was entirely too sleek, healthy and happy for his original moniker, so student Cassie Quest adopted him and renamed him Charlie.
Charlie had been one of 20 cats taken to the Alachua County Animal Shelter from a home being investigated for animal cruelty. Worse than his emaciated appearance was his internal damage. After being hit by a car, his internal organs had shifted from his abdomen to his chest cavity, giving him little room to breathe. UF’s team of shelter medicine students, led by Dr. Natalie Isaza, operated to repair the damage.
Charlie’s recovery is just one of many success stories that cover the bulletin boards at the shelter, where vet students gain hands-on surgical experience while helping homeless pets.
“It can be shocking. Students see things you wouldn’t encounter in a nice practice where people take care of their pets,” Isaza says. “It really opens their eyes … They take the rotation for the surgery experience, but they leave with a lot more.”
Through work in shelter medicine, students come to understand the importance of controlling pet overpopulation.
“They may learn about overpopulation in school, but here they see it firsthand. It really drives it home,” Isaza says. “Even if they don’t want to go into shelter medicine, they can still educate their clients about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, or they can volunteer their time with a spay/neuter organization.”
Another program working to curtail overpopulation is Dr. Julie Levy’s Operation Catnip, which spays and neuters feral cats. Levy has gained national attention for the volunteer-powered program, which she brought to UF in 1998. Operation Catnip has since sterilized more than 20,000 strays. The effort not only reduces the suffering of these homeless animals, but addresses the impact of feral cats on public health and the environment.
The benefits of both programs reach far beyond Gainesville. Students are carrying the lessons they’ve learned throughout the country to help reduce the numbers of homeless animals.
“Several students who have graduated and started their careers have called to ask how to start spay/neuter operations in their communities,” Levy says. “It’s important that they see they can make a dent in the problem. Without vets playing that critical role, the problem of homeless animals will never be solved.”
