Students do not need to be actively working or volunteering in a shelter, but still should establish a relationship and be able to obtain data from them.
This helps provide context for the coursework and allows students to get active in their community, build their networks, and gain experience with shelters (this is especially beneficial for students preparing for veterinary school).
Courses that require access to a shelter include:
- VME 6810: Integrating Veterinary Medicine with Shelter Systems
- VME 6811: Shelter Animal Physical Health
- VME 6812: Problem-Oriented Approach to Shelter Animal Behavior and Welfare
- VME 6815: Population Management by the Metrics
- VME 6816: The Role of the Animal Shelter in Protecting Community and Public Health
- VME 6817: Humane Euthanasia Practices for Animal Shelters
Tips for reaching out to your local shelter:
- Use Petfinder’s shelter locator to find a shelter near you
- Let the shelter know that you are interested in using their data for your online shelter medicine courses
- Learn about shelter data collection best practices: