Our mission is to serve as change agents who inform and inspire shelter leaders to implement a humane, community-centered approach to animal care and shelter management; focused on prevention and grounded in science.
Our vision is a world where every person working in a shelter is able to provide animals with the right care, delivered in the right place and at the right time, to the right outcome.
Through community, resources, and training, we work alongside shelter veterinarians and teams to expand access to care and dismantle barriers that place companion animals and their caregivers at risk inside the shelter and out. We believe advancing health goes hand-in-hand with advancing social justice and racial equity, because when everyone has access to the resources they need, communities thrive.
Shelter Medicine
In 2001, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine launched the first shelter medicine program in the world.
Shelter medicine is a relatively young specialty within veterinary medicine that encompasses all aspects of care of animals in shelters and at risk of homelessness. Why shelter medicine? Learn more.
Funding
The UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program is a privately funded program that relies on generous contributions by people like you. To make a tax-deductible donation, please go directly to our donation page or visit the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s KSMP giving page for more info. To read about Governor Newsom’s $50M plan for a comprehensive program to help shelters in 2021, browse our Funding page. Thank you!
About sheltermedicine.com
This website has been designed as a resource for all those involved with animal care. Please take some time to browse around; you can find practical information, lecture notes, and continuing education opportunities on the Library page, and we include links to other valuable websites along with other hidden gems. Check the FAQs box under Document Types and use the “search” function to see what your colleagues are asking us and how we’re responding. And finally, please let us know how we can serve you better, so you can better serve the animals we all care about.