Creating Adoptable Animals and Accomplished Veterinarians (CAVS)
Seventy shelter-owned animals received surgical, dental, and medical care through this training program funded by the Wiederhold Foundation and provided by the Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program; for these 70 animals, 86 surgical or dental procedures were performed, as many of these needed more than one procedure. Sixty-nine percent (48) of cases needed spay/neuter along with other services. Thirty-three percent (25) needed major dentistry/COHAT procedures. The twelve additional surgical procedures included mass removals, mastectomies, enucleations, entropion repair, cherry eye repair, wound care, and skin revision surgery on a bulldog.
In addition to these procedures, animals received physical exams, anesthesia, preventive care (vaccines), diagnostic testing (as indicated) and in shelter supportive care in recovery periods (25). Live outcomes and adoptive placements occurred in ninety-six percent of cases, with three animals humanely euthanized by the program after assessment revealed a poor prognosis for recovery and poor quality of life. Trainees performed all of these procedures under the supervision of Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Program (MSMP) faculty.
The average cost for an animal served by this grant was $339.04. As of February 4, 2021, there was $1,367.51 remaining in the grant, with three cases from the SPCA of Cortland County scheduled for services and likely to exhaust the remaining funds.
See Table 1 and Table 2 for summary case and financial data.
With the onset of COVID-19, veterinary students left campus in March of 2020, impacting their ability to participate in this program. A re-allocation request was submitted to the Research Office to allow for the program to continue to serve regional shelters and animals with the trainee focus on the shelter medicine interns and then students again when they returned to clinical rotations. The SPCA does employ three veterinary students as assistants, and so they continued to assist in these cases in that role.
The MSMP faculty have re-applied for funding in 2021, to continue the goal of providing high-quality general practice medical and surgical procedures for shelter and rescue-owned animals while also delivering unique training opportunities to shelter medicine interns and veterinary students. The program will continue to use the SPCA facilities, referring to the Companion Animal Hospital (CAH) at the College of Veterinary Medicine, on a limited basis when needed. Trainee data from this first round was incomplete due to COVID-19 restrictions and basic alterations in clinical services to provide for separation of faculty and social distancing. This program will also require trainees and students to complete a formal evaluation of skills and tasks provided by the program, and aligned with the CVM Competency Framework.
