Athens, Ga. – The sixth annual Shelter Medicine Symposium will be held at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine on Sunday, Jan. 12. The daylong event is focused on the best management and medicine practices for local and regional animal shelters. Veterinary professionals and others who work in animal control facilities and humane societies, or with animal rescue groups in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, are encouraged to attend.
The event is hosted by the student chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, scASV, and the UGA CVM Shelter Medicine Program. There is no registration fee, but all attendees must register by Jan. 4. To register, and for updated information on speakers, visit www.vet.uga.edu/student_clubs/sheltermed.seminar. For more information, contact Janet Martin, DVM, at jmartin@uga.edu.
“The overwhelmingly positive feedback from past attendees and the growing number of dedicated shelter professionals who make the trip to Athens to attend every year has shown us how important this symposium is to our community,” said Emi Kooyman, DVM 2016, president of the UGA Shelter Medicine Club. “Our goal is to share knowledge and help raise the bar for shelter animal care in Georgia and the surrounding areas.”
Conference presenters include keynote speaker Scott Trebatoski, division chief of Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services. Trebatoski will discuss the results he achieved in two Florida animal shelters. Since 2008, he has worked to modernize Jacksonville’s Animal Care and Control division, which was recognized in 2011, 2012 and 2013 as Florida’s top animal control agency. Under Trebatoski’s leadership, the shelter has progressed from having a euthanasia rate of more than 85 percent, to having an adoption rate of more than 87 percent.
Other scheduled presenters include Sara Pizano, DVM, MA, who is the medical assessment and curriculum specialist for Target Zero Institute and the former director for Miami-Dade County Animal Services; Staci Cannon, DVM 2010, who is currently in the highly acclaimed residency program in shelter medicine at the University of Florida; and Dr. Martin, developer of the shelter medicine program at the UGA CVM.
Sponsors for the 2014 UGA Shelter Medicine Seminar include Nestlé Purina, SCAVMA and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians.
UGA College of Veterinary Medicine
The UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1946, is dedicated to training future veterinarians, to conducting research related to animal and human diseases, and to providing veterinary services for animals and their owners. Research efforts are aimed at enhancing the quality of life for animals and people, improving the productivity of poultry and livestock, and preserving a healthy interface between wildlife and people in the environment they share. The college enrolls 102 students each fall out of more than 800 who apply. For more information see www.vet.uga.edu
UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital
The current UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, built in 1979, serves more than 22,500 patients per year in one of the smallest teaching hospitals in the United States. The college is currently building a new Veterinary Medical Learning Center, which will include a new teaching hospital as well as classrooms and laboratories that will allow for the education of more veterinarians. For more information see
www.vet.uga.edu/vmlc/
