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Shelter Medicine

Programs & Services

Intake & Preventive Care

Population Management

Common Diseases

Disease Response

Facility Design

Foster Health Care

Surgery & Dentistry

Intake & Preventive Care

black dog laying on blanket

Steps to keep your shelter population healthy start right at intake. Intake and preventive care plans are an integral part of ensuring an animal stays healthy with a short length of stay in the shelter environment. Preventive care intake protocols include examination, vaccinations, parasite prevention, nutrition, and more.

Check out the many resources to help ensure each animal entering the shelter has the appropriate care from the start. These resources will help promote individual animal and population health in your shelter.

In this section

Animal Intake and Physical Examination

Here's what you need to know about performing physical exams on dogs and cats during intake at an animal shelter.

Shelter Nutrition for Cats and Dogs

Proper nutrition is an essential component of any shelter wellness program. Food can also be a powerful enrichment tool. Learn best practices for feeding the animals in your care.

Parasite Control in Animal Shelters

Dogs and cats can carry a wide variety of internal and external parasites. Some can be passed to humans, and some can cause significant disease and discomfort in their host.

Vaccination in Animal Shelter Populations

Access in-depth information on best practices for vaccinating animals in a shelter setting to manage population health.

a black pit type dog is examined in a clinic by two veterinary staff. the dog is very lean.

Using B12 Supplementation to Improve Quality of Life in Dogs

ASPCA research shows a link between vitamin B12 deficiency and emaciated dogs. Supplementation of B12 may be a safe and low-cost method for improving quality of life.

two veterinary workers with a gray cat who's having an exam with vaccinations

Vaccination in Shelter Animal Populations

Check out these vaccination protocols for shelter animals, including frequency standards and how to vaccinate special populations.

ASPCA staff holding white kitten

Northern Tier Shelter Initiative Zoomies: An Introduction to Shelter Medicine 

This webinar will share best practices for the standard of care in shelters and available resources and tools for shelter medicine.

Watch the Webinar

cat having exam with ppe

Pyometra Surgery and Access to Veterinary Care

Research shows pyometra, a life-threatening infection in unspayed dogs and cats, can be safely treated without specialized care, thereby increasing access to veterinary care.

Video: Why It's Important to Foster Kittens with Ringworm

Join this information session to learn about ringworm in kittens and why it's so important to foster kittens infected with ringworm.

Organized Dogfighting and Canine Babesiosis

Discover the high-level results of an ASPCA study on canine Babesia gibsoni infections and dogfighting, including takeaways for veterinarians and other animal welfare professionals.