UF Shelter Medicine Online

10/22/2026

Behind so much of the care that happens in animal shelters, there’s a veterinary technician making it happen. 🐾💙

From helping with intake exams and administering vaccines to monitoring sick animals, assisting with surgery and comforting a nervous pet, vet techs bring an incredible mix of skill, patience and compassion to shelter medicine every day.

It's National Veterinary Technician Week and we’re celebrating the vet techs who care for shelter animals, support their teams and help give pets the best possible chance at what comes next.

To all the veterinary technicians in our Shelter Medicine community, thank you for everything you bring to this work. 🐕🐈

10/15/2026

Explore the vital role of veterinarians in shelter medicine with VME 6810: Integrating Veterinary Medicine with Shelter Systems! 🏥✨

This 3-credit course covers ASV guidelines, infectious disease management, behavioral challenges, and much more. Walk away knowing all the essential for improving the health and welfare of shelter animals!

🔗 https://bit.ly/47WJOIc

10/08/2026

The time to improve your leadership skills and advance your career in animal welfare is right now!

Whether you’re looking for a master’s degree, graduate certificate or individual courses, we have a pathway that will propel you to the next level in this field. No matter where you are in your career or educational journey, our 100% online program is ready for you!

Don’t wait! Apply for the Online Shelter Medicine Program today at the link below.⬇️

https://bit.ly/4hxTyNF

10/01/2026

Are you passionate about improving the lives of animals in shelters, and ready to jumpstart your career? 🐾

You can actually do both! Through our 100% online graduate program you can gain the skills to unlock the higher-level roles that you’re looking for. If you're ready to find out which one of our pathways will get you there, come talk to us! We will be at the CALS Career Expo on October 8 ready to answer all your questions.

Find our table in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and let us find the path that fits you!

Learn more about the CALS Career Expo at the link below ⬇️

With employers representing the food, fiber, natural resources and life sciences sectors, students can expect to find opportunities for internships and permanent employment as well as representatives of graduate programs and professional schools.

09/24/2026

🐾 Animal sheltering and shelter medicine have seen some dramatic advances in recent years. As the field continues to evolve, strong leadership can help organizations change with it.

VME 6819 Principles of Leadership in Animal Shelters introduces students to core leadership skills through concepts from sociology, psychology and organizational science.

Students explore what effective leadership looks like in a shelter setting, including the role leaders play in navigating change, building a healthy organizational culture and keeping their organization focused on its mission.

Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to better understand their own strengths as leaders and identify areas where they can continue to grow.

Are you taking VME 6819 this semester? What are you most interested in learning more about?

🔗 https://bit.ly/4hHTtsk

09/17/2026

Getting by with a little help from our (foster) friends. 🐕

Recent research shows that just 60 days of foster care can make all the difference for pets whose owners are facing a housing crisis. In a study of 500 pets in safety-net foster programs, 80% were ultimately reunited with their owners.

For shelters, holding an animal for that long can be difficult, and an extended shelter stay can be hard on the animal too. Safety-net foster programs offer another option by connecting pets with volunteers who can care for them temporarily while their owners work toward more stable housing.

In this kind of fostering, the goal isn’t finding a pet a new home. It’s giving their family the time and support they need to stay together.

Could a safety-net foster program like this work in your shelter or community? If you are already running one, what tips do you have for starting a safety-net program?

Check out the article below, which includes information on setting up foster programs and dealing with challenges.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4qNpFwN

09/10/2026

Big dogs have a way of taking up space in the best possible way.

Maybe it’s on the sidewalk as your walking partner. Maybe it’s stretched across your entire couch. Large dogs can make wonderful companions, but they're often overlooked because of assumptions about their size, energy level or concerns that they'll be “too much” compared to a smaller dog. But large dogs are not all the same.

Here are 3 common big dog myths that you should rethink:

🚫 Big dogs are aggressive. A dog’s behavior depends on training, genetics, environment and individual personality. Many large dogs are actually known for being calm, steady and affectionate.

🚫 Big dogs need huge homes.Not every large dog needs a massive house or backyard. Some will actually enjoy spending most of the day relaxing next to you! Like any dog, they simply need enrichment, routine and movement.

🚫 Big dogs need constant activity.Not every large dog is high-energy. Some large dogs love hiking or running. Others are happy with a steady routine, a few walks and plenty of downtime.

Just like any other pet, size is only one part of who big dogs are. If you are thinking about adopting a large dog, talk with your local shelter. They can give you the best information about the dog’s personality, behavior, daily routine, energy level and what kind of home they may do well in.

For our shelter professionals, what does large dog adoption look like in your community right now?

09/03/2026

1 in 3 pets go missing in their lifetime. That’s a lot of pets who may end up in a shelter simply because whoever found them didn’t have another place to go. 🐾

Some communities have set up microchip scanning stations to help lost pet find their families. By placing these scanners at fire stations, libraries and local businesses, people can check a found pet for a chip before ever making the trip to the shelter.

The last thing any pet wants is to lose their family. And the last thing any shelter wants is another intake. These stations are a simple idea, but they could be the reason more pets in your community find their way back home.

Open Door Veterinary Collective put together a guide with real examples, setup tips, costs and ideas for making one work in your community.

You can download it here: https://bit.ly/3SOZ5qu

Have you seen one of these in your community? Or would you try it?

08/27/2026

For Kaitlyn Purzycki, shelter medicine has always been about more than animal care alone. 🐾

Kaitlyn '25 has been working with animals since she was 14, starting in wildlife conservation and continuing today as a reproduction veterinary technician and volunteer manager at The Seeing Eye guide dog school. She is also a lead researcher and field technician at the wildlife conservation nonprofit, Terrapin Nesting Project.

Across each role, one thing stays the same. Kaitlyn believes in what can happen when animals are given the time, patience and support they need to thrive. And that belief is what brought her to our online Shelter Medicine master's degree program.

Kaitlyn used her time in the program to better understand how shelters can support the health and wellbeing of the animals in their care, including non-traditional species like horses, reptiles and birds.

For her capstone, Kaitlyn focused on a topic that connected her experience at a guide dog school with her interest in the human-animal bond. Her project, “Dogs Helping Humans: A Path Out of the Shelter Into Service,” explored how shelter dogs could be trained as service animals for people living with PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

She hopes the project helps people see another possible pathway for shelter dogs, one that helps them move through the shelter, find a positive outcome and support someone who needs them.

For Kaitlyn, there is a hidden beauty in animals that you only see when you work or live with them. They provide a comfort that is nonjudgmental and unconditional, which can be healing for so many people. She hopes to continue working with organizations that recognize the comfort, connection and healing those animals can bring to people through adoption, service work, therapy and more.

08/20/2026

Welcome back and happy first day of class, future Gator alumni!! 🐊✨

We think first day introductions are in order!

Whether you’re working in a shelter or in veterinary medicine, logging on from Gainesville, Michigan or somewhere in between, say hi in the comments!!

Bonus points for introducing the pet who will inevitably be studying alongside you this semester. 🐶🐱📚