A first-of-its-kind clinical residency program in shelter medicine launched in 2022 at the Ontario Veterinary College as part of the Kim and Stu Lang Community Healthcare Partnership Program (CHPP). The residency will provide a three-year advanced training program for licensed veterinarians interested in shelter medicine practice.
Dr. Wesley Cheung, the program’s first resident, has begun working in shelter consultation work, outreach, research and teaching. His work with CHPP is primarily with Ontario-based animal shelters, improving access to veterinary care and providing infectious disease management.
Under the mentorship of two board-certified shelter medicine specialists, residents in the program will gain advanced skills and knowledge in all aspects of shelter medicine, including population-level infectious disease management, individual-level clinical medicine and surgery, public health, shelter operations, high-quality and high-volume spay/neuter surgery, community outreach, cruelty investigations, forensics and disaster response.
According to Cheung, every decision a shelter makes has the potential to affect an animal’s pathway to adoption, and some decisions will have repercussions that can potentially affect other animals in the shelter. This is especially essential when managing infectious disease, he notes.
The shelter medicine residency aims to create and promote specialists who are experts in designing comprehensive programs supporting sheltered animals and those belonging to pet owners in need. Ultimately, this will help increase shelter lifesaving, promote public health, elevate animal welfare, and provide better service to animals and owners made vulnerable.
This story originally appeared in the summer 2023 issue of The Crest, a publication of Ontario Veterinary College.
