Best Friends shelter medicine team to the rescue (2024)

Best Friends shelter medicine team to the rescue (1)

New team assists in expanding lifesaving veterinary care at shelters across the country.

By Kelli Harmon

So much of animal sheltering circles back to good veterinary care. And now there’s a team at Best Friends working with shelters to support them in delivering excellent care that saves lives. Best Friends’ director of national veterinary programs, Dr. Erin Katribe, and her team of experienced veterinarians and technicians work both on-site and virtually with shelters, teaching things like high-quality and high-volume spay/neuter, disease prevention and outbreak response, and ways to make existing veterinary programs more efficient.

Full of inspiration and positivity, Best Friends magazine is full of uplifting tales, gorgeous photos and helpful advice.

When you become a member of Best Friends Animal Society by making a donation of $25 or more to the animals, you’ll receive Best Friends magazine for a year. Inside, you’ll read about what Best Friends is doing to save the lives of homeless pets nationwide.

Recently, two team members visited a shelter in New Mexico and noticed that many of the dogs were coughing and had runny noses. They suspected that the dogs had distemper, a severe and highly contagious virus. So they immediately helped staff to prevent further spread of the disease. The shelter temporarily stopped taking in dogs, treated those who were sick, divided areas to keep healthy dogs away from sick ones, and ensured that all dogs in the shelter were tested for distemper. The intervention not only saved lives right away, but it also showed shelter staff how to keep healthy dogs well and get medical care for sick dogs more quickly.

Overall, the program supports shelters wherever they are on their lifesaving journey — from those with low save rates that need support for basic care to those approaching no-kill as they begin to treat pets who wouldn’t have made it out of the shelter in the past. Animals with medical issues and preventable infectious diseases now have a better chance to get healthy and go on to live long lives in new homes, thanks to the care they got at their local shelter.

This article was originally published in the January/February 2024 issue of Best Friends magazine. Want more good news? Become a member and get stories like this six times a year.

Let's make every shelter and every community no-kill by 2025

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill by 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets.

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.

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Make your community no-kill by 2025

Last year, hundreds of thousands of loving dogs and cats were killed in shelters around the country just because they didn't have a safe place to call home.

Is your community no-kill?

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You can help save homeless pets

You can help end the killing in shelters and save the lives of homeless pets when you foster, adopt, and advocate for the dogs and cats who need it most.

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Foster a pet

Fostering a homeless pet is a short-term commitment with a long-term impact. By opening your home to a cat for even a few days, you can save lives. 

The fun of fostering

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Adopt a pet

When you adopt a homeless dog or cat from a shelter or rescue group, you’re making a lifesaving difference for a loving and grateful animal.

Adopting a pet near me

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Advocate for pets

You can inspire and create local change to save the lives of dogs and cats, and to help keep them out of shelters by working with others in your community.

Defending pets near me

Saving lives around the country

Together, we're creating compassionate no-kill communities nationwide for pets and the people who care for them.

Image Celebrating 40 years of Best Friends together Read letters from animal lovers like you who’ve shared their memories of Best Friends Animal Society over the years. See some of the letters we've received Best Friends Magazine
Image Heartwarming pet adoptions from across the country Meet Archie the food thief, Phantom the TV star, and more dogs and cats who are loving life in their new homes. See their happy faces Best Friends Magazine
Image Home and loving it: Stories of adopted pets Read about a dog birthday celebration, a pup learning the ropes, big cat cuddles, and a thriving parrot who loves to learn. Hear about life in their new homes Best Friends Magazine

Let’s be friends!

Connect with us on social media to stay in the loop about the lifesaving progress we’re making together. 

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Best Friends Magazine Caring for Pets Outreach and Embed Programs New Mexico

Best Friends shelter medicine team to the rescue (2024)
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