The days usually fly by when you work at a shelter or a SPCA. Sometimes it is hard to find time to do something else… That’s why we were really glad to have the opportunity to come to the SPCA of Montreal for two seminars on shelter management. Indeed, the American Association for Shelter Veterinarians clearly identify continuing education as a key element to improve skills and performances of the staff members and other volunteers. But as we said before, in shelters, time is always hard to find because of the busy environment !
More than just lecturing, it was a real discussion focussing in the morning on tips to boost adoptions and in the afternoon on the key elements about hygiene in a shelter environment. Shelters are indeed prone to infectious diseases, I usually refer to them as “open environments”. Fortunately there are really simple things that can be done, in terms of sectorization and cleaning/disinfecting protocols that can make a real difference in every day’s activities.
DR. EMMANUEL FONTAINE 