Presenter: Rachel Fishkind, Animal Sciences, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum project I volunteered at my local animal shelter. I worked with the health team to clean and sanitize to prevent the spread of disease within the shelter. Every morning I went through the process of scrubbing the litter pans with soap and then bleaching them. We did this in order to prevent the spread of parasites that may be found in the feces of the cats. Another important aspect of volunteering at the shelter was the fear free shelter program that they had in place. We had to go through a workshop to learn how to prevent stress for us and the animals within the shelter. This is extremely important in preventing the spread of disease within the shelter. Although this part doesn't totally relate to public health, I also got to do some fun things like dog walking and cat socializing.
Hi Rachel, I really enjoyed your presentation about the health of shelter animals that people usually do not consider in their day-to-day lives. What is one solution you propose to help shelters overcome the barrier of insufficient funding to test all animals they receive before letting them interact with other animals to decrease the transmittance of diseases?
It was great to hear how your passion for animals drove this project along. I am now aware of the importance of testing animals in shelters before letting them interact with others. I'm sure your service made a difference!