Shelter Behavior Medicine of the Dog and Cat

A practical behavioral framework from admissions to adoption for shelter animals

Animal shelters face difficult decisions daily, balancing individual animal behavioral and medical needs against population-level capacity for care. Shelter Behavior Medicine of the Dog and Cat, written by two board-certified veterinary behaviorists with decades of combined shelter experience, provides a problem-oriented approach to confidently assess, manage, and resolve behavior and medical issues throughout the shelter journey from admissions to adoption.

The book details behavior and medical assessment strategies, deliberate trajectory planning for shelter animals, and data-focused methods for optimizing capacity for care. It addresses leadership buy-in from executives and board members, predictive approaches to reduce unnecessary euthanasia while safeguarding public safety, and resource protection strategies. Practical guidance enables shelter practitioners and staff to design trajectory plans that lead to better adoption matches.

Readers will also find:

• A structured problem-oriented approach equipping practitioners and kennel staff to address behavioral and medical challenges in shelter dogs and cats
• Data-driven strategies for assessing capacity for care and designing individualized pathway plans that improve adoption outcomes
• Methods to predict behavioral and medical risks, helping prevent unnecessary euthanasia while protecting public and animal safety
• Guidance on securing organizational leadership buy-in from executives and board members for proactive shelter behavior programs
• Practical tools for protecting shelter resources while increasing lives saved and strengthening positive community impact

Designed for veterinarians, veterinary behaviorists, behavior residents, veterinary students, shelter leadership, and shelter staff and trainers, this book delivers actionable knowledge in a format accessible from specialists to kennel attendants. It serves as a foundational resource for shelter behavioral medicine residency training and shelter staff education programs.