• 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.

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  • Wailani Sung, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVB, FFCP

    Is a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist and currently the Senior Director of Animal Admissions and Wellbeing at a private non-profit, Joybound People and Pets, where she oversees three programs: the transfer of pets from municipal shelters, the assessment and management of the shelter’s behavior population, and the training classes and consultations provided to privately owned pets. She also advises animal shelters nationwide on individual case evaluations and the development of effective behavior programs. She has been featured in the NOVA documentary Cat Tales and the Netflix documentary Inside the Mind of a Cat.

    Jeannine Berger, DVM, DACVB, DACAW

    Is CEO of Monticello Veterinary Practice and Mayfair Vet Care, Community clinics designed to provide access to veterinary care, offering general practice, behavior services, and urgent care. SHE IS one of the few veterinarians double boarded by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and the American College of Animal Welfare. With over 30 years of animal welfare experience, she previously served as Senior Vice President of Rescue and Welfare at the San Francisco SPCA. In 2019, she received the Bronze Medal for Global Animal Welfare from the World Veterinary Association.

Veterinary Clinics of North America
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