Woods Humane Society is building stronger foundations for animal care by partnering with the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program (KSMP).
KSMP provides expert consultation to shelters across the state, made possible by California for All Animals. The partnership with Woods Humane Society will work to address challenges faced by shelters across California, such as veterinary staffing shortages, longer wait times for essential care like spay/neuter, and increased demand for services as pet owners face barriers to care.
“This collaboration will help us strengthen our systems—from medical protocols to daily planning—so we can provide timely, compassionate care to animals who need it most,” says Woods Humane Society CEO Emily L’Heureux.
Through this partnership, Woods Humane Society will work with KSMP veterinarians to:
“Shelters across California are facing veterinary staffing shortages that affect how quickly animals, especially large dogs, can get care and go home,” said Dr. Chumkee Aziz, a UC Davis outreach veterinarian and board-certified shelter medicine specialist. "Partnerships like this show what sheltering does best—adapting and problem-solving to protect animal health.”
"This partnership supports our commitment to finding loving homes for animals as quickly as possible while also building our spay/neuter capacity at our two veterinary clinics in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero,” says Woods Humane Society Director of Veterinary Services Amanda Hefner.
Dr. Hefner points out Hippo, a young kitten who arrived suffering from Panleukopenia, a highly contagious, potentially fatal viral disease. With the right protocols in place, Woods Humane Society was able to swiftly identify and diagnose Hippo’s condition, isolate her to protect other animals in the shelter, and place her in a loving foster home to provide her with a safe, low-stress environment in which to recover from the illness. This also freed up space at Woods for healthy, adoptable animals.
“Thanks to our prepared and equipped medical team, foster coordinator, and our dedicated fosters, Hippo has since recovered from this life-threatening illness, received her spay surgery yesterday, and is available for adoption today,” Dr. Hefner says. “The UC Davis KSMP partnership will help us build the conditions to make survival stories like Hippo’s possible for more animals.”
Every community member has a role to play in supporting pets and people in SLO County. Learn how you can help—by becoming a foster, adopting, volunteering, or helping lost pets get home—at www.WoodsHumane.org. Woods Humane Society is located at 875 Oklahoma Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 and at 2300 Ramona Rd., Atascadero, CA 93422, and is open to the public daily from 12-5 p.m., with adoption hours from 12-4 p.m. For more information about Woods, visit www.WoodsHumane.org or call (805) 543-9316.
About the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
Housed within the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, the Koret Shelter Medicine Program (KSMP) bridges the gap between academic research and real-world shelter practices to ensure that veterinary resources reach the animals who need them most. We work with shelters to create more humane systems and equip veterinarians and staff with the tools, training, and support to deliver compassionate, expert care, even when it’s hardest.
