EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University veterinary students have developed a new Web site that will make it easier for people to adopt dogs and cats from a local animal shelter.
The students are members of Joe Hauptman's surgery course - Veterinary Medicine 557 - a class that lets them perfect their surgical skills by performing spaying and neutering on dogs and cats from Ingham County Animal Control.
Under the supervision of veterinarians and residents, the students do the surgery and the animals are then returned to the shelter and made available for adoption. This gives the third-year students valuable experience and makes the animals more adoptable.
Located at http://cvmstudent.cvm.msu.edu/cvm2001/, the site gives potential pet owners information on the animal's size, age and temperament, as well as a photograph.
"We're hoping this will increase the animals' chances of getting adopted," said Erica Hawker, the student who came up with the idea. "Unfortunately, many of the animals who are returned to the shelter are euthanized."
"I thought this was a very clever idea," said Hauptman, a professor of small animal clinical sciences. "Erica saw something that needed to be done and she did it. I'm very proud of her."
Every year as many as 12 million dogs and cats are brought to animal shelters around the country, with more than half of those animals eventually being euthanized. Last year in Ingham County, more than 2,400 animals were euthanized, while only around 500 were adopted.
"So many people will bring their animal to the shelter and assume it's going to be adopted," Hawker said. "But this is a false sense of security. Most of the animals are getting euthanized."
The relationship between the College of Veterinary Medicine and Ingham County Animal Control is now in its fifth year.
"It's a good relationship," said Roger Fleming, director of Ingham County Animal Control. "This gives the students good experience and gives us animals that people may be more likely to adopt."
The Web site went on-line on Oct. 14. It also is linked to the Ingham County Animal Control Web site: http://www.ingham.org/AC/adoption.htm.