UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

Mike is the Program Coordinator of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program. Mike works with the medical team, to investigate infectious disease problems in shelters: to identify trends at shelters, and to establish future goals to improve the health and well-being of the animals under their care. Mike collects non-invasive biologic samples and takes case histories on animals identified with diseases endemic within the shelter environment such as canine and feline URI, chronic rhinitis, infectious diarrhea, etc. Mike presents case histories to clinicians and faculty members at the university for their input. Selected cased are brought to the university were the animals are examined and treated with Mike serving in the tradition role as RVT. In addition, Mike is responsible for biochemical analysis of bacterial samples, performs cell culture, PCR assays, and he conducts advanced diagnostic procedures on samples submitted to the university as part of on going clinical investigations and research projects.

Mike also developed and maintains the shelter medicine information website and assists veterinarians and technicians from around the world who contact the Koret Shelter Medicine Program for advice on improving the health of animals, in shelters, in rescue groups, and in foster homes. He has presented lectures at veterinary technical schools and at national veterinary conferences on various topics including infectious disease control and the role the veterinary technician plays in ending euthanasia as a means of population control. in his free time Mike continues his work on designing a database program to address his favorite shelter topic; census information.

Mike has over 20 years of animal care experience; the majority of his experience has been in small animal emergency and critical care. During his final three years as a full time veterinary technician Mike worked in the small animal Intensive Care Unit at UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine. Mike’s research experience includes studies performed at the National Institutes of Health, Heart Lung and Blood Institute and at the Center for Companion Animal Health where he assisted in the development of genetic markers for use in evolution studies of male dogs.