Mehnaz (Chumkee) Aziz, DVM, Outreach Veterinarian

Dr. Aziz grew up in Houston, Texas within a strong Bangladeshi-American community. Pet ownership and veterinary medicine were uncommon concepts growing up within her culture and it wasn’t until later in life that she was exposed to veterinary specialty medicine and eventually shelter medicine. Dr. Aziz found that shelter medicine encompassed everything she was interested in within veterinary medicine – supporting communities, championing the human-animal bond, upholding animal welfare and wellbeing, and supporting shelter colleagues and veterinary students. After completing her shelter medicine residency training with UC-Davis KSMP, Dr. Aziz worked with Austin Humane Society, the ASPCA and eventually rejoined the KSMP team in 2022 as an outreach veterinarian. Through her various positions, Dr. Aziz has been able to work with shelters across the country on mitigating infectious disease outbreaks, operating within their capacity for care, and implementing programs to keep pets with their families.

Dr. Aziz volunteered with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ (ASV) board from 2016-2022. Her time with ASV meant a lot to her because it gave her the chance to support colleagues in their efforts to care for animals and families across the country. Dr. Aziz also served on the authorship task force for the updating of AAHA’s Canine Vaccine Guidelines and ASV’s Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters. Currently, Dr. Aziz supports shelter medicine’s specialty college, ABVP; volunteers with her Houston-based Street Dog Coalition chapter; and serves on Texas VMA’s shelter medicine committee, leading their student mentorship program.

Education

DVM, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Internship, ASPCA Animal Hospital
Residency, Shelter Medicine, Koret Shelter Medicine Program at UC-Davis

Professional Highlights

Presenter
VMX
AVMA Convention
ABVP Symposium
Texas Unites for Animals
HSUS Expo
ASPCA Cornell Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Conference
Petfinder’s Adoption Options
Minnesota Animal Welfare Conference
Alaska Animal Welfare Conference
Ontario SPCA Conference
Midwest Veterinary Conference
Israeli Veterinary Conference
PacVet Veterinary Conference
Animal Care Conference-California
Colorado Animal Welfare Conference

Podcasts
AVMA’s My Veterinary Life
All My Children Wear Fur Coat

Publications

Aziz, M., Janeczko, S. & Gupta, M. ‘Infectious Disease Prevalence & Factors Associated with Upper Respiratory Infection in Cats Following Relocation.’ Animals. 2018, 8 (6), 91.

Aziz, M. ‘Feline Housing for Behavioral Wellbeing.’ Invited chapter in 2nd edition of Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff. Edited by Collins, K., DiGangi, B. & Reid, P. (under review).