http://www.tufts.edu/vet/about/dean.html

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/facpages/saperstein_g.html

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Tufts University - Beyond Boundaries Newsletter Spring 2008 - Index

“Where else but at an animal shelter can a homeless
shelter, emergency clinic, food bank, police force,
public health and contraception service, and
adoption center be found under one roof?”
—Dr. Martha Smith, V97
tions: the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Rescue League of
Boston, and the Massachusetts Animal Coalition.
“Underserved animals, their owners, and veterinary
students all will benefit from the generosity of Diana
and Duncan Johnson, whose gift and whose advocacy
with other potential donors have made the launch of this
important program possible,” says Deborah Kochevar,
D.V.M., Ph.D., dean of the Cummings School.
The support for the training is welcomed by professionals
who work to place strays and to reduce the
number of animals euthanized for lack of a home.
“Hundreds of smaller shelters and rescue organizations
in Massachusetts rely on help from their local
veterinarian,” said Dr. Emily McCobb, V00, VG03,
VR06, anesthesiologist at Tufts’ Veterinary Emergency
Treatment & Specialties (VETS) facility in Walpole and
a director of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition. “Most
veterinarians donate a significant portion of their time
helping homeless animals in some way, either through
School. With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation,
the Cummings School will test the effectiveness of
Indonesia’s veterinary training and education system
using HPAI and apply its findings to other diseases that
may be transmitted from animals to people.
“Prevention is the key word here,” says lead investigator
Joann Lindenmayer, D.V.M., M.P.H., V85, associate
Spring 2008 News of the Campaign for Tufts
participating in low-cost spay/neuter programs or feral cat
spaying/neutering, or in donating services to help injured
stray animals. It is vital that all of our veterinary students
receive exposure to shelter medicine and shelter issues.”
Dr. Martha Smith, V97, director of veterinary medical
services for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, says,
“Shelter veterinarians increasingly are playing a role in the
forensic investigation of animal cruelty. Society expects
more from animal shelters, both in standard of care and in
improved outcomes for the animals helped. To properly
train veterinarians in the complexities of animal sheltering,
a dedicated course of study is essential.”
ation and Cummings School Partner to Control Avian Flu
Netting at a duck farm in Thailand keeps ducks and wild
birds apart to prevent spread of the avian flu virus.
professor of environmental and population health at Tufts’
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. “To prevent an
epidemic of avian flu from becoming a pandemic from person
to person, we need early detection and intervention.”
Study colleague George Saperstein, D.V.M., Amelia
Peabody Professor and chair of environmental and population
health at the Cummings School, adds, “The only
way to control the epidemic is through education, so that
people understand the importance of controlling it at the
local level.”
Saperstein says the Rockefeller Foundation grant
enables a 12­month study of their hypothesis, that
enhanced veterinary education at the local level has a
significant impact on disease prevention and control.
“We are pleased to support the efforts of Tufts
University to improve community­level surveillance,
responses, and management of animal diseases that
threaten the health of animal and human populations
and the livelihoods of Indonesian families,” says Tara
Acharya, Ph.D., M.P.H., an associate director at the
Rockefeller Foundation.
Duncan and Diana Johnson, and friend
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