Interview! Holly Putnam, Faculty Clinician, Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Cornell University

Dr. Holly Putnam graduated veterinary school in 2003, and initially went into private practice for small animals in Albany, NY. After moving to Austin, TX, in 2008, however, she began working at a high-volume, high-quality spay/neuter clinic for low-income neighborhoods and area shelters. Seeing the large number of community cats in these "veterinary deserts" (places with no easy access to veterinary care) sparked a new passion in her for shelter medicine.

Now residing once again in NY, she is the faculty clinician for the Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University, where she gives courses on Companion Animal Welfare and Shelter Medicine. These courses expose students to issues affecting community cats, as well as teach them how to complete a spay/neuter surgery and observe practices at the local TNR shelter. Though she acknowledges that we still have a long way to go in community cat welfare, she is pleased to see the change in mindset around these animals since graduating thirteen years ago, and is optimistic that more private practice veterinarians will be willing to join the effort.