Veterinary college receives grant to assist humane society, perform Operation Cat Nap

AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. -- An assistant professor at Auburn University has received a $10,000 grant to help control the local pet population and assist the Lee County Humane Society with veterinary health care.

PETsMART Charities, a non-profit organization based in Phoenix, Ariz., recently presented the funding to Dr. Brenda Griffin of the College of Veterinary Medicine for her student summer fellowship program in Pet Population Control and Shelter Medicine.

“Most of our effort in combating pet overpopulation focuses on prevention,” said Dr. Griffin of the veterinary college’s Scott-Ritchey Research Center. “The Lee County Humane Society does a great job and we are glad to assist in any manner. We want to help promote responsible pet ownership, especially with an emphasis on the importance of sterilization, identification, preventative health care and keeping pets safe at home.”

The grant will allow five veterinary students to work at the humane society shelter under the direction of Dr. Griffin and LCHS Executive Director Jack Fisher, as they perform preventative health care, disease surveillance, cruelty investigation, and training dogs for adoption. The student participants are Kim Smith, Jodi Futrell, Lorin Hillman, Karen Kahn and Jennifer Ham.

"The support we have received from the veterinary college and Dr. Griffin over the years has been tremendous,” Fisher said. “The summer fellowship program will allow the students to receive hands on experience as well as provide some much needed services for the animals."

Operation Cat Nap at AU set for July 29, 2001

The students will also participate in Operation Cat Nap, a trap-neuter-release program to control the feral cat population on the AU campus. 

“This method works much better than the traditional approach of euthanasia because cats are territorial and if they are removed, more cats from off-campus simply move into their places,” said veterinary student Smith. “It also eliminates nuisance behaviors while providing the best possible lives for the cats.”

Operation Cat Nap had a successful trap-neuter-release weekend in late April on AU’s campus, as 22 feral cats were trapped. Another campus-wide roundup is scheduled for July 29. Anyone at the university may report feral cat colonies to Operation Cat Nap by contacting Dr. Griffin at 844-5951.