uc davis koret shelter medicine program

What uc davis koret shelter medicine program does

UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program (KSMP) is a non-profit academic program within the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 2001, that provides consultation, training, research, and practical resources to animal shelters across the United States. Its core offerings include the Shelter Learniverse (an online learning platform), the Shelter Care Specialist Certification program, a co-maintained Resource Library (with the University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Community/Consultation (CAT) services to individual shelters. The program operates on a free-to-user model, removing financial barriers for shelter staff and increasing adoption across municipal and non-profit sheltering organizations. KSMP's funding is anchored by Maddie's Fund, including the Million Pet Challenge partnership, supplemented by donations and institutional support from UC Davis. The program also extends its influence through co-developed industry standards, such as Rabbit Housing Guidelines with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and Cat Portals guidelines with SHOR-LINE/Midmark, embedding its expertise into facility design and animal housing product specifications.

Name

uc davis koret shelter medicine program

Legal name

The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus

Website

https://sheltermedicine.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Short description

UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program is a non-profit academic program within UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine that provides free consultation, training, certification, and resources to animal shelters across the United States, funded by Maddie's Fund and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shelter Medicine Education and Consulting

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Animal Shelters & Adoption Services (BPAGAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animal Shelters & Rescue Operations (AFAEALAB), Low-Cost & Community Veterinary Clinics (HLAMAAAE)

Keywords

• Animal shelter medicine
• Shelter medicine consulting
• Veterinary professional training
• Capacity for care management
• Animal welfare research

Headquarters

HQ city

Davis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant and University Funding: As a program of UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, KSMP is funded through university appropriations and external grants. The primary named funding partner is Maddie's Fund, which funds the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program and Shelter Learniverse at no cost to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KSMP provides shelter medicine education, professional certification, and expert consultation to municipal and nonprofit animal shelters. Its offerings include the Shelter Learniverse, the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program, Capacity Action Team consultations, research-based protocols, housing standards, calculators, and a joint digital resource library.

Product overview

The UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program (KSMP) operates as an educational and consulting organization rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings include the Shelter Learniverse online learning platform (which houses the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program with Medical, Welfare, and Advanced tracks), the Resource Library (jointly maintained with University of Wisconsin-Madison) containing hundreds of documents and downloadable guidebooks on diseases and care topics, the Capacity Action Team (CAT) consultation service, and physical products like Cat Portals sold through Midmark. The program also provides DIY Housing Accessories instructions, Shelter Capacity Calculators, and the Le CHAT cat housing assessment tool. Major programs include Maddie's Million Pet Challenge, California for All Animals, and the Million Cat Challenge. Founded in 2001 and backed by UC Davis, the program equips veterinarians and shelter staff with tools, training, and support for animal welfare.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shelter Learniverse: Online learning platform offering webinars, training modules, and courses for shelter medicine professionals, part of Maddie's Million Pet Challenge.
• Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program
• Capacity Action Team (CAT)

Products and services

• Shelter Learniverse Online learning platform providing self-paced courses, webinars, practical training, expert-led learning modules, and tools for shelter workers.
• Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program Professional certification for frontline animal shelter staff, with Medical Focus, Welfare Focus, and Advanced tracks covering medical care, behavior, population management, and operational decision-making.
• Capacity Action Team (CAT) Shelter consultation service providing on-site support focused on capacity for care, pathway planning, facility design, High-Quality High-Volume Spay/Neuter surgery-team support, and shelter medicine protocols.
• Le CHAT (Cat Housing Assessment Tool) Assessment tool for shelters to evaluate whether individual cat-cage housing meets shelter medicine guidelines, using tape-measure-based scoring against care standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cat portals reduced illness and increased probability of adoption in shelter cats (peer-reviewed study published in journal article)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025KSMP Director Dr. Kate Hurley, Outreach Veterinarian Dr. Chumkee Aziz, and alumna Dr. Becky Stuntebeck were contributors to the first-ever ASV Guidelines for Humane Rabbit Housing in Animal Shelters, a three-year undertaking published in the Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Shelter Medicine ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResource Library is maintained jointly by the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at UC Davis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Shelter Medicine Program. This collaboration pools expertise from the two leading academic shelter medicine programs to create hundreds of shared resources for the shelter community.
• SHOR-LINEminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSHOR-LINE now manufactures and distributes the Kat Portals (originally developed by KSMP) in three sizes: skinny, standard, and wide. This enables nearly every cage type to be portalized with easy-to-install pre-made portals. KSMP no longer manufactures portals directly.
• The Association for Animal Welfare AdvancementminorOthersThe Association administers the Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) credential, the only leadership credential in animal welfare. Dr. Jennifer Bennett of KSMP earned this credential through the Association's rigorous exam covering leadership, human resources, finance, fundraising, marketing, administration, and animal care.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Direct peers

• University of Wisconsin-Madison Shelter Medicine Program: The other leading academic shelter medicine program in the US, jointly maintaining the Resource Library with KSMP and serving the same municipal and nonprofit shelter market with training, resources, and consultation.
• Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV): The professional association for shelter veterinarians; KSMP leadership co-developed ASV's first-ever Rabbit Housing Guidelines and the organizations collaborate on setting field standards for shelter medicine practice.
• Cornell Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program: Cornell University's shelter medicine program, also named after Maddie's Fund support, providing training, consultations, and resources to shelters in the eastern US — a regional peer with overlapping academic mission and curriculum.

Others

• Maddie's Fund: Primary funder of KSMP's free programs and operator of the Million Pet Challenge under which Shelter Learniverse runs. Functions as a strategic grant partner and ecosystem orchestrator in the animal welfare access-to-care space.
• Midmark Corporation (formerly SHOR-LINE): Manufacturer and distributor of the Cat Portals KSMP invented; serves as the commercial channel that scales KSMP's cat housing innovation into shelter facilities nationwide.
• PetSmart Charities: Major animal welfare funder that grants to shelters and supports access-to-care initiatives comparable in scope to Maddie's Fund's relationship with KSMP.

Broad incumbents

• ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals): The largest US animal welfare organization, which funds shelter medical programs, runs its own shelter medicine and behavior resources, and overlaps with KSMP's target audience of municipal and nonprofit shelters.
• Best Friends Animal Society: Major national animal welfare nonprofit operating the No Kill 2025 initiative and providing shelter training, grants, and consulting that overlaps with KSMP's capacity-for-care and access-to-care offerings.
• Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Large national animal welfare organization offering shelter medicine resources, training programs, and policy advocacy that parallels KSMP's training and consulting work for shelter professionals.

Emerging players

• Fear Free Pets: Provider of low-stress handling certification and training that KSMP integrates into its protocols and Shelter Care Specialist curriculum, addressing overlapping needs around shelter animal welfare and behavior.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sheltermedicine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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