February 2015 by Ellen Jefferson, DVM, and Jordana Moerbe

Audience: Executive Leadership, Shelter/Rescue Staff & Volunteers, Veterinary Team

Video Length: 85 minutes

Austin Pets Alive! Medical Clinic treats thousands of cats a year, many who are straight off of the euthanasia list because of medical conditions such as feline leukemia, FIV, renal disease, hepatic lipidosis, skin problems, viral diseases, and trauma. They save them all and this session is about how they do it - what medications they use, where the cats go for care, how to save lives without spending a ton of money and prognosis. Presented by Dr. Ellen Jefferson and Jordana Moerbe, this program was part of the American Pets Alive! 2015 No-Kill Conference.

About Dr. Ellen Jefferson

Dr. Ellen Jefferson graduated veterinary school in 1997 and started her career in private practice. In 1999, in response to an 85% death rate at the city shelter, she started EmanciPET, a low cost and free spay/neuter clinic in an effort to decrease the number of homeless animals. In 2008, she was still not satisfied with how fast the city of Austin was moving towards No Kill status, and stepped in as Executive Director of Austin Pets Alive! Since 2008, Austin Pets Alive! has been the driving force to bring the entire city of Austin to a greater than 90% save rate and the largest No Kill city in the US. In 2012, Dr. Jefferson linked with San Antonio Pets Alive to implement the No Kill programs that were proven successful in Austin and helped drive the live release rate from 30% to 80% in 12 months. She is married to a horse veterinarian and they share guardianship of 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a bird.

About Jordana Moerbe

Jordana moved to Austin from El Paso twelve years ago. She worked as an operations manager for Cendant Car Rental Group for 3 years before I realized that it was not at all what she wanted to be doing with her life. She had always loved animals, but had never worked in animal welfare, and jumped at the chance to work at Emancipet when a friend who worked there recommended she apply for an open position. She was hired and worked there about 4 years and fell in love with animal welfare. After 4 years I was offered a job at APA and have been here ever since.