March 2018 by Ellen Jefferson, DVM and Carley Faughn, PhD

Audience: Shelter/Rescue Staff & Volunteers, Veterinary Team

Video Length: 47 Minutes

Contagious disease is always a threat to a shelter or rescue group but when you have make-shift housing and many hands in the pot, it can spread like wildfire. In this session you will hear from representatives from Austin Pets Alive! and Best Friends Animal Society on how they dealt with epidemic proportions- prevention, stopping the spread, and treatment of illness.

This presentation was recorded at the 2018 American Pets Alive! Conference.

About Ellen Jefferson, DVM

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, 3 cats, and a bird.


About Carley Faughn, PhD

Dr. Carley Faughn has worked with canines, felines, and nonhuman primates since 2007 merging her passion for comparative cognition, animal welfare, and animal rescue. Dr. Faughn joined Best Friends Animal Society after serving as Executive Director of Acadiana Animal Aid (AAA) in Lafayette, LA for three years.

She joined AAA as Executive Director just before completing her PhD at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Cognitive Science, 2014) and after serving as a caregiver at the nonprofit animal rescue for several years. During her time at Acadiana Animal Aid she led a team to increase their life saving efforts from 385 lives saved in 2013 to well over 2,000 lives saved in her final year as Executive Director in 2016.

Dr. Faughn joined Best Friends Animal Society in December 2016 as the Dogtown Manager at Best Friends Sanctuary. In her role at the Sanctuary, Dr. Faughn works with the Dogtown team to develop creative wellness plans and enrichment ideas to ensure every dog has a good quality of life while still working on life skills for their adopted homes. In addition, Dr. Faughn collaborates with Best Friends' Regional Centers as well as Best Friends' Network Partners to implement lifesaving programs and facilitate teachings about animal behavior and cognition.