Assessing Quality of Life in the Animal Shelter

Assessing quality of life is a complex process, even for humans who are able to communicate their level of distress or discomfort. Assessing quality of life for companion animals, especially in a shelter context, is even more complex. This lecture looks at some of the research into human and companion animal quality of life assessment, and explores how as veterinarians we can better understand quality of life concerns for shelter animals in order to inform our daily decision-making. Case examples will be used to illustrate principles.

Presenter: Elizabeth Berliner, DVM

Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Increase Live Outcomes, Animal & Population Management, quality of life