Meeting the Needs of the Behaviorally Challenged Dogs in the Shelter (OnDemand)

Wailani Sung, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVB was formerly the Director of Behavior and Welfare Programs, San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Dr. Wailani Sung obtained her Master’s degree, Doctorate in Psychology, and Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She achieved her board certification in veterinary behavioral medicine. Dr. Sung provides behavior consultations for privately owned pets and also oversees the shelter behavior program at the San Francisco SPCA. Dr. Sung is a co-author of the book, “From Fearful to Fear Free”, in which she collaborated with America’s veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, veterinary colleague Dr. Lisa Radosta, and renown trainer, Mikkel Becker. Dr. Sung also co-authored a chapter in “Decoding your Cat”. Dr. Sung has been a contributor to the websites, Pet Coach and PetMD. Dr. Sung has written chapters for the following veterinary textbooks: Behavior of Exotic Pets; Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Canine and Feline Behavior, 2nd Edition; Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Canine and Feline: 7th edition; Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarian and Staff, 2nd edition; Clinical Handbook of Feline Behavior Medicine. Dr. Sung was interviewed on the documentary, Cat Tales by NOVA: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/... and on the Netflix documentary, Inside the Mind of a Cat.

Joanna Pagel is the Operations Director and Behavior Manager of Shelby Humane with over 10 years of canine behavior and care experience. Her career path has taken her through a range of positions including service and working dog trainer, vet and grooming tech, owner of a pet dog training business, and various shelter positions and professional relationships. After beginning her career years ago in her hometown shelter, she now finds herself having come full circle back into the rescue world. With her experience in difficult behavior cases, community outreach, and group training scenarios, she found herself to be quite at home in her current position. She feels blessed to be able to offer a unique and thoroughly experienced perspective on the struggles that shelter animals and workers alike can face daily. Joanna enjoys her precious free time with her 3 rescues mutts finding new spots to hike, competing in various dog sports, or practicing their mid-day nap skills.

Dr. Joyce Voss received her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, initially planning to become a physician.  Late in her undergraduate career, she had an opportunity to work with dogs on a clinical level, and was hooked on veterinary medicine since.  She received dual doctorate degrees, earning a DVM and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California at Davis in 2006.  She worked in general and emergency small animal practice for 10 years before transitioning to spay/neuter and shelter medicine at SICSA in 2016.  Since 2020, she has served as the Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Care overseeing the veterinary clinic and animal care and enrichment, and since 2023, has been reinventing and growing the behavior and foster programs.  She lives in the Dayton, OH area with her husband, Andrew, two teen sons, Aidan and Connor, and two cats, Purrcy Jackson and Piper.