Julie K. Levy

Dr. Julie K. Levy

Shelter Medicine Program, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA
orcid
Fran Marino Endowed Distinguished Professor of Shelter Medic...

Biography

My work focuses on the health and welfare of animals in shelters, feline infectious diseases, and humane alternatives for cat population control. I joined the UF College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997 as a specialist in small animal internal medicine. A year later, I founded Operation Catnip, a community cat trap-neuter-return program that has spayed, neutered, and vaccinated more than 100,000 cats in Gainesville since 1998. In addition to providing a vital community service, the program serves as the largest surgery training opportunity for our veterinary students. A decade later, I joined Dr. Cynda Crawford to launch the Shelter Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine. This educational and discovery initiative has a global impact on the care of homeless animals and is the academic home of the Fear Free Shelters program. Later, I teamed up with Dr. Kate Hurley for the Million Cat Challenge, a shelter-based campaign that saved more than 5 million cats in shelters across North America. Our current project, Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge, aims to create transformative “communities of practice” that deliver access to care through humane community-centric programming—inside and outside of the shelter—to achieve the right outcome for every pet.

Affiliations

University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine

Gainesville, Florida, USA

Shelter Medicine Program

Honors and Awards

No honors or awards have been shared yet.

Experience

University Educator/Researcher

University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, USA

01 Mar 1997 - present