So we just finished a presentation on the role of the veterinarian in animal cruelty cases. And to talk to us more about it is Dr. Jennifer Bonovich, thank you for being here.

Absolutely.

So let's start with telling the audience about what you do, and where do you practice

at? Sure. I'm in Columbia, South Carolina. I'm a shelter veterinarian at a municipal shelter for the City of Columbia, and we contract with Richland County. So in my shelter we get about 5,000 animals a year, and I'm there as a shelter vet. So surgery, population management, emergencies and the like, and also some forensics. Um, but on the side I have Caliber Veterinary Forensics. I started a consultation company so I could work with state law enforcement on big dog fighting cases, but also with other agencies like Humane World for Animals and A-S-P-C-A on, um, other cases that might be needed within the state.

We're always talking about the importance of having knowledge in shelter medicine with animal cruelty and neglect because it is the unfortunate reality that shelters get a lot of animals that have been neglected, whether it's intentional or unintentional. So what is your experience and what recommendations do you have for shelter veterinarians in that field?

Yeah, absolutely. You know, uh, I brought up my presentation how the Association of Shelter Veterinarians guidelines for shelter medicine includes forensics. So it's such an important part. It's inherent to what we do because we get what happens in the community, which is abuse. Now, most of these animals, we may not have an owner, but we see this abuse on a regular basis. But when we do have an owner, we as shelter veterinarians should be prepared to know how to appropriately collect information, photographs, and evidence so that we could potentially get these people, um, a case so that they may, you know, be held responsible legally for what they've done to the animal.

One of the things that we hear a lot from shelters, dog pounds, different organizations is that they can't look further into animal abuse and neglect cases due to funds. But that's not, that's not always right. Right?

Exactly. So a lot of my presentation was doing forensics on a budget. You need very little to do a good case. It depends on the type of case, but you could have very little equipment, maybe just a microscope and a few things. And based on using what's free, which is our education that we've already have, taking pictures, which is free, serial pictures, say a starvation case over time and other things we can do a lot for very little. And just because we can't do all these gold standard things does not mean we cannot produce a very fantastic case that can win in court and so on. Many times I've testified in court as an expert witness. I, um, a lot of times I don't need a lot to prove that this animal had pain and suffering.

And people think about, because of the CSI effect that you have to have DNA and you have to have this, you have to have the other. But realistically, all you have to do is the confidence to, and the knowledge to give that information so that the, whether it's the jury or whether it's the judge, they understand what you're saying and how it's relevant to the case.

Oh, exactly. So knowing the CSI effect where everyone expects this very, um, sexy presentation of all these advanced things, when in reality you have to keep that in mind when you're presenting your case to realize that we still have to be convincing with what little we have, but what little, little we have is plenty in our mind to show yes, there was pain and suffering, so we don't have to have all that. But keep in mind, people might be expecting that. So be prepared to explain with what you have. Your confidence in your conclusion. But again, you don't need a lot. Um, a lot of that fancy stuff, um, most people don't use. Right? But you don't need it for most cases. Now, if you have access to things, you also have to understand the implications of using advanced diagnostics and potential complications. So sometimes simple is best

What is the importance of the shelter support team in veterinary forensic cases?

It is very important. It depends on your leadership and your relationships with your animal control and local jurisdictional police departments with whom you are contracted to work. So if you have these good relationships. Then open air conversations, right? And understanding does your local law enforcement know what to look for in the field? I did create a course for local law enforcement so that they could understand what animal crimes look like in the field. So they might think something's like something worth pursuing and it's really not. Versus they're ignoring something they might see every day that they should be bringing up to us. Your shelter management, i'm very fortunate that our shelter leadership is very pro pursuing cases, and in doing so, it makes it easier for me. I may not have a large budget for it, but they are supportive of it. So collaboration is extremely important. We need to take the walls down and realize that we will not make progress if we think we have to stay in that little bubble. We start expanding out and getting to know our local solicitor's office, find the people who are, um, more into helping animals and you'd be amazed at what type of exponential impact you can make.

Fantastic. Well, thank you very much for being here and thank you for your presentation.

My pleasure.