Gigi’s is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 dedicated to improving the lives of shelter dogs. Gigi’s leads a collaborative resource network within the dog sheltering community to improve the health and well-being of shelter dogs and increase efficiencies within the network – all to help more dogs and more organizations in more communities.
Fourth-year veterinary students will spend two weeks at Gigi’s campus in Central, OH and traveling to Shelter Partners in Southern Ohio learning about shelter medicine and live animal transportation. Longer rotations may be approved on a case to case basis. During this time, they will be supervised by Gigi's veterinarians and will be working alongside all of Gigi's team members to learn all facets of our organization. Ideally, students should have their Small Animal Surgery rotation before coming to Gigi’s.
At Gigi's, the medical team consists of two DVMs, two RVTs, and a VA. There is a full hospital within the shelter including two full surgical suites, dental suite with dental radiology, digital radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, two isolation rooms.
The Shelter Partner Liaisons are experienced shelter professionals that help to coach our Shelter Partners and choose the dogs entering the Gigi's program. They have two transport vehicles that are on the road almost every day transporting dogs in from Shelter Partners and out to Adoption Center Partners.
Hours and days needed may change depending on the needs of the shelter and hospital. The shelter is open 8 am - 6 pm, 7 days a week. Students should plan to be working from 8 PM - 6 PM Monday - Friday and at least one weekend during the rotation.
On days in the hospital, they will be in charge of assisting with treatments and keeping up with general population concerns. They will spend time traveling to our Shelter Partners in Southern Ohio.
The student will be expected to complete an approved project that gives back to the mission of Gigi’s. This may be a pilot study, an educational piece for our partners, reviewing protocols, outreach activity, etc. The student may need to work on the project outside of work hours to complete the project.