ABSTRACT
Any time animal abuse or neglect is known or suspected to have occurred, it is important to perform a thorough examination and document all normal and abnormal findings. The examination may take place wherever it is convenient and safe to do so: a clinic, a shelter, or, in some large-scale cases, at the scene, specifically documenting any injury or illness which may be important to the legal case (Munro and Munro 2008). The most important aspect of the forensic examination is that all lesions and areas of the body, regardless of perceived significance, should be observed, described, photographed, and then interpreted. Whenever reasonable, the description should include historical information about the duration of the problem and accurate measurements. In this chapter, we will discuss a forensic examination for a single cat or dog and include information specific to large-scale cases with multiple animals from a single crime scene.
