Ten years ago, a veterinary practice could run on paper charts, a phone, and a filing cabinet. Some still do. But the profession has shifted — not because technology is inherently exciting, but because the volume of data, the expectations of clients, and the complexity of modern veterinary care demand better systems.
The same goes for animal behavior consultants, wildlife researchers, and shelter operations staff. Whether you’re tracking patient records, coding behavioral ethograms, or managing a shelter population of 400 animals, the right software makes the difference between drowning in busywork and actually doing your job.
Here’s what’s being used across the field, what it costs, and whether it’s worth the money.
Practice Management Software
Practice management systems (PMS) are the backbone of veterinary operations. They handle scheduling, medical records, invoicing, inventory, prescription management, and client communication. Choosing the wrong one wastes thousands of hours.
Cornerstone (IDEXX)
Cornerstone has been the market leader for over 20 years. It’s a server-based system (not cloud) that handles everything from appointment scheduling to integrated IDEXX lab results. Most corporate veterinary groups run Cornerstone or a close competitor.
Strengths: deep integration with IDEXX laboratory equipment and diagnostics, extensive reporting, large user community. Weaknesses: the interface looks like it was designed in 2005 (because it was), server-based architecture means IT headaches, pricing is opaque and expensive — expect $15,000-$25,000 upfront plus ongoing licensing.
eVetPractice
A cloud-based alternative that’s gained significant market share among small and mid-sized practices. Monthly subscription model ($200-$400/month depending on features), accessible from any browser, no server to maintain.
eVetPractice handles electronic medical records, inventory, QuickBooks integration, and prescription management. The interface is cleaner than Cornerstone but less feature-rich. For a two-doctor practice that doesn’t want to hire an IT person, it’s a strong choice.
Shepherd Veterinary Software
The newest serious competitor. Shepherd launched with a modern cloud-native architecture and a focus on workflow automation. AI-assisted SOAP note generation (using natural language processing to convert dictated notes into structured records) is its standout feature.
Pricing starts around $250/month per provider. It’s still building out its feature set, but practices that adopt it report significant time savings on documentation — the most hated part of clinical practice.
AVImark (Covetrus/Patterson)
Another legacy system with a huge installed base. Similar to Cornerstone in architecture and functionality. Patterson’s acquisition by Covetrus has created some uncertainty about long-term support, but the platform remains widely used, especially in the Midwest and rural practices.
Shelter Management Software
Animal shelters have different needs than private practices. They track animal intake, stray holds, behavior evaluations, foster placements, adoptions, transfers, and euthanasia data. Two platforms dominate.
Shelter Animals Count / Shelterluv
Shelterluv is a cloud-based shelter management platform used by over 1,000 shelters and rescues. It handles the entire animal lifecycle from intake to outcome, integrates with adoption platforms like Petfinder and Adopt-a-Pet, and provides the data reporting that grant funders require.
Free for qualifying rescue organizations. Paid tiers for larger shelters start at $100/month. The interface is intuitive enough that volunteer staff can use it without extensive training — a real advantage when turnover is high.
PetPoint (Pethealth)
PetPoint is the other major player, used by many municipal shelters and humane societies. It’s more robust than Shelterluv for large-scale operations and integrates with microchip databases and licensing systems. The interface is dated, and the learning curve is steeper, but it handles the complexity of a 10,000-animal-per-year intake shelter better than lighter-weight alternatives.
Research and Data Analysis Tools
Animal science researchers — whether in academia, wildlife management, or applied behavior — need tools for data collection, statistical analysis, and visualization. Research methods have become deeply reliant on these platforms.
R and RStudio
R is the dominant statistical programming language in animal science research. Free, open-source, and supported by thousands of specialized packages. The lme4 package for mixed-effects models, survival for survival analysis, and ggplot2 for data visualization are standard in published animal science research.
Learning curve: steep. A beginner needs 40-80 hours to become functional. But there’s no substitute — if you’re doing publishable research in animal behavior, ecology, or veterinary epidemiology, R proficiency is expected. Several free online courses cover R specifically for life sciences applications.
BORIS (Behavioral Observation Research Interactive Software)
BORIS is a free, open-source tool for coding behavioral observations from video. Researchers define an ethogram (a catalog of behaviors), then code video frame-by-frame or in real-time. It exports data in formats compatible with R and Excel.
Before BORIS, behavioral researchers paid $1,500+ for The Observer XT from Noldus. BORIS covers 90% of the same functionality at zero cost. It’s become the standard in animal behavior labs on a budget — which is most of them.
GIS Software: ArcGIS Pro and QGIS
Geographic Information Systems are indispensable for wildlife management, habitat analysis, and conservation planning. ArcGIS Pro (Esri) is the industry standard but costs $100-$700/year depending on license type. QGIS is the free open-source alternative with comparable functionality for most tasks.
Wildlife biologists use GIS to map animal movement data from GPS collars, model habitat suitability, analyze landscape connectivity, and plan conservation corridors. Conservation career listings increasingly list GIS proficiency as a minimum requirement.
Movebank
Movebank is a free online database and research platform for animal tracking data, hosted by the Max Planck Institute. Researchers upload GPS, satellite, and radio-tracking data from tagged animals and can share it publicly or with collaborators. Over 6 billion animal locations are stored in the system as of 2025.
It’s become the standard repository for movement ecology data and integrates with R packages for trajectory analysis.
Imaging and Diagnostics
Digital Radiography Systems
Film is dead in veterinary radiology. Digital radiography (DR) systems from Sound Technologies (now Covetrus), IDEXX, and others produce images in seconds, with software for measurement, annotation, and DICOM-compliant storage. A complete DR system costs $25,000-$60,000 depending on plate size and image quality.
Cloud-based image storage and telemedicine integration allow practices to send radiographs to board-certified veterinary radiologists for remote interpretation. Services like VetCT and Antech Imaging provide 24/7 radiology reads for $35-$65 per study.
Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
Portable ultrasound has gone from a $50,000 specialty tool to a $2,000 handheld device. The Butterfly iQ+ and similar probe-on-phone systems put basic abdominal and cardiac imaging in the hands of any veterinarian willing to invest 20-30 hours in focused training.
POCUS doesn’t replace a full abdominal ultrasound performed by a specialist, but it answers binary questions quickly: Is there free fluid in the abdomen? Is the bladder distended? Is the gallbladder wall thickened? In emergency practice, those answers can be life-or-death, and getting them in 2 minutes rather than waiting for a specialist changes patient outcomes.
Telemedicine Platforms
Veterinary telemedicine exploded during COVID-19 and hasn’t gone back. State regulations vary — some states require an existing veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) before telemedicine consultations, others don’t — but the technology is here to stay.
Vetster
Vetster connects pet owners with licensed veterinarians for video consultations. Veterinarians set their own rates ($50-$100 per consultation is typical) and schedules. The platform handles booking, payment processing, and medical records. For veterinary professionals looking for supplemental income or a flexible side practice, it’s the most established option.
TeleTails
TeleTails is designed for practices that want to offer telemedicine as part of their existing service menu rather than through a third-party marketplace. It integrates with practice management systems and allows follow-up consultations, post-surgical check-ins, and triage calls. Pricing is per-practice and includes white-labeling.
Behavior and Training Technology
The applied animal behavior field has adopted several digital tools that didn’t exist a decade ago.
Activity Monitors
FitBark and PetPace are wearable devices that track animal activity, sleep patterns, and (in PetPace’s case) physiological parameters like heart rate variability and respiration. Clinicians use this data to monitor treatment response in behavior cases — a dog on anti-anxiety medication should show measurable changes in activity patterns and sleep quality.
These devices generate objective behavioral data. Owners’ reports of “he seems better” are subjective and unreliable. Activity monitor data showing a 40% reduction in nighttime restlessness is something you can measure and track over time.
Pet Cameras with AI
Furbo, Wyze, and similar pet cameras with motion-triggered recording allow behavior consultants to observe animals in their home environment — something that was logistically impossible before consumer camera technology. Separation anxiety cases, in particular, benefit enormously from video of what the dog actually does when the owner leaves, as opposed to what the owner imagines the dog does.
Project and Practice Management
Beyond clinical software, animal science professionals need basic business and productivity tools. This is the area where many veterinary and animal welfare professionals have the biggest skill gaps.
Practice financial management through QuickBooks or Xero. Staff scheduling through When I Work or Deputy. Client communication through platforms like PetDesk or Vet2Pet. These aren’t glamorous, but practices that implement them properly see measurable improvements in client retention and revenue.
For those looking to build these operational skills, online learning platforms offer targeted courses in small business management and practice administration that are directly applicable to veterinary and animal welfare operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What practice management software should a small veterinary clinic use?
For a 1-3 doctor practice, cloud-based systems like eVetPractice or Shepherd offer the best balance of functionality and simplicity. You avoid server maintenance costs, access records from anywhere, and pay monthly instead of a large upfront fee. If you’re already embedded in the IDEXX diagnostic ecosystem, Cornerstone’s lab integration is a strong pull — but expect higher total cost of ownership.
Is GIS training necessary for wildlife biology careers?
Yes. GIS proficiency has moved from “nice to have” to “minimum requirement” for most wildlife biologist positions at state and federal agencies. At minimum, you should be functional in either ArcGIS Pro or QGIS. QGIS is free and is a perfectly acceptable skill for job applications — employers care that you can do spatial analysis, not which specific software you learned on.
How much does a veterinary practice spend on technology annually?
A typical small animal practice spends $15,000 to $40,000 per year on technology, including practice management software licensing, diagnostic equipment maintenance contracts, cloud storage, and telemedicine platforms. This figure doesn’t include the initial capital investment in digital radiography, ultrasound, and laboratory equipment, which can total $100,000-$250,000.
Can animal shelters use free software effectively?
Shelterluv offers a free tier that handles basic shelter management for small rescues. Combined with free tools like Google Workspace for Nonprofits, Canva for social media graphics, and BORIS for behavior observations, a small shelter can build a functional technology stack at minimal cost. The limitation is in data integration — free tools don’t talk to each other the way paid integrated systems do.
What digital skills should animal science graduates prioritize?
In order of employer demand: spreadsheet proficiency (Excel and Google Sheets), basic statistical software (R or JMP), database management, GIS fundamentals, and scientific writing with reference management (Zotero or Mendeley). Social media management is also increasingly valued by conservation organizations and shelters, though it’s rarely taught in science programs.
