See you at the Best Friends Conference
The Individual Animal
info_outline
E15 | Lisa Gunter- Week long fosters, short-term outings, labeling dogs and more
The Individual Animal
Dr. Lisa Gunter, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, discusses her journey into animal welfare research, including her work on breed labels, fostering, and field trips for shelter dogs. She shares insights on the impact of these programs and the importance of individualized care for shelter animals. Dr. Lisa Gunter discusses her work at Virginia Tech, including a hybrid fostering program for dogs and a shelter training program for students. She also shares insights into a collaborative study on post-adoption outcomes for dogs with biting behavior. Dr. Gunter emphasizes the importance of...
info_outline
E14 | Kate Hartlund - Milwaukee Area Domestic Animals Control
The Individual Animal
In this conversation, Nikki and Kate discuss their experiences in animal welfare and their work at different shelters. They talk about their past internships, the challenges of working in animal shelters, and the importance of community engagement. Kate shares her role as the volunteer and community engagement coordinator at MADACC and the various initiatives she has implemented to increase adoptions and engage with the community. They also discuss the difficulties of the current dog overpopulation crisis and the need for innovative adoption programs Show Notes: Training...
info_outline
E13 | Mike Kaviani - Impact on Dogs in a Stressful Environment
The Individual Animal
Mike shares his journey in animal welfare, starting as a kennel attendant and working his way up to becoming the Chief Operating Officer of Brandywine Valley SPCA. He emphasizes the importance of advocating for oneself and taking opportunities to learn and grow in the field. Mike discusses the impact of the stressful shelter environment on dogs' behavior and highlights the need for social interaction, exercise, and mental stimulation.
info_outline
Join us at the HSUS Animal Sheltering EXPO!
The Individual Animal
Hi everyone, there won't be a full episode this week. However, if you're going to the HSUS Expo, we'd love it if you could visit our table and say hello to Ashley and Nikki! We have a bunch of fantastic resources to share, as well as some cool giveaways.
info_outline
E12 | Jessica Hekman DVM, PhD - The Functional Dog Collaborative
The Individual Animal
In this conversation, Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD discusses the work of the Functional Dog Collaborative (FDC) and the need to improve dog breeding practices in North America. She highlights the issues with current breeding practices, including the prevalence of large-scale commercial kennels. Jessica emphasizes the importance of moving the needle towards responsible breeding practices and reducing the number of dogs ending up in shelters. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the concept of heritability and its implications for selective breeding. In this conversation, Jessica Hekman...
info_outline
E11 | Amy Marder - Tailoring Behavior Observations to Individual Dogs
The Individual Animal
In this conversation, veterinarian and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Amy Marder discusses the importance of recognizing that every dog is an individual and that behavior evaluations should be tailored to each dog's unique needs. She emphasizes the need for guidelines and observational methods to understand a dog's behavior and provide appropriate support. The conversation also touches on the stress levels in shelters, the benefits of foster homes, and the importance of considering a dog's behavior in their previous home when making adoption decisions. Shelter Medicine Courses - ...
info_outline
E10 | Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter OH - Playgroups with Amanda & Mindy
The Individual Animal
Join us this week as we chat with Amanda Kopec and Mindy Naticchioni from Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter and discuss the positive impacts playgroups have had on their organization. Instagram Facebook Tik tok Website The stats for Cuyahoga County we mention in the episode are: Dynamic Stats: Cuyahoga County Shelter Director reported stats since Playgroup implementation: • 176% increase in volunteer hours • 62% decrease in bites • 20% decrease in LOS = average of 4.2 days/dog • 20% increase in adoption rate • 3.8% decrease in Returned Adoptions
info_outline
E9 | Chrissy Blake - Old Dominion Humane Society - Removing Labels and Other Program
The Individual Animal
Join us this week as we review the outcome of reintroducing breed labels to our online listings. Additionally, we have the opportunity to speak with Chrissy Blake, the Director of the , in Fredrickburgh VA, and discuss her shelters experiences with removal labels and other exciting projects she is involved in.
info_outline
E8 | Marketing for Animal Shelters with Caitlin Quinn
The Individual Animal
Learn valuable marketing tips and tricks for animal shelters on this week's episode, featuring the special guest, Caitlin Quinn. Some links based on our convo: Top 5 Animal Shelteing Organization to Follow: HeARTs Speak is launching some learn-at-your-own pace courses this spring so keep an eye out for those and, in the meantime, they are always adding more tools to the Marketing Resource Center.
info_outlineIn 2018, My Pit Bull Is Family volunteers called over 300 supposedly dog friendly apartments in the Twin Cities. What they found was that only 12 of them accepted dogs regardless of what they looked like.
The reality is that when people surrender their dogs because they’ve moved, it’s not necessarily because they are heartless. It’s more than likely because they have nowhere to go that will accept their pet. The Twin Cities encompasses Minneapolis and St. Paul, plus several surrounding suburbs. That’s a large area with a big population of individuals. Individuals who cannot simply pick up and move to a completely different geographic location.
The lack of pet owner accessible housing is a real issue and when we talk about why dogs are being surrendered to shelters, this is one of the main issues that we need to address. We need to not shame the owners. We need to look at how we can work with landlords and property managers, as well as communities, to fix what is broken.
On top of that, Shannon mentions that many of the pet owner accessible apartments are not affordable. We all know that there is a huge shortage of affordable housing across the country. That number shrinks even further for people who have pets.
For Shannon, and also for us at AFF, the way to address these issues is to work together. In the podcast, Shannon talks about the importance of building a community with organizations and individuals to help you achieve your goals.
Along those lines, we talk about something we discussed in our previous housing podcast, property managers and landlords aren’t the enemy. Most people are reasonable. When we view individuals as allies rather than adversaries, we get a lot farther in bringing dogs and people together to end discrimination.