Comments on: Who Are The Stray Animals In Our Shelters? http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2012/06/who-are-the-stray-animals-in-our-shelters/ Shelters' Edge Blog: We're talking about saving animals' lives here. Mon, 20 May 2013 18:34:31 +0000 hourly 1 By: Christine http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2012/06/who-are-the-stray-animals-in-our-shelters/comment-page-1/#comment-52008 Christine Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:01:23 +0000 http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/?p=10877#comment-52008 This topic is one I've been trying to learn more about in order to get more lost pets back home, decrease the number of stray cats and help increase adoptions (almost one third of owned cats are believed to have been obtained as strays). Kat Albrecht has a free recorded webinar online (on the Petfinder site) called "Think Lost, Not Stray" that identifies many barriers to increasing the return to owner rate. I helped return a found cat to her family after a cat followed my neighbor home. The cat had to stay at our home, and I posted ads online on several sites. The neighbor posted a found cat poster in the nearby corner store. The cat's owner saw the poster and phoned by neighbor very early in the morning. The family were very eager to get the young, intact female cat back. When I drove the cat about six blocks to her home, the family showed me photos on the computer to prove she belonged to them. Since they had a computer and Internet access, I was curious and asked why they didn't look for online ads or post any. The young father told me that people help stray dogs, not stray cats. (I hope he no longer believes that!) This mindset is another barrier we need to overcome. I will keep trying to get my city, dog, TNR and rescue groups to let pet owners know about the free info online about how and where to search for lost pets. Sites like Missing Pet Partnership, the related blog and Cats in the Bag (dot) org have very helpful and unique recovery tips because they're species specific and behavior specific. This info is proactive and can help decrease the number of pets who enter shelters or end up living as strays. (The cat I returned to her home was very friendly and followed my neighbor. MPP notes cats with that personality trait results in cats who travel further from home and requires different recovery techniques than fearful cats.) Increasing the number of pets with ID is helpful. The City of Calgary in Alberta, Canada has the highest return to owner rate in North America (86 percent of dogs and 55 percent of cats picked up by animal services were returned to their homes in 2010) . They have removed barriers to licensing pets and offer incentives such as a discount savings reward card (I Heart My Pet) in exchange for what they call Responsible Pet Ownership. Licensing compliance is 90 percent for dogs and at least 50 percent for cats. The cities of Regina and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan have followed suit. Their rewards programs are both called My Pet Matters. In Calgary, people understand that licencing fees, not taxes, support programs and services for animals and education about responsible pet ownership; this is another incentive to purchase pet licenses. Programs funded this way include veterinary care for shelter animals and emergency vet care for injured strays, free spay/neuter for pets of low income families, dog bite prevention education and more. They will drive licensed pets directly home. I believe they will also deliver found pet flyers to neighborhood where stray animals have been picked up. (Animal services does not accept owner surrenders. Their Humane Society offers info and assistance with pet retention and will accept owner surrenders.) I'm not sure we can know the true number of lost pets that end up in shelters since pet owners can state that their unwanted pets are strays if they relinquish them to shelters. This topic is one I’ve been trying to learn more about in order to get more lost pets back home, decrease the number of stray cats and help increase adoptions (almost one third of owned cats are believed to have been obtained as strays). Kat Albrecht has a free recorded webinar online (on the Petfinder site) called “Think Lost, Not Stray” that identifies many barriers to increasing the return to owner rate.

I helped return a found cat to her family after a cat followed my neighbor home. The cat had to stay at our home, and I posted ads online on several sites. The neighbor posted a found cat poster in the nearby corner store. The cat’s owner saw the poster and phoned by neighbor very early in the morning. The family were very eager to get the young, intact female cat back.

When I drove the cat about six blocks to her home, the family showed me photos on the computer to prove she belonged to them. Since they had a computer and Internet access, I was curious and asked why they didn’t look for online ads or post any. The young father told me that people help stray dogs, not stray cats. (I hope he no longer believes that!) This mindset is another barrier we need to overcome.

I will keep trying to get my city, dog, TNR and rescue groups to let pet owners know about the free info online about how and where to search for lost pets. Sites like Missing Pet Partnership, the related blog and Cats in the Bag (dot) org have very helpful and unique recovery tips because they’re species specific and behavior specific. This info is proactive and can help decrease the number of pets who enter shelters or end up living as strays. (The cat I returned to her home was very friendly and followed my neighbor. MPP notes cats with that personality trait results in cats who travel further from home and requires different recovery techniques than fearful cats.)

Increasing the number of pets with ID is helpful. The City of Calgary in Alberta, Canada has the highest return to owner rate in North America (86 percent of dogs and 55 percent of cats picked up by animal services were returned to their homes in 2010) . They have removed barriers to licensing pets and offer incentives such as a discount savings reward card (I Heart My Pet) in exchange for what they call Responsible Pet Ownership. Licensing compliance is 90 percent for dogs and at least 50 percent for cats. The cities of Regina and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan have followed suit. Their rewards programs are both called My Pet Matters.

In Calgary, people understand that licencing fees, not taxes, support programs and services for animals and education about responsible pet ownership; this is another incentive to purchase pet licenses. Programs funded this way include veterinary care for shelter animals and emergency vet care for injured strays, free spay/neuter for pets of low income families, dog bite prevention education and more. They will drive licensed pets directly home. I believe they will also deliver found pet flyers to neighborhood where stray animals have been picked up. (Animal services does not accept owner surrenders. Their Humane Society offers info and assistance with pet retention and will accept owner surrenders.)

I’m not sure we can know the true number of lost pets that end up in shelters since pet owners can state that their unwanted pets are strays if they relinquish them to shelters.

]]> By: Emily Weiss http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2012/06/who-are-the-stray-animals-in-our-shelters/comment-page-1/#comment-49422 Emily Weiss Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:36:54 +0000 http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/?p=10877#comment-49422 Jeane - first, thank you for your work as a volunteer! Your hard work is an important piece of the work to get dogs and cats safely home. Regarding your comment, interestingly, our research found that the vast majority of those that lost a dog did recover the dog, and the majority of cat owners did as well. I do agree that there is a possibility that a fine may pose a barrier to some pet owners who are in great finanical jepardy, and that we should look for solutions to support those folks so they can bring their pets back home. However, that number still would not account for the number of strays in our shelters. Jeane – first, thank you for your work as a volunteer! Your hard work is an important piece of the work to get dogs and cats safely home. Regarding your comment, interestingly, our research found that the vast majority of those that lost a dog did recover the dog, and the majority of cat owners did as well. I do agree that there is a possibility that a fine may pose a barrier to some pet owners who are in great finanical jepardy, and that we should look for solutions to support those folks so they can bring their pets back home. However, that number still would not account for the number of strays in our shelters.

]]> By: Jeanne http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2012/06/who-are-the-stray-animals-in-our-shelters/comment-page-1/#comment-49034 Jeanne Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:20:08 +0000 http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/?p=10877#comment-49034 I believe ( from experience as a volunteer) that the pets that are found and turned into shelters are actually lost because they were allowed to free roam but never recovered or ID'd by owners because: 1- owners don't want to pay fines to recover them, 2- do not know where their local shelter is, 3- if they wait 1 or 2 days to look, then the pet may have been euthanized because of short time allowed at kill-shelters. I believe ( from experience as a volunteer) that the pets that are found and turned into shelters are actually lost because they were allowed to free roam but never recovered or ID’d by owners because: 1- owners don’t want to pay fines to recover them, 2- do not know where their local shelter is, 3- if they wait 1 or 2 days to look, then the pet may have been euthanized because of short time allowed at kill-shelters.

]]> By: Emily Weiss http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2012/06/who-are-the-stray-animals-in-our-shelters/comment-page-1/#comment-48354 Emily Weiss Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:55:27 +0000 http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/?p=10877#comment-48354 Tricia - Thanks for your comment. If you follow the link to the research you can see how that variable was handled. Tricia –
Thanks for your comment. If you follow the link to the research you can see how that variable was handled.

]]> By: Tricia Breen http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2012/06/who-are-the-stray-animals-in-our-shelters/comment-page-1/#comment-48348 Tricia Breen Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:29:05 +0000 http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/?p=10877#comment-48348 The recovery rate is probably not very surprising. People willing to participate in the survey are those that are committed to their pets and willing to share their experiences. Those that decline survey participation might be less so. Selection. The recovery rate is probably not very surprising. People willing to participate in the survey are those that are committed to their pets and willing to share their experiences. Those that decline survey participation might be less so. Selection.

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