News January 2011

Shelter Standards: a Tool to Prevent Suffering

There's an important new tool available for animal welfare professionals. Download the Association of Shelter Veterinarians' comprehensive report Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters. The report outlines what is needed to meet the minimum basic needs of companion animals living in population settings.The Guidelines are intended as a positive tool for shelters and communities to review animal care, identify areas that need improvement, allocate resources, and implement solutions so welfare is optimized, euthanasia is minimized, and suffering is prevented.

Don't miss the webinar! If you are part of a sheltering program – whether a formal organization, a small home-based effort, or something in between – you are invited to learn about the standards and how they can be used to help the animals in your community.

Learn about the background behind the report, including how the document should be used and what the authors hoped to achieve by creating standards. Gary Patronek, VMD, PhD, one of the Guidelines' authors, will lead a free 60-minute webinar on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 3pm ET.

Register today as webinar space is limited!

Food Aggression is Treatable & Controllable

Are the dogs in your shelter displaying aggression around the food bowl? Is this making it harder to adopt them out? Don't worry. While food guarding is one of the most commonly assessed aggression issues in shelters, it can be easily modified, making those dogs much more adoptable.

For several years we have been teaching our SAFER students a simple fix for food aggression that has helped to save countless lives in shelters. Based off research conducted with Wisconsin Humane Society, we developed a simple in-shelter and in-home behavior modification plan for dogs who displayed food guarding during the SAFER assessment.

Curious about SAFER? Took a workshop and now need a refresher? Tools and tips previously seen only at SAFER workshops – including the food guarding assessment and modification plan – are now available online for organizations to use immediately. Visit ASPCApro to find SAFER online resources in the form of videos, how-to's, worksheets, and more. Use these SAFER tools to:

• Sharpen staff skills for SAFER certification
• Watch an assessment in action
• Access our tested behavior modification protocols
• Download behavior tips for adopters

Learn more about SAFER — it could be right for your shelter.

How Do You Treat Feline URI?

Treating shelter cats for infectious upper respiratory disease is a common source of cost and frustration for most animal shelters. A new survey is collecting information about the treatment of cats for upper respiratory infections (URI). The information gathered from this survey will help the researchers (Drs. Margaret Slater and Miranda Spindel from the ASPCA, and Auburn University's Dr. Dawn Boothe) better understand how shelters commonly handle this health problem. The survey is the first step in a larger ASPCA project to determine whether certain URI treatments work better in a shelter setting than others.

If you are a shelter staff member who is knowledgeable about your agency's health protocols and feline intake data, please complete the URI survey. Your feedback is confidential. The survey is open through February 15, 2011.

Learn more about this pervasive illness, URI's causes, and treatment options.

Blogging to Save Lives

Looking for laughter, inspiration, and conversation in this new year? Then start reading Shelters' Edge — the hottest read this side of a cage card. Every blog post is full of ideas to help save animals' lives and there's usually a cool video or two to rock your world.

Should old blogs be forgot? Of course not! Here's a compilation of our most popular and most favorite posts from 2010. Topics range from feral cats to dysfunctional teams to streaking to a plain brown dog named Hugh.

Make your brain happy — subscribe to Shelters' Edge today.

Learn How to Operate a S/N Program

"Humane Alliance is the gold standard when it comes to successful high-quality, high volume spay/neuter (HQHVSN)", says Julie Morris, ASPCA Senior Vice President, Community Outreach. "Their unique mentoring program assists organizations to replicate their model program and helps to make real, measurable progress in the fight against pet homelessness and overpopulation."

Humane Alliance is hosting the SNIP! Summit, a national conference covering all aspects of running a S/N program. More than 36 workshops, forums, and wet labs will share the proven strategies of HQHVSN at work. The SNIP! Summit will be in Asheville, NC, March 31 — April 2.

Who should attend?

• Those planning or running a S/N program
• Clinic directors and operators
• S/N veterinarians
• Shelter executives with S/N programs
• Veterinary technicians and assistants
• Anyone fundraising or handling media for S/N clinics

Register today!

The ASPCA Partnership Program is looking for another community — what about yours?