Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Behavior Support for Long-Stay Shelter Cats and Dogs
About this Webinar
Animals who may be in your shelter's care for extended periods can suffer from chronic anxiety, social isolation, or inadequate enrichment. Proactive planning for long-stay animals who need medical or behavioral treatment, are a part of pending court cases, or have special adoption needs, can prevent behavioral and mental deterioration. Gain new ideas and get answers to your questions about behavioral and mental support for long-stay animals from experts across medical, operations, and behavior disciplines.
Takeaways
- Proactive steps staff and volunteers can take to prevent behavior issues from developing in long-stay shelter animals
- Creative solutions that engage medical, operations, and behavior teams in a collaborative effort
- Tools and ideas to expand current programming for long-stay shelter animals to better meet behavioral health care needs
Suited For
Animal behavior and shelter professionals and volunteers.
Becky Stuntebeck
DVM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine), Veterinarian Director, Shelter Outreach – Northern Tier Shelter Initiative, ASPCA
Dr. Stuntebeck joined the ASPCA team as a director with the Northern Tier Shelter Initiative in 2021. Prior to joining the NTSI, she was the medical director of the veterinary team at Dane County Humane Society. Her areas of interest include the role of community collaboration in mitigating pet homelessness, proactive shelter population management, and infectious disease prevention in shelters. She obtained her DVM degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. She completed a shelter medicine internship in 2014 and a shelter medicine residency with the UW Shelter Medicine Program in 2018, completing board certification through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners that fall.
Lisa Stemcosky
CCBC, CPDT-KA, SBA, Feline Behavior Manager, Humane Rescue Alliance
Lisa Stemcosky is a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She is the Feline Behavior Manager at Humane Rescue Alliance where she works with staff and volunteers to improve the lives of cats in and out of the shelter by providing behavior and training support as well as educating the community. Since 2017, Lisa has been a mentor for the Jackson Galaxy Project, Cat Pawsitive Pro. As a mentor for Cat Pawsitive Pro, Lisa advises and mentors staff members and volunteers in shelters across the US on how to implement feline behavior modification programs in their shelter. Lisa also owns, Pawlitically Correct, an in-home cat behavior consulting business. Based in Washington DC, Lisa provides behavior modification plans and support to clients in the DC metropolitan area and beyond.
Bridget Schoville
Senior Director of Shelter Behavior Science, Behavioral Sciences Team, ASPCA
Bridget Schoville serves as Senior Director, Shelter Behavior Science, for the ASPCA’s Behavioral Sciences Team (BST). In her role, Bridget directs the BST’s Behavior Partnership Program. The aim of this program is to internally align the ASPCA’s behavior teams by creating and sharing foundational tools for shelter behavior best practices. Bridget leads her team of BST Liaisons in partnering with ASPCA behavior teams; providing animal behavior support and resources necessary to elevate the quality of behavioral health care and reduce euthanasia of adoptable animals across the organization. Previously, Bridget managed the ASPCA’s temporary shelter behavior program for animal victims of cruelty, neglect, and disasters. Bridget has 20 years of professional experience in animal behavior; conducting behavioral research and managing diverse animal populations at universities, zoos, animal shelters and in the field. Bridget brings with her extensive experience in animal sheltering, behavior assessment, animal handling, behavior modification, behavior program development, and leadership. She holds a master’s degree in Biology-Applied Animal Behavior from the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign.
Joe Hinkle
CAWA, Senior Director of Operations, Cruelty Recovery Center, ASPCA
Joe has spent the last 16 years working in animal welfare, serving in roles from Manager of Admissions and Behavior to Animal Control Officer, to Director of Operations in two shelters, to running an outreach program and the largest TNR program in Kansas City. Joe first started working with the ASPCA in 2011 as a responder in Caruthersville, MO, and, soon after, in Joplin, MO. He went on to participate in multiple deployments, taking on several responsibilities over the next years, including Shelter Lead, Safety Lead, Medical Lead, Behavior Lead, and Agency Rep. In 2017, Joe joined the ASPCA as Shelter Director for the FIR Team (now the National Field Response Team) before becoming the Senior Director of Operations at the CRC. Since his hire, Joe has designed, set up, and run temporary shelters in warehouses (lots), in fairgrounds, under tents, in an old hospital, and in an empty grocery store, helped set up and run emergency shelters in OH, WI, IA, FL, MO, NY, IN, CA, NC, SC, LA, and St. Croix, worked in Montecito after the mudslides-going into multimillion-dollar homes to care for chickens, finches, flamingos, and bees, worked with a cross-departmental group of experts to revise our chicken care and housing SOPs, trained and supervised an ever-rotating cast of responders and volunteers, and coordinated efforts with behavior, medical, logistics and operations teammates to best serve the animals in our care. In his free time, Joe likes to spend time with his wife, Leila, daughter, Annabelle, and their two dogs, Millie and Finn. They all like to hike in the woods, watch/play soccer, cook, and, whenever possible, relax in the mountains. Joe loves to read and, when he isn’t working, can usually be found with a book or Kindle in his hand.
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