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Faunalytics founder Che Green explains how data can boost shelters' effectiveness
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Crunching the numbers
Do numbers make you wince? Studies make your eyes glaze over? Data collection send you running for the hills? Who has time for research, you might ask, when we're all so busy caring for animals and finding them new homes? Well, a change of perspective might be in order: Numbers are your friends, and they can help you do your job more effectively. From tracking intakes and outcomes to surveying your community or studying program effectiveness, research and data can enhance your ability to enrich animals' lives and shorten their paths to new families. Read more in Crunching the numbers.
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Animal Sheltering empowers shelter professionals and rescue groups to help create a world where people and animals thrive—living happy, healthy lives together through four key areas working to:
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'Return' is not a dirty word
Pets who come back present opportunities for us to learn.
When I travel the country sharing the Adopters Welcome philosophy with shelters and rescue groups, there’s one refrain I hear over and over: “But if we eliminate our home checks, landlord checks and other hurdles and actually embrace people who want to adopt, rather than scrutinize and judge them, the animal might get returned!”
My standard response: "So what?"
Now, stay with me here: I'm not suggesting we don't all share the desire for a lifelong, loving home for every pet—we do! But the notion that an adoption has to be perfect and last the animal’s entire natural life or else it’s a complete and utter failure may not be realistic, and it may not be useful in terms of saving lives. ...
Keep reading!
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Minds over matters
How functional MRI can identify animals’ anxieties and prevent problem behaviors
For the last six years, as part of our study of canine cognition, my colleagues and I at Emory University in Atlanta have been teaching dogs to lie still during MRI procedures without restraint or sedation.
In humans, we use a technique called functional MRI (fMRI) to measure brain activity while the person is engaged in some type of mental task. The great thing about fMRI is that it doesn’t require any injections or radioactivity, and it provides a window into the workings of the brain. In 2011, I launched a project to see if fMRI would also work with dogs to see what they’re thinking and feeling. It began with Callie, my adopted terrier-mix, who learned to lie in the scanner for a steady supply of praise and treats. Our early success paved the way for other people to volunteer to train their dogs for fMRI. Within a year we had a team of a dozen “MRI-dogs.” ... Keep reading!
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Trainings & Events
Rethink the Cat in Kansas and Oklahoma
The Humane State Program (HSP) is hosting Rethinking the Cat, our renowned symposium on cat policy, advocacy and care, next week in Kansas and Oklahoma. Shelters, rescues, ACOs, trap-neuter-return (TNR)/cat colony caretakers and advocates will have the opportunity to learn, network and share as they join their colleagues for a day that’s all about cats! Lunch and coffee will be provided, and valuable prizes will be raffled.
» Register today!
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| » Trainings and Events |
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| FAQ |
Disaster FAQ
Learn more about animal rescue efforts that are underway in the wake of Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey, as well as the wildfires in Oregon and Montana.
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Reconcilable differences
The work of protecting animals is always challenging, but it becomes even thornier when the interests of different species seem to be in conflict. Such scenarios aren’t limited to cats and wildlife, but as trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs have become more common, community cats have taken center stage in the animals vs. animals debate.
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Photo credits: Crunching the numbers illustration by Bussolati Associates;'Return' is not a dirty word photo by JBryson/iStock.com; Minds over matters photo courtesy of Gregory Berns; Humane State presents Rethinking the Cat Symposium photo by Nicole Marie Thomas/The HSUS; Disaster FAQ photo by Anthony Rathburn/AP Images for the HSUS; Reconcilable differences photo by Marco Garcia/For The HSUS
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