What do the American Pets Alive! Conference and Maddie’s^® Idea Lab project results have in common? They both offer actionable, lifesaving advice that you can use in your community! And our very own Director of Research, Dr. Sheila D’Arpino, will be presenting some of those actionable findings during her session, Maddie’s^® Idea Lab: Saving Lives And Spreading Good Ideas, at the conference on September 23, 2017.

So, what kind of studies and results can you expect to learn about?

“We’ll talk about several different projects, including results from an adult foster dog program, our national playgroup survey, market research about foster caregivers, as well as the behavior and health of adopted and fostered pets via the Maddie’s^® Pet Assistant mobile app,” said Dr. D’Arpino.

The adult foster dog program study consisted of six municipal shelters across the U.S. that implemented foster dog programs for dogs who had been in their care for more than 30 days. Participating shelters attended an Maddie’s^® Medium and Large Adult Dog Foster Program Apprenticeship at Austin Animal Center to initially learn about program, and to receive an on-site visit and help from project coordinator, Kelly Duer.

“While our over-arching goal with this study is to increase the shelter’s lifesaving capabilities and capacity for care by placing these dogs in foster care and finding homes while they’re there, we’re also looking at changes in behavior of dogs in foster care versus in the shelter,” explained Dr. D’Arpino. “Because there’s the theory that behavior changes once in a home environment as opposed to a shelter, we’ll be looking exactly at that: Does behavior change in a foster home? And, how exactly does it change? We’ll be sharing some preliminary results from that study and how other foster programs can use this information.”

Who will benefit from this information? Dr. D’Arpino says that it’s good for everyone but best as “next-level fostering” for those who already have a foster program. She explains that many organizations’ foster programs start with kittens, puppies, or some kind of special populations for care. But adult dogs, especially bigger dogs, can be more challenging to find foster homes for, and these dogs really seem to recover and thrive in foster homes when they are stressed and deteriorating in a shelter.

“If a shelter has a foster program but wouldn’t consider sending a dog who’s been in the shelter for months or more because the idea is too daunting, this program can really help them because it’s doing that over and over again with lots of success.” The training for this program also helps with all aspects of foster care programs, including finding homes for foster dogs.

As for the national playgroup survey, you’ll learn what people are doing with playgroups across the country, how can we learn from them, and how can that spur further research and education about playgroups.

“We sent out a national survey to look at several different aspects of playgroups, including how people run their playgroups, common practices, what tools are used, when they’re used and the frequency of use,” said Dr. D’Arpino. “We’re also looking at the size of the actual group, like three dogs versus 20, how that affects the experience of those leading the playgroups, training for those leading playgroups, etc. The results are pretty interesting.”

Maybe you’re more interested in recruiting foster caregivers? Dr. D’Arpino will also share a few key findings from our prospective foster caregiver study. “I won’t give it away right now, but we’ll be sharing some of the best ways to get new fosters. And anyone can do it!”

The final question she’ll answer is, “What happens to a pet after he goes to a new home (whether foster or adoptive)?” Dr. D’Arpino will share some of the new data from our Maddie’s^® Pet Assistant app, which will touch on the frequency of problems when pets go to a new home and what you can learn from them.

Don’t miss Dr. Sheila D’Arpino’s session at the American Pet’s Alive! Conference to learn more and apply key findings to save lives in your community. Not yet registered for the conference? Register now and use code: THANKSMADDIE for $25 off. See you there!