Did a recent study really suggest animal shelters stop evaluating dogs for temperament and adoption? Not exactly. The study, authored by Dr. Gary J. Patronek of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts and Janis Bradley of the National Canine Research Council, was published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior in August. Its central… Learn More
Do you have 15 minutes to help develop feline behavior assessments to help cats find homes, or stay in the home they already have? The Feline Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (Fe-BARQ) is a survey designed by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania to provide cat owners and specialists with a standardized method for evaluating… Learn More
Can your children see the world from the point of view of a dog, cat or other animal? Would they more easily experience empathy and compassion if they could? A new app designed to take young readers into an animals-eye view of the world while getting and keeping their attention is designed to help children… Learn More
Does your shelter or rescue group counsel adopters on how to carefully and gradually introduce a new cat into the family? If so, many of your adopters may well be ignoring your advice — and things work out anyway. A couple of weeks ago, Million Cat Challenge co-founder Dr. Kate Hurley of the UC Davis… Learn More
Cats scratch. They scratch where they should — cat trees, scratch pads — and where they shouldn’t — drapes, carpets, furniture. Scratching is a natural and important activity for cats, but it can come into conflict when cats practice it in a human home. At the 2014 Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Program at the University of… Learn More
Most of us in animal welfare are on board with the concept of community cats — unowned cats who live in neighborhoods, some feral, some social. Can that concept work for dogs, too? It’s not an idea that sits easily with most people. Communities with large numbers of stray dogs in the U.S. are rare,… Learn More
It’s the most important step you can take to help a newly adopted puppy mill dog adjust, say experts: If you don’t already have one, get another dog. While patience is the quality most needed by puppy mill rescue adopters, research conducted by Dr. Frank McMillan and presented at the University of Florida Maddie’s® Shelter… Learn More
What if playing and interacting with shelter pets didn’t help them get adopted more easily? Would that be a reason to stop? Absolutely not, and here’s why. A number of studies in recent years have looked at the impact of toys, play, grooming and human interaction on pets in shelters. Some have shown those interventions… Learn More
Spring is already here in some parts of the country, and knocking on the door of the rest. To those of us in the sheltering world, that doesn’t mean spring flowers or spring showers… it means kitten season. Maddie’s Institute® is here to help with this list of kitten season resources! Orphaned Kitten Care How-To… Learn More
A stranger stops you in the street and tells you his dog is missing. Would you know what to tell him? Thanks to her time volunteering for Lost Dogs Minnesota, Linda Conrad did. Conrad was packing up her van for a trip one morning when a car stopped in her driveway. He’d noticed the dog… Learn More