How effective are available vaccines in protecting dogs from canine respiratory symptoms caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica (Bb)? The answer to that is unclear, concludes a recent literature review published in The Veterinary Journal. The issues cited in the review: Many studies on the efficacy of vaccines for Bordetella bronchiseptica have flaws in experimental design. A… Learn More
There’s a way raging between Facebook and Google-owned YouTube, and some shelters and rescue groups may find themselves caught in the crossfire. Here’s what they can do to fight back!
No one in animal welfare or veterinary medicine can have missed the news about the outbreak of a new strain of the virus that hit Chicago and nearby communities in the last month. This is the first time this strain has been identified in the United States. What does this outbreak mean for the dogs… Learn More
How can a shelter or rescue group turn media attention on one high-profile pet into adoptions for other pets in the same organization? We've all seen it: The one pet in our shelter or rescue group with a compelling story who captures the media spotlight and garners dozens or hundreds of adoption applications and donations.… Learn More
Because people in animal welfare often see terrible things befall pets, and because of genuine concern for the animals, we’ve sometimes gone overboard in terms of regulating, requiring, constraining, screening and even getting in the way of successful adoptions.
Stress, crowding, noise, the constant influx of new animals with unknown backgrounds, and resource constraints can combine to make our animal shelters prime locations for the spread of infectious disease. It doesn’t have to be that way.
People advocating for neuter-return programs for healthy community cats sometimes get told the cats are being "abandoned" when they're returned to the neighborhoods or areas where they were thriving. What's the legal basis of this objection? Is it true? Best Friends Animal Society, which operates a number of wildly successful community cat programs across the… Learn More
How can your shelter save more cats? Take in fewer of them at a time, give each cat more room and care for them better.
In an effort to save all the injured and sick animals at the city shelter, Austin Pets Alive developed a program for parvovirus treatment and a protocol for distemper treatment. As a result, save rates for these diseases approach an impressive 85 percent. In a presentation at the 2012 Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Conference at the… Learn More
A very short video of someone bottle-feeding three kittens while they lie on their backs on the feeder’s lap, swaddled in a blanket, is making the rounds of Facebook right now. It’s often being shared by rescue groups and shelters, using its cuteness factor to inspire people to foster orphaned kittens.