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16No more guessing gamesIt doesn’t take a marketing degree to know that, in

the sheltering business, you shouldn’t be naming your

dogs things like Trouble, Biter, Loud Mouth, Dimwit

or Sir Sheds-A-Lot. But could you unintentionally be

creating the same effect every time you put a breed

label on a kennel card? Learn how the combination

of breed stereotypes and breed guesses often works

against the best interests of dogs and adopters—and

why more shelters are choosing breed-free ways to

describe the dogs in their care.

24 | (Transporting) across the divideThat most basic of economic laws—supply and demand—surely applies to shelter

animals. Transport programs can benefit both the regions with an overabundance of cats

and dogs and the areas that have a surplus of eager adopters. But trucking pets across

state lines—and ensuring their safety and well-being along the way—is a complicated

enterprise, particularly in the post-Hurricane Katrina world. Here’s how some shelters

and rescues are coping with the increased regulation while addressing the root causes

of overpopulation.

41 | Seeds of supportMajor gifts can boost your organization’s fundraising from so-so to stupendous,

enabling you to greatly expand the reach of your lifesaving programs. But major

donors aren’t going to drop out of the sky; you’ve got to grow them from the ground

up. In this issue’s “Human Element” department, experts suggest ways to cultivate

and sustain those relationships.

Animal Sheltering is published by The Humane Society of the United States. A magazine for anyone who cares about the health and happiness of animals and people in their community, Animal Sheltering goes beyond the four walls of shelters and rescues to look at the broader picture of the state of pets in the U.S. We cover stories that inform and entertain, empowering and inspiring you in your daily work. From those working to save more animals’ lives at the shelter to those helping prevent pets from being there in the first place, we’re covering the people and organizations that are making a difference. Read us, share with us, talk to us. Together, we’re changing the story.

ANIMAL SHELTERING MAGAZINE STAFF

Senior Editorial DirectorM. Carrie Allan

Assistant Editorial DirectorJames Hettinger

Senior Editor Julie Falconer

Associate EditorBethany Wynn Adams

n

Advertising ManagerReNae Vorgert

DesignBussolati Associates

n

Chairman, Board of Directors, The Humane Society of the United StatesEric L. Bernthal, Esq.

President and CEO, The Humane Society of the United StatesWayne Pacelle

n

Subscription PricesSingle-copy subscriptions are $20 each ($25 for subscrib-ers outside the U.S.). Members of Shelter Partners receive a 10-percent discount. For information on multiple-copy discounts, visit animalsheltering.org.

Circulation OfficesTo order, renew, change your address or inquire about other subscription-related issues, visit our website at animalsheltering.org or contact our circulation office:The Humane Society of the United StatesAnimal Sheltering magazinePO Box 15276North Hollywood, CA [email protected]

Editorial OfficesPlease send article ideas and letters to the editor to:[email protected] ORAnimal Sheltering magazineThe Humane Society of the United States1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 450Washington, DC 20037

Advertising InformationContact ReNae Vorgert, Animal Sheltering’s advertising manager, at 701-572-9100 or [email protected].

Job ListingsTo post a free job announcement, visit animalsheltering.org.

Reprint InformationWe encourage readers to reprint Animal Sheltering articles by HSUS authors in whole or in part, without prior permission, pro-vided that the reprinting serves educational purposes in keeping with the magazine’s intent. Please credit the article’s author as well as Animal Sheltering magazine, and send us a copy of the reprinted material. If you are interested in reprinting articles by non-HSUS authors, special permission may be required; email us at [email protected].

ISSN 0734-3078

The Small PrintThe HSUS does not endorse or guarantee any products, services or vendors mentioned in Animal Sheltering, nor can it be responsible for problems with vendors or their products or services. Also, The HSUS reserves the right to reject, at its discretion, any advertising. Views expressed by non-HSUS authors are not necessarily those of The HSUS.

©2017 The Humane Society of the United States. All rights reserved.

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Healing horses, p. 12

world of social media? Our “101”

offers tips for finding the right mix of

approaches to promote your message

and attract adopters, volunteers

and donors.

34 Life PreserversIncreased capacity, decreased returns

and new pools of potential adopters?

The ASPCA promises all that and more

through its Adoption Ambassadors

program, which encourages

organizations to empower—and, most

importantly, trust—their fosters.

48 UnforgettableAfter nearly freezing to death in

Wisconsin, stray dog Angel stages a

miraculous comeback.

4 President’s Note

5 Voices

6 Scoop“Garfield” creator Jim Davis lends his

world-famous characters to the cause

of finding homes for shelter pets; an

Indiana shelter makes the most of

the Pokémon Go craze; cat advocates

cut through the myths surrounding

toxoplasmosis; and more.

29 The ‘101’ DepartmentAs technology continues to evolve,

shelters face a dizzying array of

options for communicating with their

supporters. Should you stick with

the tried-and-true print newsletter?

Concentrate on email blasts? Devote

more time to the (sometimes scary)

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president’s note

In November, former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura adopted a puppy from the SPCA of Texas. In a Facebook post announcing the arrival of Freddy Bush, the 43rd president advocated for adoption: “If you could use a little extra joy in your life, consider adopting a pet from an animal shelter or rescue group.”

The inclination of the Bushes to identify themselves with our cause was gratifying, and their com-passion was a reminder of how deeply ingrained the love of animals is for countless Americans.

The path for compassionate Americans wasn’t always so clear. It took decades of work to normal-ize the notion of spay/neuter and adoption as complementary strategies to reduce euthanasia and find homes for every animal in need. The HSUS led the way, but thousands of groups joined in advo-cating for these notions and made them not only part of the fiber of our movement but of the nation itself. Together, we’ve won the battle of ideas when it comes to the treatment of companion animals. Now it’s a matter of execution, continuing to deliver the message and getting services to the people who can and want to act to affirm the human-animal bond.

Indeed, we still have much to do. The main features in this issue of Animal Sheltering—on the need to see shelter dogs as individuals, the utility of transport programs and the value of building

strong relationships with donors—all speak to the humane movement’s sweeping progress in making our shelters and rescues successful in finding homes for healthy and adoptable animals. Our movement has never had a surfeit of resources to advance its mission of helping animals, and this makes innovation and creativity in the management of local organizations and the process of modern sheltering all the more important. We do a lot with a little.

The advent of a new presidential administration in Washington raises questions about the progress we’ve made in pressing our humane agenda, too. We’ll need to redouble our efforts to secure adequate protections and enforcement in relation to puppy mills, one of the few companion animal issues where the federal government has a role. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not done all that it can to support our agenda of bringing the mills to heel; within that agency, there’s considerable room for improvement under new leadership.

We have a way to go in the states when it comes to puppy mills, too. We got a strong boost with the January pub-lication of Paul Solotaroff ’s Rolling Stone exposé, “The Dog Factory: Inside the Sickening World of Puppy Mills.” In addition to visiting a dog auction in Missouri with an HSUS staff member, Solotaroff went along on a raid with our animal rescue team as it carried 105 dogs to safety from filthy, dark wire cages surrounded by cobwebs and trash. Altogether, the team rescued 150 animals from this awful place, including numerous cats, kittens and goats.

This raid occurred in North Carolina—the 25th such action there in recent years led by The HSUS, partnering with wonderful local organizations and dedicated law enforcement throughout the state. But North Carolina is just one of the states in which we need to strengthen our efforts to end the scourge of puppy mills. We all need to do more to engage the animal-loving American public at a new and deeper level, and the new administration and Congress must become allies in the fight against America’s puppy mill problems if we’re going to see a resolution soon.

Everything we do in the realm of anti-cruelty enforcement, legal regulation of puppy mills, and campaigns to suppress animal fighting contributes to better outcomes for animals waiting for adoption at shelters and with rescue groups. These goals must remain as priorities for our whole movement, including shelters and rescues. A small num-ber of people, intent on exploiting animals for profit, can undermine our welfare objectives, unless we have the politi-cal acumen and fortitude to stop them.

Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO

The Humane Society of the United States

Forging a way forward

Subscribe to Wayne Pacelle’s daily updates on the animal welfare world and the work of The HSUS at [email protected].


voices

Find us on Facebook and Twitter!

A Word From UsIn the animal sheltering world, some things don’t change. There are always dogs to walk and cages to clean. But our field is far from stagnant. Through re-search and experience, critical thinking and creativity, we’re learning ways to better serve the people and ani-mals in our communities. And that’s what this magazine is all about—bringing you the best and most progressive ideas in the sheltering world.

This issue’s cover story, “No more guessing games” (p. 16), may give you a new perspective on dog breeds. Recent studies have revealed that shelters’ breed guesses aren’t just wrong much of the time, but they often work against the best interests of dogs and adopters. Learn how more shelters are helping adopters view dogs as individuals by ditching breed labels (and the stereotypes they evoke).

While you’re still in critical-thinking mode, take a look at your communications strategy. The days when you could rely solely on print mailings to connect with supporters are long gone. But what’s the right mix of print pieces, elec-tronic newsletters and social media posts? Our “101” story (“A method to your messages,” p. 29) will help you reach your supporters through the medium of their choice.

Creative thinking is also key in this business, whether you’re capitalizing on a cultural craze to get your dogs out and about (see “Love in the time of Pokémon,” p. 8) or le-veraging volunteer power to promote your adoptable pets (see “In fosters we trust,” p. 34). But if your creative juices aren’t flowing, don’t worry. There are plenty of right-brain thinkers willing to volunteer their talents to help animals. People like “Garfield” cartoonist Jim Davis, who is partner-ing with the Shelter Pet Project to promote shelter adop-tions (check out “Garfield gets (a little) serious,” p. 6).

Speaking of innovative partnerships, our “(Transporting) across the divide” feature (p. 24) delves into the best prac-tices behind successful transport programs. Adherence to state regulations isn’t always easy, but done right, trans-port programs benefit both the source and destination communities.

Touch base with us on Facebook (facebook.com/AnimalShelteringMagazine), Twitter (@ShelteringMag) or by email ([email protected]).

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Get more on animalsheltering.orgWe hope you’ve adjusted to our quarterly schedule and are enjoying our new web-exclusive content, covering everything from training deaf dogs to evaluating the effectiveness of for-mal canine behavior tests. Click over to “Magazine” and select “Web Exclusives” under “Issue” to read more.

We’re happy to see that you’ve also been checking out our blogs, which feature a range of voices in the animal protection field. You’ve been sharing your feedback with us and chatting with each other. We hear you!

One blog in particular elicited a passionate response: “Got compassion fatigue?” Written by our director of volunteer en-gagement Hilary Hager, it shared how you, sheltering profes-sionals, can take better care of yourselves.

“The vast majority of those of us working in animal wel-fare are ‘care-giver’ types. Our coping mechanisms often lack a focus on self-care,” wrote Jen Walker. “Without that, without a way to recognize when we are suffering from the suffering, we can’t even begin to work on refilling ourselves to keep pouring out in the work we do.”

“Raising rates in Indiana” (Nov/Dec 2016) described how a small shelter let go of fear-based policies to save lives. “Wonderful example,” wrote Helen Smith. Your likes and shares showed us that you’re excited to update your own poli-cies and bring fresh ideas to your programs.

Our kind of beach week!Ready to immerse yourself in sun, sand and sheltering strate-gies? There’s still time to register for Animal Care Expo 2017, which takes place from May 9-12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Join us and your fellow animal welfare professionals in learn-ing fresh skills to make a positive impact on people and pets. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in daylong cer-tif icate courses, plus more than 65 professional develop-ment workshops. Register now for a truly transformative experience at animalsheltering.org/expo, and send any questions to [email protected].

REGISTER FOR ANIMAL CARE EXPO BY MARCH 10 TO SAVE $50 OFF FULL CONFERENCE PRICE! ANIMALSHELTERING.ORG/EXPO 5

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Because they’re animated and colorful, they can capture the audience’s attention. Because they’re funny, they can deliver an important message with a bit of humor. And because they’re pets, they can relate to the plight of the shelter pet.

You once said that Garfield’s appear-ances on merchandise teach you about the character by putting him outside his comic strip setting. Have you learned anything new about Garfield’s person-ality by lending him to the Shelter Pet Project videos and graphics? (It does seem like he’s being a little less self-cen-tered than usual!) Yes, it’s true; Garfield is not always so al-truistic! But working on this project, I learned that Garfield and Odie genuinely do care about cats and dogs. Now, while it’s true Garfield’s had some harsh words about dogs, he recognizes that he and Odie are lucky to be members of a loving house-hold, and he believes all pets should have the same good fortune.

What kinds of animals were you exposed to growing up, and how did those experi-ences shape your cartoon creations? Are any of the characters based on pets you had in real life?I grew up on a farm, and there were al-ways about 25 barn cats roaming around. I was fascinated by their different person-alities and temperaments. They were all very aloof and independent. We also raised milch cows and I had a few I named, but obviously, they weren’t really pets. Garfield is pretty much an amalgam of all the cats I remembered from my childhood. How did you decide on an orange tabby for Garfield? Did you have a connection to an orange tabby at the time you in-vented the character?The first time I was asked this, I was sur-prised, because in my mind, all cats are or-ange. Of course, I know they’re not ... but for some reason that ginger color just stuck

Who knew he had it in him?Garfield—that famous (and famously

self-centered) cartoon cat, who’s been known to spar with his canine housemate Odie and torture his owner Jon—actually cares about his fellow creatures.

The proof? He’s lending his considerable marketing mojo to the Shelter Pet Project, an initiative backed by The HSUS, Maddie’s Fund and the Ad Council that aims to make people aware of the awesomeness awaiting them at their local animal shelters. Having previously conquered the funny pages (“Garfield” is the world’s most widely syn-dicated comic strip) as well as movies, TV and all manner of merchandise, Garfield began appearing in Shelter Pet Project vid-eos and public service announcements in 2015, urging people to find their new best friends by adopting from a shelter.

It might seem like Garf ield has al-ways been with us, but he actually sprang from the mind and pen of cartoonist Jim

Davis, who launched the character in 1978. In this edited interview with Animal Sheltering’s James Hettinger, Davis reflects on Garfield, Odie and the other pets in his life—and why he’s using his talents to help end pet homelessness.

How did you decide to get Garfield and Odie involved in the Shelter Pet Project? It was such a perfect fit for the characters. Both Garfield and Odie were abandoned by their owners—Garfield was left to fend for himself in an Italian restaurant before he was eventually adopted by Jon Arbuckle, and Odie was left behind by his owner, Jon’s former roommate, Lyman. (There are vari-ous theories on what became of Lyman.) The characters have enjoyed all the com-forts of home, and they hope to help their fellow pets enjoy the same. What do you think the characters can offer to help the cause?

Garfield gets (a little) seriousThe iconic cartoon cat lends a paw to the Shelter Pet Project

Garfield—Jim Davis’ lasagna-loving, Monday-hating protagonist—is helping to spread the word that wonderful companions can be found in animal shelters.


scoop

in my mind and I filed it under “this is the color of a cat.”

Is there a story behind why Garfield’s fa-vorite food is lasagna?Not really a story per se—I love lasagna—I figured everyone did.

You’ve s a id t hat before lau nch i ng “Garfield” in 1978 you noticed that the funny pages had plenty of dogs but not many cats. Why do you think that was the case? Did you sense that there was a large void to be filled by a comic cat? Well, let’s face it. Dogs have lots of per-sonality. And dogs are more giving. A dog wil l come when you cal l it. A cat will walk the other way. A dog will show off—a cat will take a nap. So, it’s under-standable that dogs were getting all the good gigs. After my failure at getting a bug in the comics (“Gnorm Gnat”), I did take a hard look at what was working on the comics pages, and there was Snoopy, Marmaduke, Belvedere—but no cats. That was a “Eureka!” moment. I knew cats!

With the advent of shows like “The Simpsons” and “South Park,” cartoon humor has certainly gotten edgier since “Garfield” began, yet he and his more mainstream humor remain tremen-dously popular. What do you think are the keys to his appeal?

I’ve always felt there was room for al l sorts of humor, but I just couldn’t see changing Garfield for the shock value. There are a lot of moms out there who feel safe when they put a Garfield car-toon on TV—I wouldn’t want to break that trust. I think Garf ield is appeal-ing because his humor is understated—he’s not trying to hit you over the head with a sledgehammer. And his humor d e a l s w i t h u n i v e r s a l t o p i c s — e a t-ing and sleeping. Everyone can relate. Is your own personality ref lected in Garfield, or are you more like his long-suffering owner, Jon? Like Garfield, I love lasagna, coffee and cat naps. But unlike Garf ield, I don’t hate Mondays. Like Jon, I can be laid back. I also had dating disasters similar to Jon’s.

Has anything about Garfield’s success surprised you? Do you ever just step back and marvel at the fact that you’ve created characters that are instantly recognized around the world? Are you kidding? Everything about his success has surprised me! I was thrilled just to be syndicated. In my wi ldest dreams I hoped maybe there’d be a book or a coffee mug, but I never imagined Garfield would resonate the way he did. It’s all about timing! I am still amazed and humbled that people love the charac-ters. I try not to analyze it too much—it might go away.

Does Garfield have any lessons to teach us as pet owners? There’s no such thing as a spoiled pet! Indulgence is a good thing! Belly rubs make everyone happy! Too much love is never enough! (Garfield could go on … how much time do you have?)

To learn more and view videos

featuring Garfield and others, visit

theshelterpetproject.org.

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MOUTHPIECES are designed to be printed and used within your shelter and community. This one encourages people to look

beyond breed guesses (and breed stereotypes) when evaluating an individual dog. To download this and prior Mouthpieces

to use, go to animalsheltering.org/mouthpieces.

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thought, they might get as many as seven or eight people to accept that offer.

Instead, nearly 80 people showed up the next day, all eager to walk a “Pokémon dog.” Peckinpaugh was stunned. The Facebook post had gone viral. He called an impromptu staff meeting. Then he rushed to PetSmart and “bought just about every leash they had.”

During the following weeks, the number of visitors kept climbing. Shelter staff worked through lunch breaks and stayed late to ac-commodate the Pokémon dog walkers. Yet “morale was at an all-time high,” says Melissa Blair, the shelter’s assistant director.

News outlets from around the world praised the innovative program, and other shelters wanted advice on how to launch similar promotions. “It was just crazy,” remembers Blair. “Shelters were calling and asking us these questions, and here we were just winging it ourselves.”

Despite t he lack of prepla nni ng , Peckinpaugh and his team quickly worked out the logistics. They drafted a simple

Anyone visit ing the Muncie Animal Shelter last summer was likely to hear an unprecedented sound: near-total silence in the kennel area.

The roughly 70 dogs housed at the Indiana municipal facility at the time were either out on the town, prowling for Bulbasaurs, Charmanders, Squirtles and Pikachus, or they were fast asleep, ex-hausted after a day of tracking Pokémon.

It all started with the mid-July release of Pokémon Go, a game where players use their mobile devices to locate popular cartoon characters, known as Pokémon, who appear on-screen in simulated versions of the play-ers’ real-life locations. Shelter director Phil Peckinpaugh was driving to work one morn-ing when he noticed “droves and droves of people walking and playing the game.” It sparked an idea.

An hour later, he impulsively posted a simple graphic on Facebook, inviting peo-ple to walk a shelter dog while they played the game. In the best-case scenario, he

form for participants to sign and a list of do’s and don’ts, and they called on long-time volunteers to help match people with appropriate dogs. They set up watering and shade stations around the property, and Peckinpaugh gave every participant his cell phone number. “We wanted to make sure everyone got the wonderful Pokémon experience they came for,” Blair says.

In the end, the only problem they en-countered was that the demand for dogs sometimes exceeded the supply. “Toward the end of the day, we had to start turning people away,” Peckinpaugh says. “The dogs just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.”

While the number of Pokémon Go visi-tors has since subsided to a trickle, several former participants are now regular shelter volunteers. Donations have increased. Best of all, at the height of the frenzy, 23 dogs found “wonderful homes” directly as a result of the promotion, says Blair.

“I’ve done other things where I’ve had really big expectations, and it hasn’t gone anywhere,” Peckinpaugh says. “But for this, I had little to no expectations at all. I just never thought this would be our crowning moment. It was a really great experience.”

—Julie Falconer

Love in the time of PokémonIndiana shelter capitalizes on a cultural craze

During their first Pokémon Go expedition, Animal Sheltering associate editor Bethany Wynn Adams and her dog Jules encounter a Tauros in a parking lot.


[scoop]

terrier ears?

retriever build?

hound eyes?

shepherd coat?

lab nose?

45˚

4"

12"

80˚

What breed am I?

The truth is, no one really knows. Like most shelter dogs, I’m likely a mix of four or more breeds.

You might want to guess my breeds, and that’s OK! (I like to keep people guessing.)

But knowing my breeds won’t tell you what you really want to know: Am I sassy or snuggly? Do I love kids and cats? Will I be a great running buddy, or a fellow couch potato?

So ask a staff member what they know about my personality, then take me for a walk and judge for yourself. I could be the perfect mix for you!

by consuming infected meat or water, and will then shed oocysts (the fertilized egg of the parasite) in their feces for one to three weeks. The vast majority of infected cats don’t exhibit any clinical symptoms.

In the U.S., the prevalence of cats who are actively shedding oocysts is quite low—approximately 1 percent, accord-ing to the Companion Animal Parasite Council. The oocyst shedding leads to the

Decades ago, it wasn’t uncommon for pregnant women to hear that they needed to give up their pet cats to reduce their risk of contracting toxoplasmosis. More recently, detractors of trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs have capitalized on the misunderstandings surrounding toxoplas-mosis to foster opposition to community cat spay/neuter efforts. So whether you’re working the intake desk at your local shel-ter or operating a TNR program, you need to know the facts about this disease.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite is preva-lent throughout the world (it was even recently found in the Arctic), and approxi-mately 60 million people in the U.S. alone are infected.

Is this cause for alarm? Not in healthy people. The vast majority of those infected never experience symptoms or lingering health effects. However, people with com-

promised immune systems and women who are pregnant need to take common-sense precautions to prevent infection.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists eating undercooked meat (especially pork, lamb and venison) and handling raw meat or the surfaces it comes into contact with as the most common forms of transmission. Contaminated drinking water is another potential source of infection, which is what happened in British Columbia, Canada, in 1995, when an outbreak was traced to a municipal water supply.

Cats, or the entire Felid family to be more accurate, are the definitive host for the T. gondii parasite. That means the parasite can only complete its full sexual life cycle in the digestive tract of a feline. (Other species that can become infected are considered “inter-mediate hosts” because the parasite can only undergo asexual reproduction.) The domes-tic cat and wild cat species become infected

Don’t push the panic button on toxoplasmosisTo advocate for cats, you need to separate the facts from the hype

Because infected cats only shed Toxoplasma gondii

once in their lifetimes, sterilized community cats in stable colonies present minimal risk of spreading

the parasite.

For endangered wildlife like this Hawaiian monk seal, deaths caused by toxoplasmosis infection are rare and need to be viewed within the context of the many risks facing these populations.


[scoop] CATTY CORNER

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Researchers from Duke University re-cently conducted a study that concludes: “On the whole, there was little evidence that T. gondii was related to increased risk of psychiatric disorder, poor impulse control, personality aberrations or neurocognitive impairment.” Other studies that have iden-tified possible associations have garnered sensationalist headlines in the media, far different from the actual conclusions drawn by the researchers. For example, a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry states that “no causal, or directional, con-clusions can be made from these analyses.”

Research into the impact of toxoplas-mosis infection on marine mammals and seabirds is another topic that has trig-gered a flurry of media stories. Hawaii has become a hot spot of debate, since many threatened and endangered species are found only on those islands. There have been scattered cases of toxoplasmosis-caused death in Hawaiian monk seals and the nene goose, Hawaii’s state bird. While any loss is cause for concern in a threat-ened or endangered species, the death rates due to this parasite are low—less than 5 percent of overall mortality—and need to be viewed in the context that these pop-ulations face many risks, and both species are slowly increasing in numbers.

Also highlighting the complexity of the wildlife issue, a 2015 study in the International Journal for Parasitology found a greater prevalence of T. gondii in-fection in sea otters living off the unpopu-lated California coast compared to those living in the urban river outlets, leading the author to conclude: “Ironically, now it seems that spillover from wildlife, not pets, dominates spatial patterns of disease transmission.”

While more research is needed to de-termine the exact risks of toxoplasmosis on human health and wildlife, in the end, this disease provides yet another reason for aggressive TNR efforts. Since cats who have been infected shed oocysts only once (repeated shedding has only been seen in

other mode of infection for people and other warm-blooded animals: consum-ing feces that contain the oocysts, such as by eating a plant with feces residue or by gardening and not washing your hands before eating.

The CDC recommends severa l ac-tions to help prevent the spread of toxo-plasmosis. They include appropriate handling and cooking of meat; wash-ing counter tops, cut t ing boards and utensils thoroughly; washing and peel-ing fruits and vegetables; wearing gloves while gardening; and, of course, washing hands appropriately. Regarding cats, the agency doesn’t recommend getting rid of Fluffy—and neither do the American Veterinar y Medica l Associat ion, the American Pregnancy Association or the Mayo Clinic. Appropriate safeguards for cat owners include keeping pet cats in-doors, scooping litter daily (the oocysts take one to five days to become infectious after being shed) and washing your hands afterward, and letting someone else have scooping duty while you’re pregnant or immunocompromised.

So what’s the big fuss? Well, for those of you involved with TNR programs, it’s likely that you have been asked about toxo-plasmosis by a public official, community member or wildlife conservationist. Many in the anti-TNR camp have been beating the drum recently about this parasite due to ongoing research into its impacts on human and animal health.

Some recent studies have suggested a possible link between toxoplasmosis in-fection and cognitive diseases such as de-mentia, neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, and increased prevalence of aggressive or risky behavior. While many studies can draw a correlative effect, that doesn’t equal causation, meaning the stud-ies might show an association but don’t prove that toxoplasmosis—rather than pesticide exposure, diet, overall health, lifestyle and other factors—is the cause of any of these conditions.

a laboratory setting in cats with severely compromised immune systems), steril-ized cats in managed colonies that have the parasite are no longer producing the oocysts. And it’s worth stating that even if we had a magic wand to make all outdoor cats disappear today, the parasite would still be prevalent in the environment for a long time—in the soil, water and tissues of intermediate hosts.

As we see with other concerns like wild-life predation, rabies risk and public nui-sance issues, TNR programs that effectively reduce the outdoor cat population also de-crease the amount of T. gondii oocysts in the environment. So let’s fight hype with facts and work together on practical, effec-tive programs to reduce cat populations for the benefit of everyone, including the cats.

—Katie Lisnik

Katie Lisnik is director of cat protection

and policy for The HSUS.

Resourcesn U.S. Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention: cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.html

n Companion Animal Parasite Council: capcvet.org/capc-recommendations/toxoplasma

n Vox Felina: voxfelina.com/category/public-health-threats

With a few commonsense precautions, pregnant or immunocompromised people don’t need to give up their cats.


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renders and county seizures. Working with veterinarians, farriers and other profes-sionals, staff and volunteers create rehabil-itation plans based on each horse’s needs. After receiving recommended medical treatments, the horses work with interns to regain strength and mobility. Once they become sound in hand, the horses are worked under saddle. Finally, they return to doing what they were trained for and are re-evaluated by a committee.

During their rehabilitation, the horses also work with students in the United Neigh program. “Each youth is assigned their own project horse, and they work with that horse, keeping records of their progress,” says Miller. “Once the youth is done with their work, the horse is available for adoption.”

Many are adopted and able to return to various disciplines, including show jumping, cross country and dressage.

In rural Virginia, against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a horse named Sid was starving. Nearby, a teenage girl was struggling with anorexia. They both needed to be rescued.

They met at Brook Hill Farm, a non-profit horse rescue, and found healing to-gether through a program called United Neigh, which encouraged each of them to maintain a healthy diet. Founded in 2001 in Forest (a rural suburb of Lynchburg) and accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, Brook Hill Farm has helped about 450 horses find homes, while its United Neigh program has paired horses with at-risk teens to teach valuable life skills.

The program for at-risk and disabled stu-dents ages 12-18 wasn’t part of the organiza-tion’s original plan. While Brook Hill Farm was established to help unwanted horses, its

groundbreaking youth program was born out of necessity. It evolved out of compassion.

“We needed help, so we invited some inner-city youth to come and be our labor force,” recalls Jo Anne Miller, the nonprof-it’s executive director, who co-founded the rescue with her husband, Jay. “We realized that most of the youth were failing high school and loved working with the horses.”

Miller, who has a degree in education, decided to require the youths to get good grades if they wanted to interact with the horses. “We brought in volunteer tutors and soon realized that their grades were improv-ing and that they were realizing the impor-tance [of] education,” she says. “The youth were able to relate to the rescue horses, and we incorporated equine-assisted learning to help them with their problems.”

That same compassion is given to its horses, who are mostly from owner sur-

The healing powers of horsesUnited Neigh program pairs equines with at-risk youth

A United Neigh student hugs Albert, her assigned rescue horse at Brook Hill Farm. The program pairs at-risk teens with surrendered

or seized horses to teach responsibility and life skills, with a focus on education.


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pleting the requirements for her GED. “I am now making better choices,” she says.

Miller, who spoke at the 2015 Homes for Horses Coalition Conference spon-sored by The HSUS, ASPCA and Animal Welfare Institute, says that what brings her the most joy from the United Neigh pro-gram is the healing. “I think that watching the youth and horses heal together is the most rewarding experience.”

There’s no doubt that Britt, Kyra and other United Neigh students would agree. Kyra sums up the feelings of many of them. “Horses are the best teachers,” she says, “and Brook Hill is my family!”

—Christine Galeone

Christine Galeone is a freelance writer

based outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information, visit

brookhillfarm.org.

Those who aren’t able to return to their former “ jobs” are taught new skills and begin working with children and adults as part of the farm’s equine-assisted activ-ities. Horses who are unable to continue to work are given a permanent retirement on the farm.

Attending the program twice a week, students bond with horses with similar is-sues. For instance, if a teen has been bul-lied or physically abused, she’ll likely be teamed up with a horse who has also been abused. Together, they build confidence through discipline, care and teamwork. All of the 100-plus students who have com-pleted the program have graduated from high school—or obtained GEDs—and continued their education at colleges or trade schools.

One student whose l i fe changed is “Britt” (a pseudonym). She tried to es-cape a violent home through drug use

and acting out. “I was angry about my l i fe … and the school system recom-mended me for the program. Brook Hill has taught me that only I am responsi-ble for my life and that I can overcome my past; I make the choices, and good choices are better,” she says.

Now in her late teens, she also learned the value of hard work. She has been very successful in Pony Club and says it “was hard work and good choices that led to my success.”

Another success story is “Kyra” (also a pseudonym), who will remain in the program until she gets her GED. A home-schooled stu-dent with an unplanned pregnancy, she joined the program “to be more social” but found more than friendships. “At Brook Hill, I got the help I needed to do better in school,” says Kyra, who is now in her early 20s. She has a learning disability but has completed a nurs-ing assistant certificate and is close to com-


Helping you make the greatest impact for pets and people in your community

Visit animalsheltering.org NEWLYREDESIGNED

Visit our site to learn new skills and strategies to find pets homes, keep pet in their homes, reach the underserved in your community and humanely manage cat populations. You’ll also:

• Read the latest articles from Animal Sheltering magazine and search back issues.

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• Learn how to eliminate housing barriers in your community and how to makepet care affordable and accessible to pet owners and potential adopters.

• Search a comprehensive list of available jobs in animal welfare.

[scoop] MUTTERINGS

‘The Loneliest Dog’ is a sleeper hit“Why doesn’t anyone want me?” asked the sign next to Freya, a brindle terrier mix, in a photo shared on Facebook. “I’ve been waiting here for 5 years and 2 months now. … I promise I will be a good girl.”

British newspapers the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror picked up the plea, dubbing Freya “The Loneliest Dog in the World”—a heartbreaking moniker to describe a dog who had spent most of her life at Freshfields Animal Rescue in Liverpool, U.K.

Freya entered Freshfields as a stray at just a few months old, but year after year, she was passed over by an estimated 18,000 adopters. After she was diagnosed with epilepsy, it seemed as though the pit bull-type might never find a family—until her plea went viral.

In June last year, U.S. film director Michael Bay tweeted, “Found this in the news last week in the U.K. We gave the Loneliest Dog a role in Transformers. Freya has epilepsy and has been in a shelter her whole 6-year life. We are also going to find her a home.”

The director kept his word—a video showed Freya alongside actor Anthony Hopkins on set. “Freya’s doing an amazing job!” said Bay in the video. One month later, the shelter an-nounced the pup had finally found a loving home.

“I’m so happy to tell you all that it’s official!” the rescue wrote on Facebook on behalf of Freya. “I was always told that one day it would be my turn and it was true. I spent over 6 years at Freshfields waiting patiently for a home and the staff there never gave up on me. There’s a home out there for every dog and I’m living proof.” —BWA

Cat trapping and podcastingStacy LeBaron has worked in the com-munity cat sphere for 20 years—serv-ing as president of the Merrimack River Fel ine Rescue Societ y in Sa l i sbur y, Massachusetts, for 14 years and running a mentoring program that has assisted 80 groups with trap-neuter-return and

fundraising. She was “thrilled” to mentor so many groups, she says, but her inbox re-mained full: She had a waiting list of around 400 groups that still needed support.

Inspiration came from an unlikely source. “My 12-year-old son took up play-ing the electric guitar and started record-ing his own music, and he told me it would be ‘super easy’ to do a podcast,” she says. “[He] motivated me to create something that would be able to reach more than just a handful of people.”

Podcasts are much like on-demand radio—audio files, recorded as episodes and distributed online, that you can down-load for free and listen to at your leisure. Typically, they tell a story or explore a sin-gle topic—like community cats.

They’re also the perfect medium for community cat caretakers, says LeBaron. “What do trappers do when they’re sitting in their cars, waiting for the cat to go into the trap?” she asks. “Well, they could be listening to a podcast!”

With the help of her son (and a few professionals like Emerald City Sound in Wisconsin), LeBaron started recording her own podcast at home. Since June 21, 2016, she’s completed more than 100 epi-sodes of “The Community Cats Podcast,” interviewing a diverse array of experts l i ke Kate Hurley of t he Mi l l ion Cat Challenge, Aimee St. Arnaud of Humane Alliance, The HSUS’s Katie Lisnik and Spay Maine co-founder Sharon Secovich. She averages 3,000 (and growing) unique downloads per episode.

“So much of the mentoring program I did was in group format, and just the en-ergy of having people together, doing a project together, really helped motivate them,” says LeBaron. “I’m really hoping that The Community Cats Podcast will be able to create community to help motivate and support others.”

Join the community and listen along via iTunes, Google Play or at community catspodcast.com. —Bethany Wynn Adams

In July, Freshfields Animal Rescue shared an update on Freya’s new family. “I have a mum and dad, a big brother in Teddy and a little sister in Joanie and I love them all so much already,” the rescue wrote on Freya’s behalf.

Stacy LeBaron records her podcast from home with Hooch the cat, which sometimes means she has to edit out his snores.


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The paw-fect politicianBrynneth “Brynn” Pawltro isn’t just a beauty—she’s got brains, too, because she knows the importance of a great campaign. After running as “Your Trusted Friend Brynn,” the pit bull-type was elected mayor by the townspeople of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, last November.

Ow ned by col lege student Jord ie Bamforth, Brynn beat out illustrious com-petitors like “Stella The Fat Cat,” Higgins the donkey, human boy “Isaac Because He Wants to Run” and Bossy the chicken. At $1 a pop, anyone could cast as many votes as they had dollars. Election funds went to-ward the rehabilitation of the Rabbit Hash General Store after a February 2016 fire de-stroyed the building.

Although Brynn won by a landslide, the Rabbit Hash Historical Society also as-signed ambassador positions to runner-up pups Bourbon and Lady. Brynn isn’t the first dog to lead the town: That honor be-longs to Goofy Borneman, who took office in 1998. Outgoing mayor Lucy Lou—also a dog, and the first female to hold the posi-tion—has given her pawprint of approval to the new top dog.

“Through the course of a tense evening of voting, [Lucy Lou] sniffed the butts of all the candidates and has given her approval to the Mayor elect, Brynn,” says the Rabbit Hash Historical Society on its site. “She looks for-ward to working with the new mayor and the Ambassadors as Rabbit Hash strives to restore the General Store.” —BWA

Brynn earned 3,367 votes, trouncing runner-up Bourbon by a thousand votes.


NO MORE GUESSING GAMES

Let’s say you’re in the market for a new dog. According to one online quiz, the best breeds for your lifestyle include the German shepherd, blood-hound, Great Dane, dalmatian and pointer. Answer a similar set of ques-

tions in another quiz, and it points you to the pug, Sussex spaniel and French bulldog. A third determines you’re more of a dachshund or Afghan hound or Irish wolf hound-type person.

By nixing breed labels, shelters let dogs shine on their individual meritsBY JULIE FALCONER

NO MORE GUESSING GAMES

Your dogs might not look like this, but

they’ve likely got more breeds in them than

meet the eye.

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Kristen Auerbach’s dogs

Otter (left) and Fernando opened

her eyes to the randomness

of visual breed ID. After she

labeled Otter a pit bull, a DNA

test revealed that he’s an Australian

cattle dog and boxer mix “with nine or 10 other

things,” she says. Fernando’s

dominant breeds are coonhound

and American Staffordshire

terrier.

dog’s personality is determined by a complex mix of ge-netics, training and life experiences.

Yet the idea that breed governs temperament and behavior is deeply ingrained in our culture. Kristen Auerbach, deputy chief animal services officer at the Austin Animal Center in Texas, recalls the time she over-heard a staff member stating that Australian cattle dogs have to be working dogs and can’t be adopted as pets.

“She was telling a potential adopter this,” Auerbach says. “And it was totally not true.”

Breed stereotypes are even more problematic in a shelter setting. Since few dogs show up with their pedi-gree papers, most shelters and rescues simply label them by the breeds they most resemble, and people tend to make assumptions about the dogs’ personalities and fu-ture behavior based on these guesses.

Now, recent studies are calling into question much of what we thought we knew about dogs and breeds. And they’re generating a new conversation in the animal welfare field: Is our breed-labeling habit doing a disservice to dogs and adopters?

Let the mystery beTo answer that question, Stacey Coleman, executive director of Animal Farm Foundation (AFF) and the NCRC, describes an encounter she had a few years ago at her local animal shelter.

In the kennel area, she met a young woman who was trying to choose her first dog. The woman explained that because her father was a bit afraid of dogs, she needed to make sure she adopted a friendly one.

She pointed to a dog labeled a Lab mix. Coleman peered into the kennel and saw a black mixed breed cow-ering in the back. One kennel over, a brindle-colored dog was begging for attention, “doing the little hula dance, his tail going a hundred miles an hour.” Coleman tried to steer the young woman toward him. “She said, ‘No, that’s a pit bull. I can’t take that dog home. I know Labradors are friendly, and I want my dad to have a friendly dog.’”

This is the power of breed stereotypes: The young woman was so convinced that Labs are friendly—and pit bulls are not—that she ignored the evidence of her own eyes.

But there’s another issue at play here: The woman was basing her decision on breed guesses that in all likeli-hood were incorrect.

Coleman started volunteering with animal shel-ters in the 1990s, and it wasn’t long before she started questioning the accuracy of visual breed identifica-tion. Dogs labeled shepherd mixes didn’t resemble each other, and the same was true for dogs dubbed Lab mixes or pit-bull mixes.

You’re not exactly homing in on your future com-panion. But judging from the long list of Google re-sults generated from the question “what dog breed is right for me,” people want help on choosing a dog, and there’s a widespread assumption that breed de-termines a dog’s personality. The dachshund has an “alert and active nature,” one online quiz states, while pugs “have a great sense of humor and like to show off.” The dalmatian is “stable and outgoing; dignified but never shy,” and the Great Dane is “friendly, pa-tient and dependable.”

Adding a new dog to your family is a big moment. It’s understandable that people seek guidance. But is breed a reliable guidepost for choosing the right dog?

Not really, says Janis Bradley, a veteran dog trainer and researcher with the National Canine Research Council (NCRC). In her paper “The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog,” Bradley explains that most recognized dog breeds today have only existed since the late 1800s, not the multiple centuries most people assume. While genetics can certainly inf luence behavior, she writes, dogs today are primarily bred for appearance, not temperament and not for the working roles the breed may have occupied in the past. As a result, dogs within a breed will exhibit about as much variability in their personali-ties as dogs across all breeds demonstrate.

So there will be Labs who are afraid of water, grey-hounds who aren’t motivated to chase a lure, and golden retrievers who are nervous around kids. While certain body types are better suited to certain activities—say, providing protection to a law enforcement officer or running long distances—in the end, Bradley writes, a


removing breed labels

Before Orange County Animal Services (OCAS) ditched breed labels, mixed breeds like these were likely to be called pit-bull mixes. Now, with help from Pawsitive Shelter Photography, OCAS is letting its dogs make a good impression, free of breed bias.

The pit bull has always presented a unique chal-lenge when it comes to visual breed identif ication. While a purebred rottweiler, for example, comes from a closed gene pool and has a distinctive look, “pit bull” is a term applied to dogs of several breeds, and there’s no universal definition of which breeds fall into this category.

When Smith worked as an animal control officer in Washington, D.C., “every day we took in a lot of dogs who looked very different but kind of got lumped in this category of ‘pit bulls,’” she says. This was in the 1990s, and her shelter, like many others at the time, had a no-adopt policy for dogs deemed pit bulls, so the label was tantamount to a death sentence.

Attitudes about pit bull-types have since shifted dra-matically within the sheltering field. Nearly all shelters recognize that dogs should be judged as individuals, and scientific studies have debunked the notion that any breed or type of dog is inherently aggressive. But the stigma still lingers in public attitudes, municipal breed bans and housing restrictions.

Given the high stakes, much of the recent research on visual breed identification has focused on dogs called pit bulls. And it’s uncovered another truth about shel-ter dogs: Few of them are first-generation crosses of two purebreds.

“We’re several generations away from that now,” says Smith. “So many shelter dogs and owned dogs in the U.S. are just these medium-sized, short-haired dogs that are so mixed that no one will ever quite know what breeds they’re comprised of, and those dogs just so often get called pit bulls or pit-bull mix. If you line them up, what do they all have in common? There’s more difference than there is similarity.”

One study revealed that shelter staff labeled twice as many dogs as pit bulls than were actually identified (through DNA testing) as a breed under the “pit bull” umbrella. Another showed that even for dogs confirmed

“I could look at the dogs, and it occurred to me that they were likely not even from the same gene pool,” she says. “I realized how arbitrary breed labels are.”

She wasn’t the only one to recognize the problem. Some believed the solution lay in teaching shelter staff about various breeds so they could improve the accuracy of their guesses. But then canine DNA testing came onto the market, followed by studies that confirmed what many people had long suspected: Visual breed identi-fication is most often wrong, even when performed by veterinarians or other canine experts.

That’s because a minute percentage of a dog’s genes de-termine his morphology (physical appearance). A dog who is a cross of several breeds can look a lot like a purebred an-cestor, while conversely, even first-generation crosses of two different purebreds may bear no resemblance to either par-ent (or their siblings). Meanwhile, a purebred from a puppy mill or backyard breeder may look different enough from the breed standard to be dubbed a mix.

One study found that for 90 percent of dogs, breed guesses by adoption agencies didn’t match the predomi-nant breed identified through DNA analysis. Another revealed that experts seldom agree on their breed guesses, so one person’s bulldog mix is another’s boxer mix and another’s Lab-hound cross.

But when a shelter puts a breed guess on a kennel card, people tend to accept it as fact.

And that’s a problem, says Coleman. “For organizations that are still guessing at breed labels, I think sooner rather than later, they’re going to realize that they’re making false assurances to adopters. Now that we know visual breed ID isn’t accurate … the most honest answer is, ‘I don’t know.’”

Will the real pit bulls please line up? The consequences of breed labeling fall hardest on dogs identified as a stigmatized breed—which today most often means pit bulls, says Cory Smith, HSUS director of companion animal public policy.

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With help from a staff member, a family checks

out a dog at the Capital Area

Humane Society, which removed

breed labels from its kennel

cards. The cards now focus on

sharing each dog’s personality and

likes and dislikes.

who were labeled as pit bulls as less attractive and less friendly than lookalike dogs with different labels (an ef-fect that was reversed when the labels were removed) and that dogs labeled pit bulls spent more than three times as long in shelters.

They a lso analyzed data from Orange County (Florida) Animal Services before and after the removal of breed labels. All breeds, not just ones who would have been labeled pit bulls, experienced a significant increase in adoptions when breed guesses were no longer inf lu-encing people’s judgment.

These findings confirm what Auerbach and oth-ers have witnessed: Labels are slowing down adoptions. “For every breed label, there’s people who will see that as a stop sign,” Auerbach says. “So if it says husky mix or hound mix, somebody will tell [the potential adopter], ‘Oh, I’ve heard huskies have terrible shedding problems’ or ‘I’ve heard hounds run away.’”

Of course, labels can also tap into positive associa-tions—those connections with breeds that have given birth to an entire cottage industry of “I My Beagle” magnets and “My border collie is smarter than your honor student” bumper stickers.

But even positive stereotypes can be a problem, says Samantha Miller, behavior manager at the Capital Area Humane Society (CAHS) in Lansing, Michigan. “People assume certain things when you call him a Lab mix.

as pit bull-types—for example, those whose DNA re-vealed an American pit bull or Staffordshire terrier in his ancestry—no single breed accounted for more than 30 percent of the dog’s total genetic makeup.

“Right now, shelters are saying, ‘We have a lot of pit bull dogs,’” Coleman says. “What we explain to them is, ‘Look at how arbitrarily you’re using this label.’”

A “pit bull,” science is showing, is most often simply a mutt.

Clearing the blind spotsSo why are shelters guessing at breeds in the first place? For starters, Auerbach says, until recently “people really were convinced that … they could look at a dog and they could tell you what it was.”

Breed labels are also seen as a way to guide people to dogs who match their mental picture of an attractive animal, whether it’s floppy ears, an elongated snout, or a certain size, color or coat length.

“We’re try ing to help people f ind what they’re looking for, morphologically,” says Lisa Gunter, a be-haviorist and research assistant in the psychology de-partment at Arizona State University.

But as it turns out, labels act less as guides and more as blinders.

In a study published last year in PLOS One, Gunter and a team of researchers found that people rated dogs



dog and boxer mix “with nine or 10 other things, none of them Staffordshire terrier,” she says.

Soon after, she convinced her shelter’s leadership to take what many at the time considered a radical step: Removing breed labels from the kennel cards. After that move and some other policy changes, adoptions doubled over the next year. “So I knew that we were on to some-thing,” she says.

She implemented similar changes at the Austin shel-ter and is now teaching other shelters how to break the breed-labeling habit.

Last year, about 200 sheltering professionals attended her workshop at Animal Care Expo, and her talk at the Texas Unites for Animals conference drew a crowd of about 100. “Within the industry, people get it,” she says. “We’re not saying the idea of breed should go away al-together. We’re not saying that breeds don’t exist. And we’re also not saying that it’s not fun to guess your pet’s breed. What we are saying is that the community is looking to [shelters] as experts to give good information, and when we guess an arbitrary breed designation, we’re not doing that.”

For shelters that are unsure about the change, she shares this message: It doesn’t have to be an all-or-noth-ing proposition. Going breed-label-free can simply mean eliminating unnecessary breed guesses.

“You don’t take away the option to label for [breed] rescue,” Auerbach says. “You don’t take away the op-tion to label dogs that you really do think are a par-ticular breed.”

Shelters in areas with breed bans may st i l l be forced to guess breeds for some of their dogs. And many shelters, including Auerbach’s, sti l l have to guess breeds when they enter a dog into their shelter’s

They assume the dog is going to retrieve or be good with children, when in reality … maybe he’s a bit fearful, maybe he’s afraid of the water, maybe he has a history of not doing well with kids. You’re kind of setting them up for failure.”

In the end, whether a label helps or hinders a dog’s adoption chances, removing breed guesses is a move to-ward greater transparency. And for the most part, adopt-ers appreciate that honesty, says Miller.

When CAHS removed breed guesses from its ken-nel cards two years ago, “we thought there was going to be a big uproar, that people would be freaking out,” says Miller. But there were no angry voicemails or emails; people didn’t seem to notice the change.

That’s not to say that adopters suddenly didn’t care about breeds: “So what do you think he is?” is still a common question. Shelter staff “make it a point that we don’t know,” says Miller, and encourage people to make their own guesses.

Even for dogs who staff believe are purebreds, “we still bring up the facts about breed labeling,” she says. “This dog has individual characteristics. It isn’t going to be a replica of your last golden retriever. Even just im-planting that small seed that each dog is different and is an individual ... that’s at least a start.”

From philosophy to practiceAuerbach’s “aha” moment came when she was working at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Virginia and a spotted dog with a blocky head and a muscular build was brought in. “The staff looked to me, and I said, ‘Just call him a pit bull.’”

She ended up adopting the dog and submitting a DNA test. Otter, it turned out, was an Australian cattle

Looks don’t equal behavior. According to Animal Farm Foundation, the set of canine genes associated with physical appearance is different from the set responsible for brain development and function.


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so much of what we think we know about dogs around the idea of purebreds.”

But as the pool of research grows and shelter prac-tices evolve, public attitudes will start to shift.

“Breed heritage is much more complex than we imag-ined before,” says Gunter. “We have a lot of research questions. I feel like I could get five Ph.D.s and not an-swer them.”

The mystery of how different breeds combine and what impact, if any, they have on a dog’s personality may never be solved. But by removing breed guesses, Gunter says, shelters can facilitate the kinds of discussions that help their dogs and their adopters.

And this, she feels, is the future of sheltering: “Conversations are definitely where it’s at. It’s educating [people] about, ‘Wow, [the dog] may look like this and this, but let me tell you about Banjo’s behavior.’”

database—which has been a source of continual frus-tration to her.

She explains that until recently, most shelter soft-ware systems required staff to choose a breed in order to create a record for a dog. Because these systems are de-signed to export data to adoption websites like Petfinder, which also ask for breed information, there hasn’t been a simple fix.

Auerbach and others have been meet ing with sta f f at top shelter sof t ware compa nies , urg ing them to add a “mixed-breed” option. In November, PetPoint made this change, following on the heels of ShelterLuv, a newer company that has always in-cluded the mixed-breed option. Auerbach predicts that in the next year, most shelter software compa-nies will follow suit.

In the meantime, there are three simple steps shel-ters can take. “Removing breed from kennel cards is a no-brainer,” says Auerbach. If your kennel cards are generated through your shelter software, “you can call your software provider and do it tomorrow.”

The next step is to do away with breed guesses on so-cial media. And the third is training staff and volunteers to stop referring to dogs by breed.

Those three actions have “changed the culture of our shelter,” she says. “Because you can’t be lazy in your de-scriptors. You have to be creative and innovative and you have to describe dogs based on how they act, so the dog that might have previously been ‘the boxer in kennel 103’ is now ‘the brown one that likes to jump up and lick peo-ple when they walk by.’”

Over the past two years, Auerbach has seen more than a dozen shelters around the country stop labeling by breed, but she says we’re not in a breed-blind world yet. “The breed narrative is so strong still. We’ve framed

Resourcesn Download Animal Farm Foundation’s “All Dogs

Are Individuals” infographic at animalfarmfoun-dation.org/pages/Multimedia-Infographics.

n Find studies on visual breed identification, breed stereotypes and more at nationalcani-neresearchcouncil.com/browse/research_library.

n Learn more about breed-specific legislation and housing policies at animalsheltering.org/magazine/articles/all-dogs-are-equal.

n Read an interview with staff from the Orange County Animal Shelter, which removed breed labels in 2014, at animalsheltering.org/magazine/articles/whats-label.

Labeling a dog a beagle-Lab cross when he has neither breed in his ancestry may seem like a harmless mistake, but such guesses can lead adopters to form false expectations about a dog’s personality and behavior.



PHOTOS BY SANDRA MATRECITOS, LISA J. GODFREY FOR THE HSUS, MICHELLE RILEY/THE HSUS, RUTH PETERKIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

2017

Presented by

Join The HSUS and fellow animal care experts—professionals and volunteers, veterans and newbies—from around the

globe for Animal Care Expo 2017 in sunny Florida. Make the greatest impact for pets and people in your community

by learning new skills and strategies to improve your effectiveness in helping pets and the people who love them.

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Visit animalsheltering.org/expo for the latest news and updates.

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(TRANSPORTING) ACROSS THE DIVIDE

Karina King, director of operations at the Dakin Humane Society in Massachusetts, has what you might call “a good prob-lem.” In late October 2016, between the nonprofit’s two locations in Springfield and Leverett, she has only one dog available

for adoption. Usually that number is closer to 10, she says, but even so—her shelter is one of the largest animal welfare agencies in New England.

“I could adopt out probably four times as many dogs and puppies as we do,” says King. The “problem” is that New Englanders are both eager to adopt homeless animals and great at spaying and neutering their

pets. Dakin runs a Humane Alliance spay/neuter clinic that has altered roughly 70,000 animals over the past seven years.“We have people who are looking to do the right thing and adopt, and we want to support them in that, not drive them to back-

yard breeders or pet shops,” says King, noting that there are still pet stores in the state that sell puppies from breeding mills. But the shelter often has to turn families away because of a lack of available dogs who meet their criteria.

Yet King receives daily emails and voicemails from shelters across the country “where they are desperate, desperate for help,” she says. “We can help them. We can save those animals’ lives by doing a transport.”

Cary Smith of The HSUS helps offload dogs rescued from an Arkansas puppy mill in 2016. The dogs were transported to Maryland and picked up by area shelters.

State by state, animal professionals give and take the right wayBY BETHANY WYNN ADAMS


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source and destination state, but dogs typically go from Southern to New England states, stopping at St. Hubert’s and then being distributed in a “hub-and-spoke” model. In 2016, the center’s goal was to facilitate transport of more than 3,000 dogs from all over the country and 1,200 cats from within New Jersey.

“Social causes don’t end at state lines,” says Cammisa. For every dog received, St. Hubert’s reinvests a minimum of $25 in the source shelter’s low-cost spay/neuter program. For Cammisa, the transport program isn’t just about help-ing individual animals. It’s about sharing knowledge and tools to help address the root causes of overpopulation in individual communities, like sponsoring staff trips to The HSUS’s annual Animal Care Expo, helping with vetting costs or connecting shelters with nonprofit resources like Humane Alliance, which teaches organizations how to op-erate successful high-volume spay/neuter clinics.

“This is a partnership. It is not enough to just move dogs,” she says. “If we were just taking dogs and not in-vesting back in these folks, what are we really doing?

If we’re not helping them solve overpopulation, what are we really doing?”

Taming the processIn the past, however, the re-ciprocal solution has been ripe for slip-ups and even scams, sometimes driving more restrict ive pet im-port regulations in com-mon destination states like Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Liam Hughes , d irec-tor of Maine’s animal wel-fare program within its Department of Agriculture, explains that Hurricane Katrina in 2005—and the animals left behind—was

Blurred linesBy now, you know transporting pets across county or state (or international) l ines—to places where Chihuahuas are in high demand and low supply or from warm-weather states where kittens abound year-round—can be a great way to bring needy animals to ex-pectant adopters.

So long as shelters and rescues transport responsi-bly—ensuring the safety and well-being of animals and following state and federal animal transport laws—mov-ing shelter animals from one region to another can be win-win problem sharing and solving. Currently, Dakin works with groups in Texas and New Jersey to transport animals into Massachusetts.

King is careful to point out that source and destina-tion shelter partnerships are mutually beneficial—the “pull” of people who want to adopt and the shelters that want to support their communities’ desire to rescue pets, and the “push” of shelters with too many animals and too few adopters and resources.

“I’ve had a conversation with people at other shel-ters in New England that don’t import, and they’re like, ‘Our responsibility is our community’s animals,’ and I completely agree with that,” she says, and she won’t schedule transports if her shelter receives an unusu-ally large inf lux of local animals. It’s just that those shelters are “defining ‘my community’ as ‘my city’ or ‘my county,’ but I don’t feel that that’s how I define my community. ... These sending shelters [that] don’t have live-release options for the healthy, friendly family dogs that they have—they’re my community as well.”

Heather Cammisa, presi-dent of St. Hubert’s Animal Wel f a re C enter i n Ne w Jersey, emphatically agrees. After working with the now-defunct PetSmart Charities transport program Rescue Waggin’, St . Hubert ’s re-ceived PetSmart Charities and Petco Foundation grants to support its own trans-port programs, including a Jersey-only “feline pipeline,” she says with a laugh.

Since August 2016, the center has acted as a trans-port coordinator and way station for 23 source shel-ters to 27 destination shel-ters and counting, including Dakin. New Jersey is both a

In 2015, eager volunteers wait to help unload dogs transported from Georgia to New Jersey.

“This is a partnership. It is not enough to just move dogs. If we were just taking dogs and not investing back in these folks, what are we really doing? If we’re not helping them solve overpopulation, what are we really doing?”

—Heather Cammisa, St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center


rescues operating in the state. Each licensed rescue must keep animal records, spay and neuter animals and follow all disease protocols just like a brick-and-mortar shelter.

Currently, the state has 77 of these licensed groups, most of which br ing anima ls f rom the South to Maine. Not including transported animals, the state’s 130 shelters and rescues had a combined 93-percent live-release rate in 2015.

Fiske acknowledges that for smaller rescues trans-porting into the state, the additional paperwork, vac-

the beginning of a pet transport explosion that high-lighted the need for regulation.

He recalls rumors of rescue groups accidentally let-ting dogs loose at the interstate rest stop between Maine and New Hampshire. The state also received several com-plaints from New Englanders who unwittingly adopted sick dogs—it was impossible to track down the people be-hind the pets, Hughes says, and one theory is that people posing as rescue groups were selling unvetted dogs.

Rachael Fiske, assistant state veterinarian for Maine’s Division of Animal Health and Welfare, doesn’t lend much credence to the rumors, but calls Hurricane Katrina the “inciting incident” that led to increased pet transports into Maine. The Department of Agriculture issues import permits for all animals entering the state, but thanks to a former licensing exemption that gave rescues (legitimate or not) free rein, “it was still the Wild West when it came to getting [animals] adopted out,” says Hughes.

Shelters in the state “felt like they were being held to a different standard than a rescue that wasn’t a li-censed brick-and-mortar shelter,” says Fiske. Humane agents were worried that if there was a disease out-break, the lack of a paper trail would make it difficult to resolve the issue.

Maine’s animal transport laws changed in 2007, requiring additional immunizations and a holding pe-riod for transported animals before adoption or sale, and again in October 2015, requiring licenses for all

At a San Francisco airport, Jenn Kulina-Lanese of The HSUS

moves dogs rescued from a South

Korean dog meat farm to vans bound

for emergency placement partner shelters. As part of

its campaign to end the dog meat trade,

Humane Society International

convinced one meat farm to shut down

and transported all 103 dogs to the

United States.

A collaboration between Animal Aid USA, Pilots ‘N’ Paws and Pets Plus Natural (a chain store that adopts out homeless dogs instead of selling commercially raised puppies) moves dogs from Georgia to New Jersey in August 2016.


safe transports

adoptable dogs. Thanks to the stressful nature of trans-port, which can cause viral shedding, finding reliable sending shelters is especially important.

“What we have found is the single most important thing, aside from those basic health care requirements that we have, is that the sending shelter is able to pick the correct [animal] personality,” says King. Source shelters must choose the most happy-go-lucky dogs and confi-dent cats, the type of pets who come off transport trucks “marching around and making biscuits,” because they’re less likely to fall ill.

Maine has a similar law, requiring a 48-hour hold-ing period for transported animals older than 6 months. Any animals showing signs of illness—and any animals exposed to them—must be held for a longer quarantine period. Such laws increase length of stay, but they’re nec-

essary, says Fiske.“It’s a fairly broadly written rule, to

some degree on purpose, because it’s really easy [when lawmaking] to paint yourself into a corner. Technology changes , and d iseases of interest change, and areas where diseases didn’t used to be endemic but now are—that all changes,” she says.

“We’re trying to protect the dogs that they’re trying to import, yes, but we’re also trying to protect the popula-tion that’s here. … I see [rescues’] side of it. They need to get these animals moving. … They’re going to be eutha-nized, and I understand that. I don’t take it lightly.”

cines, testing requirements and licensing fees can seem daunting. In fact, the most common complaint she re-ceives from rescues concerns Maine’s requirement for heartworm, Lyme disease and ehrlichia tests in trans-ported dogs. She often responds to such complaints personally. “It’s our job to prove that the licensing fee is used in a positive manner that positively affects them, as well,” she says. When shelters and rescues follow the rules, the animal population is “healthier overall,” plus licensing fees go toward animal welfare programs in the state.

“A lot of the rescue groups are more willing to call us, talk to us and ask us questions [now] because they know we’re not the big bad government trying to stop them from doing any work,” says Hughes. “We just want them to be responsible for the work that they are doing.”

A Goldilocks conundrumAlthough it helps weed out ill-intentioned or ill-pre-pared transporters, increased regulation can make pet transport tricky. According to Massachusetts law, t ranspor t anima ls must receive a health certificate before travel and, on arrival, be held in quarantine for 48 hours before receiving another health certif icate. Per an emergency order issued during Hurricane Katrina, if a single animal shows signs of i l l-ness—anything from sneezing to hair loss—every animal on the transport must remain in quarantine for two weeks, drastica l ly increasing each one’s length of stay, says King. When Dakin’s quarantine space is full, the shelter is forced to cancel subsequent transports, which is why, despite its successful transport partnerships, the shelter often finds itself short on

With space for over 30 pets to travel in climate-controlled comfort, “The Zephyr” features a “Feline Pipeline” tire cover and a whiteboard where transport sponsors are recognized.

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After a Mississippi puppy mill rescue, The HSUS transported 25 dogs and one pet rat to shelters and rescues in Maryland and Virginia.

“A lot of the rescue groups are more willing to call us, talk to us and ask us questions [now] because they know we’re not the big bad government trying to stop them from doing any work. We just want them to be responsible for the work that they are doing.”

—Liam Hughes, Maine Department of Agriculture


get (supplemented by fundraising), meeting transport health requirements isn’t necessarily easy, she says, but the program is “a saving grace.”

St . Hubert ’s sends $25 to $50 per dog back to Menifee; transporters send 10 percent of their fee, paid by St. Hubert’s, back to the shelter. If it can match the amount, Menifee also receives a small spay/neuter grant from the state Department of Agriculture every year. Gradually, McGuire has seen a shift in the number of surrendered animals—from over 1,000 to around 600 a year. “To begin with, people just thought you were stu-pid for even wanting to get [your pet] fixed,” she says. “Now, we are having people call and say, ‘I would like to get my pet fixed.’”

In many communities, availability of low-cost spay/neu-ter services, the strength of animal welfare laws (and fund-ing for their enforcement), population density, economics and even climate can play a role in animal overpopula-tion—and for some organizations, it might be impossible to imagine ever being a destination shelter, says King.

Yet until recently, staffers at Dakin couldn’t imagine a life without too many kittens—then all of a sudden, there was a tipping point. Six years ago, the shelter trans-ported around 300 cats to other organizations. In 2015, it served as the destination shelter for roughly 600 felines.

Cammisa calls St. Hubert’s transport partners like Dakin “sister shelters”—a phrase that evokes one animal welfare family, even when shelters are states apart. It’s a hopeful message for source shelters: One day, they might be on the receiving end of the transport.

Each state and country has its own animal import re-quirements, but Cammisa sends source shelters blanket one-page requirements based on the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators’ best practices for animal trans-port. King sends canine and feline transport contracts specific to Massachusetts and her shelter, outlining the re-quired behavioral test, vaccines, heartworm and fecal tests, flea and deworming treatments, and health certificate.

The Dakin shelter provides spay/neuter, microchip-ping and additional health care, but most potential source shelters still find the requirements time- and resource-prohibitive. It’s a Goldilocks situation, says King—the “just right” shelter is one that’s overcrowded enough to benefit from transport, but that still has the time and re-sources to transport successfully.

Menifee County Animal Shelter in rural Frenchburg, Kentucky—population 500—transports roughly 500 animals a year, formerly through Rescue Waggin’ and now through St. Hubert’s. The shelter is able to adopt out fewer than 100 animals a year in its own community. Director Diana McGuire says too many people “do not alter their animals.” With a $28,000 annual county bud-

Resourcesn Download the Society of Animal Welfare

Administrators’ animal transport best practices: sawanetwork.org/best-practices.html.

n Review import regulations by state: aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information (click “State requirements and regulations”).

n Register for the ASPCA’s animal trans-port webinar series: aspcapro.org/transport-best-practices-7-part-webinar-series.

n Learn more about transporting responsibly at animalsheltering.org/magazine/articles/humanetransport.

n Register for Animal Care Expo 2017 to attend “Give ’em a ride: Best practices for transporting companion animals,” led by two experts who helped shape transport best practices: animalsheltering.org/expo.

The PetSmart Charities

Rescue Waggin’ program, now

defunct, helped to facilitate

transport partnerships that

still exist today.

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“To begin with, people just thought you were stupid for even wanting to get [your pet] fixed. Now, we are having people call and say, ‘I would like to get my pet fixed.’”

—Diana McGuire, Menifee County Animal Shelter


safe transports

years, and its print newsletter currently cir-culates to thousands of longtime supporters two or three times per year. “If you’ve had a certain donor base for many years, those people are now elderly and they want print,” says executive director Mary Tiefenbrunn. “If they didn’t get mailed pieces, they’d have nothing to respond to.”

Print may take some of the immediacy out of a donor appeal, but Tiefenbrunn believes this actually works to an organi-zation’s advantage. “Print can be set aside for later, but electronic puts people on the spot. We sometimes get returns months after an appeal has gone out. They may

With all the channels of communication available today, it can be difficult to de-cide which will be most effective for your shelter’s needs. Should you produce a print newsletter, a digital newsletter or both? Should you write a daily blog, or would that effort be better spent on Facebook and Twitter? How much time should you invest in other social networking sites?

Each communication tool has its own advantages, depending on your goals and audience, but one thing is certain: To save more animals and increase your impact, you must share the stories of your organi-zation’s good work with as many supporters

(and potential supporters) as you can reach. And there’s no single tool that will do it all.

Back to basics In an age of widespread email and internet usage, nonprofits can no longer rely solely on print newsletters and direct mail dona-tion appeals to connect with supporters. That’s led many to ask: Is it worth the time and expense to produce print newsletters for the shrinking number of people who prefer to get communications the old-fash-ioned way?

Champaign County Humane Society in Illinois has been operating for over 100

A method to your messagesMixing old and new technologies to reach the most supporters


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hold is a waste of resources, and post of-fice fees for undeliverable mail can add up. That’s why it ’s important to enlist detail-oriented volunteers or staffers to the data entry effort.

While it takes time to produce an at-tractive, engaging newsletter, many or-ganizations believe it’s still worth it. For example, a print newsletter can be an im-portant outreach tool for organizations that frequently table at community events or hold adoption fairs.

Tiefenbrunn views a newsletter as more of an engagement piece, cementing supporters’ commitment to the organi-zation, rather than just another money-making appeal. “It’s important to be a litt le strategic with your communica-tions—you don’t want to always be asking for money, unless you have a really com-pelling situation,” she says. “You want to be telling people things and showing them what their money does. It helps them feel like they’re a part of something.”

Mixing it upDigital tools allow for new ways of reach-ing out, with email blasts and electronic news le t ters becom i ng i ncrea s i ng ly popular due to convenience and afford-ability. Sheryl Blancato, executive direc-tor of Second Chance Animal Shelter in Massachusetts, says that readers like to get their information in different ways for dif-ferent reasons.

“They like passing on the print pieces to other people, but they also like the in-stant gratif ication of just clicking and reading,” she says. Second Chance puts out a digital newsletter every week and a print newsletter three times a year. “Digital is our day-to-day stuff,” Blancato says, “while print gets the monthly highlights.”

Tiefenbrunn agrees that it’s most ef-fective to do both. A print newsletter, for example, is a great place to recognize sup-porters. “We post memorials for both animals and people and use that space to publicly acknowledge our honorary dona-

proximately 30,000 people. Speed says that although print costs have increased, the returns that roll in as a result of print mailings, such as estate gifts or larger do-nations, justify the expense. “There’s cer-tainly still a significant audience looking at print and choosing to support us through that media channel.”

If cost is a concern when pondering the future of your print pieces, there are ways to stay within your budget, such as reducing the page count or frequency of mailings, using a bulk-mail permit to get nonprofit mail rates or only mailing to a certain segment of your list. You might ask a local printer to cover the printing costs, or find volunteers to take on the post-press work, such as folding, labeling and sorting pieces and delivering them to the post office.

Another cost-saving measure is to make sure you maintain a “clean” mail-ing list by removing duplicate entries and bad addresses. Sending mult iple copies of a newsletter to the same house-

not come back right away, but at least they come back.”

Some shelters have tried doing away with print newsletters due to cost con-cerns, only to receive vehement pushback. Angela Speed, vice president of communi-cations for the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS), says she had to use a spreadsheet to track the number of complaints the shelter received when it announced plans to discontinue its newsletter.

“People were so attached to it,” she says. “Some of it was due to not being digital-savvy; some was plain and simple resis-tance to change. But readers mostly value the print piece because it contains content that the website and social media just can’t offer. It’s used as a vehicle to tell more in-depth stories and provide more informa-tion about our work and programming. Having something physical in someone’s hands is still important, especially to cer-tain demographics.”

WHS brought back the print newslet-ter, which now goes out quarterly to ap-

A volunteer at Second Chance Animal Shelter in Massachusetts offers an adoptable cat some outside-the-kennel love in the shelter’s visiting room. Second Chance uses various forms of communication to attract and keep volunteers and to let them know about the shelter’s special needs, including pets who need extra attention.


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T i e f e n b r u n n s a w t h e p o w e r o f Champaign County Humane Society’s Facebook account a few years ago when a summertime water main break caused the shelter to lose its running water. After put-ting out a request for bottled water for the animals, “we wound up with so much that we had to donate some of it back,” she re-calls. “We had pallets and pallets of water. … It was an urgent need, and all they had to do was drive over with a case or two, and they felt like they were doing some-thing important. We had people donating within an hour of the post going live.

“With the right ask at the right time, you can get a lot of people to help. Other times, you get squat,” she adds. “Social media can be a love/hate relationship, but it can also be a really exciting engagement mechanism.”

A multifaceted soapboxPeople are bombarded with more news than ever these days, and shelters have to work harder to reach people through their platform of choice. But as an animal wel-fare organization, you’ve got an advantage over other news sources: an unending stream of compelling content. “Every ani-

taking care of the page and making sure we respond to people.”

Wisconsin Humane Society uses so-cial media primarily to dispense break-ing news to its approximately 79,000 Facebook fans. The shelter dabbles in Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and YouTube, but Facebook is still where it sees the most engagement.

“Our most popular content on Facebook is about animals who are up for adoption,” says Speed. “People want to know how they came to be with us and that they’re safe now and how wonderful they are. On social media, it’s almost like people want to cast themselves in the future of that animal. By sharing or commenting or tagging some-one, they become part of that animal’s des-tiny and become a hero in that story.”

Online donation appeals can l ike-wise create a sense of immediacy and investment in the outcome. “If we run a donation campaign, our audience are characters in that storytelling narrative,” Speed says. “Because we’re relying on community support almost 100 percent, it’s essential to get that news out and en-gage that audience.”

tions,” she says. “People seem to love … looking for their friends or friends’ pets.”

Digital, however, can be used to keep do-nors informed about immediate challenges and make them feel like part of the fam-ily, says Blancato. “Readers get a snapshot into what we’re doing on a daily basis, and it keeps them engaged with us. If they’re aware of what’s going on, it also makes it more difficult to give us a hard time when it comes to where the money’s going—it’s very important for them to know that.”

#GoSocialEven if your organization produces both print and digital newsletters, these are one-way communications. Many of your supporters will also want and expect the in-teractive communication found on Facebook and other social networking platforms.

Second Chance tries to post to its Facebook page a couple of times a day. The staff have also tried Instagram, but real-ized their resources were better spent on Facebook, where they have accumulated nearly 20,000 fans. “Facebook is by far the most bang for the buck,” Blancato says. “We’ve overheard people at our events ta lking about some of the news we’ve posted. So we know they’re engaged and that we have an interactive audience. We have someone specifically dedicated to

Resourcesn Read more about direct mail from

experts in the field at animalshel-tering.org/magazine/articles/sealed-kiss-and-scads-marketing-savvy.

n Learn how to pinpoint your orga-nization’s branding and “voice” at animalsheltering.org/magazine/articles/brand-new-you.

n Find out how to reap the benefits of Facebook (including donate buttons and event pages) at non-profits.fb.com. Andrea Miszewski, shelter operations manager at Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS), gets better acquainted

with two dogs rescued from a hoarding situation. Sharing pictures like this on social media allows your supporters to feel connected to each rescue, says WHS’s Angela Speed.


mal and person we come into contact with has a story,” Speed says, “and people who love animals are interested in hearing those stories and sharing their own.”

That said, few organizations have un-limited time to do everything they’d like to do in their communications. “You get to a point where you’re trying to main-tain so much, and you just can’t do it all,” says Blancato.

For most organizations, that means making some strategic choices—for ex-ample, you may need to decrease your number of print mailings to free up staff time to manage a Facebook page, or you may need to focus on just one or two so-cial media platforms rather than trying to have a presence on all of them. Instead of starting a blog, you might decide to make a “message from our leader” a regular feature of your digital newsletter, or con-versely, you might tweak your blog con-tent so it also delivers the information you would include in a digital newsletter.

It also pays to learn some time-saving features that will allow your content to do double or triple duty. You can configure your website to automatically include con-tent from a digital newsletter or Facebook account, keeping your web content fresh. You can link your Facebook account to Twitter or Instagram, enabling your or-ganization to have a presence on multiple sites with no extra effort. Those stories and photos that your adopters and volunteers post to your social media pages can be re-purposed for your print newsletter.

In the end, no matter which options you choose, your goal is to keep your sup-porters aware of your good work and to at-tract new people to your cause.

“You’re sharing what the mission is, what you’ve accomplished, what we’ve ac-complished,” says Tiefenbrunn, “while re-minding them you still need their support.”

—Danielle S. Tepper

Danielle S. Tepper is an email marketing

strategist at The HSUS.

Timmy, the inspiration for the “Timmy Prize” for new users of Calchlorin nonsurgical sterilization. Credit: R.Z. and S.B

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sion: Those who don’t adopt often buy. Yet those who do adopt often adopt again. Finding those passive potential adopters is key to increased adoptions, now and in the future, but when adoptable dogs and cats are in kennels or traditional foster homes, they’re often out of sight—and out of mind.

The ASPCA’s Adoption Ambassadors prog ra m, i mplemented at CA HS i n September 2015, empowers fosters to do more than just house animals in their homes. The program seeks to get eyes on those animals by turning fosters into “tal-ent agents,” says B.J. Rogers, ASPCA vice president of Pro-Learning.

“Cuddles” was a misnomer, because the gray-and-white cat was anything but cuddly. Staffers at Capital Area Humane Society (CAHS) in Lansing, Michigan, tried time, calming medication, a hidey-hut and a blanket over his cage—but the feline attacked anyone who attempted to pet him and had to be tranquilized before vetting. An indoor cat before his owner passed away, Cuddles wasn’t a good candi-date for a barn home.

Then one “really brave” foster took h i m home , s ay s fos ter coord i nator Kristen McCann, and two days later, Cuddles was actua l ly cuddl ing. “We k new he wasn’t one [who] cou ld re-

al ly ever come back to a shelter,” says McCann. “He would have to be adopted out of foster care.”

With the help of a waived adoption fee, the foster used her own social network to locate an adopter and personally com-pleted the adoption within 11 days—a happy ending that began with a shelter’s willingness to let a foster take the reins.

Talented promotersThe number of people who consider adopting a pet is far greater than those who actually visit shelters and leave with a pet, according to recent data. We al-ready know the results of such indeci-

In fosters we trustPioneering program empowers fosters to seal the deal

At Charleston Animal Society, Bella’s adoption ambassador treated her to a photoshoot—soon after, the senior dog was adopted.


life preservers

In the summer of 2010, the LA/SPCA competed in the ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge, a contest that challenges shel-ters and rescues to achieve personal adop-tion records. Frustrated that black Lab mix Tulip was lingering at the shelter, former foster coordinator Meg Allison outfitted the dog in an “adopt me” vest and walked her on the streets of New Orleans. Within days, Tulip had a new home. And so the precur-sor to Adoption Ambassadors—Fast Track Fosters, as it’s still known at LA/SPCA—was born. Since then, over 900 animals have been placed through the program.

“It was just one of many different ideas that we put into place that summer,” says foster coordinator Allie Mayer, but it was the most effective.

When the ASPCA learned of Fast Track Fosters, the organization partnered with the LA/SPCA and Charleston Animal Society in South Carolina to research the program. The results were too promising to ignore.

From 2010 to 2011, of those who adopted from an adoption ambassador, 70 percent had never adopted before, compared to 48 percent of those who adopted from shelters.

D u r i ng b ot h t he 2 015 a nd 2 016 Adopt ion A mbassadors ca mpa ig ns , around 750 organizations pledged to im-plement the program, many of them with help from ASPCA grants. Fosters at these organizations then became adoption am-bassadors, taking animals outfitted with “adopt me” leashes and vests to hair sa-lons and bars, handing out animal “busi-ness cards,” sharing animals’ bios on their own social media pages, posting foster yard signs and “adopt me” posters, meet-ing with adopters—and independently completing official adoption processes and post-adoption follow-ups.

The program embraces “the conver-sation-based adoption approach” and encourages organizations to “place trust in the members of their communities to be active partners in saving lives,” says Rogers. “Really, the foundation of the pro-gram is a trusting relationship between shelter and shelter volunteer.”

Some organizations use ambassadors for animals who need a little extra promotion, while others allow ambassadors to choose any animal for the VIP treatment. Some have only three or four ambassadors among their usual fosters, while the Louisiana SPCA (LA/SPCA) in New Orleans has around a hundred. CAHS trains ambas-

sadors one-on-one and gives some access to its shelter software, while the LA/SPCA simply sends ambassadors home with con-tact information, step-by-step marketing ideas, a list of dog-friendly restaurants and adoption paperwork.

Adoption ambassadors’ animals go straight from foster home to adoptive home, meaning adopters never enter the shelter. Seeing dogs and cats out and about in the community “alters how we perceive an ani-mal,” says Rogers. “People seem to see the dog not as a shelter animal, but as a pet, and I think that’s a really powerful distinction.”

Lifesaving in the fast laneOf course, the idea isn’t entirely new—as Ellen Taylor, vice president and chief op-erating off icer at the Humane Society of Washington County in Hagerstown, Maryland, will tell you. At Washington County, they’ve had a Traveling Fosters program for three years, since “before Adoption Ambassadors became a ‘thing,’” Taylor says. It’s existing programs like Traveling Fosters that inspired the folks at the ASPCA to expand, formalize and, in some cases, help finance similar programs.

A Louisiana SPCA foster parent models the shelter’s Fast Track Fosters T-shirt.

A Humane Society of Greater Miami volunteer poses with Carrie the cat while simultaneously serving as a billboard for the tabby.


been toying with the idea of adopting a dog, but I haven’t really been searching … but this dog just seems perfect for me, and it seems like she just found me,’” says Mayer. While Mayer ran to buy a new leash and collar, the adopter and adop-tion ambassador went to a nearby pizza restaurant and completed paperwork then and there.

“That was a case of someone who was not searching Petfinder, was not search-ing our website, was not coming to adop-tion events and ended up adopting a dog,” Mayer says.

On the road againTrusting fosters encourages them to get creative, like one couple at the LA/SPCA who specialized in adopting out large, pit bull-type dogs. “They were definitely our rock stars,” says Mayer. “As soon as they walked out of the shelter, their social

ship with an animal here at the shelter, they might not have any idea how they would behave in a home.”

Besides, the program provides the f lexibility for on-the-spot adoptions. One brindle pit bull-type was adopted straight off busy Magazine Street in New Orleans. “A woman just stopped us and said, ‘I’ve

Of ambassador adoptions, only 2 percent resulted in a return, compared to 12 percent of shelter adoptions. Since then, increasing evidence from hundreds of organizations shows that adoption ambassadors are able to tap into new adopter audiences—and achieve more successful results.

That’s probably because adoption am-bassadors know the animals so well and they’re able to invest more time in meet-ing and following up with adopters, says Mayer. All that chatting does mean ani-mals in the program tend to stick around longer, but “that’s not a particular cause for concern,” says Rogers. “These animals are in homes.” Plus, the animals are re-turned at lower rates.

“When our foster homes know these animals and can answer all the questions on the spot, it just helps to create a little bit better match,” says McCann. “Whereas an adoption counselor may have a relation-

Ivory, a 2-year-old pit bull-type, was returned to Lawrence Humane Society twice in 2015 before a volunteer fostered her through the Adoption Ambassadors program. After three weeks of networking and hard work, the ambassador found Ivory a new—and permanent—home.

At an LA/SPCA adoption event, program pup Rose and her adoption ambassador family suit up in themed attire.


[life preservers]

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media pages were just exploding with pic-tures of this dog.”

The couple would first take a new foster to Petco and create a video of him “pick-ing out” toys and a bed. Mayer remembers images of “this little wiggly [pit bull-type], so excited to be picking out toys,” she says. “Every day of the week, they were taking [the dog] somewhere, posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram, like ‘Here’s the pup by the Mississippi River!’” Although the couple has since moved out of state, the shelter includes their phone number within its list of marketing ideas—just in case anyone needs a little inspiration.

Many organizations choose mostly dogs for the Adoption Ambassadors pro-gram—which is perhaps understandable, if you’ve ever tried to walk a nervous cat on a leash. But at Washington County, where cat intake is double that of dog intake, the Traveling Fosters program is almost all cats. One family, led by their son, has fostered hundreds of cats through the pro-gram over four years, says Taylor. The teen even helped write Washington County’s Traveling Fosters training manual.

“He wants my job,” laughs Taylor.Roughly 25 traveling fosters (of around

400 total fosters) plan and hold near-weekly “gigs,” she says, including events at churches, car dealerships and ice cream

Resourcesn Read more about the program

and download sample forms and checklists at aspcapro.org/ambassadors.

n Watch The HSUS Adopters Welcome webinar series at ani-malsheltering.org/trainings.

n Read the ASPCA Adoption Ambassadors study, published in PLOS ONE, at journals.plos.org/plosone (search “Evaluation of a Novel Dog Adoption Program in Two US Communities”).


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shops. Much like roadies, volunteers receive a “traveling shelter,” including a foldable table, a comfortable cage that opens from all sides, a rolling file box, a Wi-Fi hotspot, a laptop, a credit card reader and access to the database system, as well as food, litter, bowls and calming spray.

Gigs are “casual and welcoming,” says Taylor, with cats in cages, on leashes and held in laps. Over two years, traveling fos-ters have placed 512 cats and eight dogs. Although some organizations have con-cerns about volunteers filing paperwork or taking fees, says Rogers at the ASPCA, Taylor has no qualms.

“I don’t understand why that seems to be an obstacle for so many organizations,” she says. “These are folks that give up their personal time. We trust them with ani-mals, so I trust them with our shelter soft-ware. I trust them to collect funds. To me, the animals are more valuable than that.”

Her shelter’s live-release rate has gone from 29 percent to 81 percent in seven years after doing away with “unnecessary hoops,” says Taylor. “It’s interesting, when you loosen up, how much better things can get.”

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At the Humane Society of Greater Miami, anyone can participate in the Cat Ambassadors program—the shelter provides printable fliers and free T-shirts featuring cats’ glamour shots. Ten-year-old Brandon was at the shelter for three years before being adopted after 9-year-old Luna Balzano wore his T-shirt to school.


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Research and cultivationWhat an organization considers a major gift will depend on its size and resources, but Reed recommends that small organizations define a donation of $5,000 or more as major.

In his experience, about 3 to 5 percent of an organization’s total donor base is ca-pable of giving a major gift.

“So many organizations do not have a clue how much is actually at their finger-tips,” Reed says.

A person’s likelihood to give depends on their capacity (wealth) and propen-sity (likelihood to give, which increases if they’ve given charitably before, especially to your organization or a similar one). To

Take a look at your donor list, and you’ll likely see evidence that love for animals crosses all socioeconomic lines. There’s the senior on a fixed income who pledges $5 a month, and the local business owner who donated $1,000 during your last end-of-year fundraising drive.

You might assume that each of your do-nors is giving as much as she can to your cause. But behind some of those small and medium-size checks are animal-loving peo-ple who could and would give major gifts of money if only you got to know them.

Major gift fundraising is “a bit of an art form and a relationship-building process,” says Kimberlee Dinn, senior director of in-

stitutional giving and stewardship at The HSUS. The effort is worth it, because major gifts can fund lifesaving programs that other donations can’t support. Plus, once you ac-quire major donors, you’ll have a head start when you need to fundraise for an expensive project, like building a new shelter.

Major gifts have “the ability to change the trajectory of the organization,” says Dan Reed, CEO and co-founder of fund-raising training company Seed and former chief development officer at Morris Animal Foundation. “You’re probably not going to take these big, transformational steps in your program without the significant generosity that [comes from] major gift relationships.”

Seeds of supportNurturing relationships with major donors can help grow your organization


the human element

know, suggest donors or even have some in-sight into certain people’s capacity to give.

Relationships that blossomThe average time it takes to develop a rela-tionship with a person before you ask for a major gift is 18 months, says Katherine Shenar, chief of staff at the San Diego Humane Society. For someone to give, they “have to feel confident about the re-lationship” with the fundraiser, and the fundraiser needs to develop a “rapport and friendship with these donors,” she says.

Whether you’re working with prospec-tive or existing donors, relationship building will include getting to know their interests, keeping them updated on your work and, if they’ve given before, letting them know how their generosity has made a difference.

In this type of fundraising, the key is to get donors or prospects to share personal stories about their interest in the cause, says Reed. When people share their stories, it triggers an emotional investment in your work and allows fundraisers to know what truly matters to the donors.

To facilitate this storytelling, fundrais-ers should share a personal story of their own that shows why they care about the cause, says Reed.

He also recommends that fundraisers learn “active listening” skills, which allows them to fully concentrate on what poten-tial donors are saying, rather than just pas-sively hearing them.

Dinn says her rule of thumb for con-versing with donors or prospects is to let them talk two-thirds of the time.

“Have a series of good, solid questions you want to know about them,” she says. “… You want to have a conversation with them and find out what motivates them and what they are excited about in your work, and from there you can open up the conversation a little bit more.”

Part of building a relationship also in-volves knowing how often a donor wants to hear from you. You shouldn’t ask for a gift every time you contact a donor, but

find major gift prospects, look at who has already been donating to you for a long time and might have a larger capacity to give, says Dinn.

A variety of software exists for pros-pect research, including WealthEngine, Fou nd at ionS ea rch a nd Fou nd at ion Directory Online, Dinn notes. But for smaller organizations that can’t afford those tools, Google is sufficient, says Reed.

“It’s really looking and saying, ‘OK, this person has some wealth, and yes, they’ve given to a few organizations,’” says Reed. Someone who has donated to animal causes before is a better prospect, but it doesn’t hurt to look for people who have given to other types of organizations.

You can a lso look in the business section of your local paper to see who the “movers and shakers” are, because they could be potential donors, says Rob Blizard, executive director of the Norfolk SPCA in Virginia.

“The key here for small organizations [is]: Do not spend too much time finding

the bull’s-eye prospect,” Reed says. “Find prospects on the dartboard.”

Blizard suggests periodically calling people who give multiple small dona-tions each year. “In a way they’re sending a signal to you that ‘I’m really interested in what you’re doing,’” he says. “Maybe they’ ll give at a higher level if you pay them a little attention.”

Other resources are your board of di-rectors, committee members or volunteers, especially when you consider the fundrais-ing adage that “people give to people and not to causes,” says Jim Tedford, president and CEO of the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators.

“Oftentimes those folks have got really incredible community connections that you as a CEO may or may not have,” he says.

“Some board members will feel comfort-able being an active part of [fundraising]; my experience is that most board mem-bers do not feel comfortable with that,” says Blizard. But they could help open the door to meetings with potential donors they


[the human element]

impact of their gift,” says Dinn. “… They’re so much more compelled to give, and give more, when they feel appreciated and when they feel that ‘Wow, I did a good thing here.’”

Other ways to make donors feel ap-preciated include events and recognition. Recognize them in an annual report, on your website, on plaques hanging in the shelter or on engraved stones on the side-walk outside your building. At Norfolk SPCA, donors’ names can be displayed on kennels if they give a certain amount for 12 months, says Blizard.

If you’re having an appreciation event, the group’s mission needs to be “the cen-terpiece of what the party involves,” says Shenar. Even if you’re having a cocktail party at a private home, make sure shelter animals are there, she says.

Some supporters might prefer sophis-ticated events l ike the Dumb Friends League’s reception at the Denver Art Museum, and others might feel more com-fortable attending a shelter tour for donors.

“Your goal at any donor appreciation event is for them … on the drive home

you should consider every interaction a step toward a future ask.

“It’s really a matter of customizing that based on the individual donor and what their interests are and what their tolerance level is for that,” says Tedford. “There’s a very real concern about donor fat igue i f you are in contact too fre-quently. At the same time, you don’t want to be out of sight and out of mind.”

As a guideline, Reed recommends con-tacting a donor at least four times a year, but six times is ideal.

Not all of these interactions have to be face-to-face, like lunch or coffee meet-ings. They can include phone calls or per-sonalized emails or letters, depending on the method the donor prefers.

Think of communication with donors as similar to “all the little things … that we put on our calendars for our grandmas,” says Reed—birthday cards, a note with good news or a phone call with some updates.

For example, if a donor is interested in community cats and your organization gets a grant for a trap-neuter-return proj-ect, call her or send her a link to an article about it, says Blizard.

Especially if you have a small organiza-tion, it can be difficult to find the time for donor outreach, but try to pick five donors to call each week, says Marta Diffen, director of development at the Dumb Friends League in Denver. “It’s such a critical component to the organization, to the animals that are in your care, to be able to go back to the people that have been supporting you [and] let them know that they made a difference.”

Besides, today’s technology makes it easy to communicate with donors with-out taking too much time out of your day. Videos of the animals in your shelter can connect donors to the work they support. Or, just a video of you saying thanks to a donor (not necessarily including animals) can help foster the personal connection you’ve established, says Reed.

“When you’re in the middle of your day and a donor pops up in your mind, literally

just take your iPhone out and just do a little video,” says Reed. It doesn’t have to be perfect—just email it to the donor.

Y o u c a n a l s o u s e Facebook to communicate on a personal level with in-dividual donors.

“I am friends with do-nors on my Facebook page,” says Shenar. “We share in-formation, put things on their walls. It’s a great way to connect with people.”

And keep in mind that many of your donors are likely following your orga-nization’s progress via its own Facebook page and other social media channels.

“If your Facebook page is not act ive, and you’re not featuring lifesaving moments or ex-traordinary stories of how you’re helping animals, you’re missing the opportunity to connect with donors,” says Shenar.

Careful tendingIdeally, once you receive a gift, you’ll con-tinue all the contact with your donor that helped secure the money in the first place. But post-gift, you’ll want to do two basic things, if nothing else: Send an acknowledg-ment letter thanking the donor “quickly and efficiently” (the national average is within 72 hours of receiving the gift), and report to the donor after the gift is used, says Angela Joens, assistant vice chancellor of develop-ment outreach at UC Davis.

Multiple thank-yous over time, espe-cially from different people (like from the executive director and board chair) can’t hurt as long as you personalize them to the donor, says Reed. Later, report back to the donor with a brief one-pager that outlines what the gift allowed you to do, says Dinn.

“I think the No. 1 thing that you can do is to make sure the donor is aware of the


At San Diego Humane Society, a nota-ble donor appreciation event was a behind-the-scenes tour of the kitten nursery, says Shenar. “Again, if they can see your mis-sion in action and they can actually see the work being done, it’s very powerful.”

Overal l, there’s no set formula for having good relationships with donors. “There are fundamental things you have to do,” like thanking them after you get a gift, says Joens, “but how you do it, what it looks like, what it sounds like, that’s all based on knowing your audience.”

And if you want to be sure you know them, when you meet a donor, ask these three questions, she says: Why do you give to this organization? What could we do to show our appreciation? What would in-spire you to give again? —Colleen Jaskot

Colleen Jaskot is a former staff writer

for The HSUS.

[to] say to their spouse, ‘Wow, I love that organization. I’m so glad we donate to them. I can’t wait to see what we’re going

to do … the next time we make a gift,’” says Shenar. “You want them to feel ap-preciated, valued and inspired to make another gift.”

Norfolk SPCA invites major donors, along with the mayor, city council, board members, shelter staff and key volunteers, to a reception every December at the shel-ter. The event includes a shelter tour and opportunity to visit the animals, and do-nors also receive statistics and informa-tion about the shelter’s accomplishments that year.

“It’s a way of saying thank you and being accountable to them,” says Blizard. It also encourages many donors to give a sig-nificant gift before the year ends, he adds.

At UC Davis, donors like events that get them involved—like helping with the har-vest at the campus vineyard, says Joens.

“If you can touch it, feel it, smell it—that’s the best,” she adds.

Resourcesn Association of Donor Relations

Professionals: adrp.netn Association of Fundraising

Professionals: afpnet.orgn The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

philanthropy.comn Seed fundraising courses: seed-

fundraisers.com/courses

Booksn Mega Gifts: Who Gives Them, Who

Gets Them by Jerold Panasn The Art & Science of Major Gifts by

Holly Parrish and Louanne Saraga Walters

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Show and tell us about your own Unforgettable animals, and they could end up in Animal Sheltering! Go to animalsheltering.org/unforgettable to submit.

Angel beats the big chillrecovery was nothing short of miraculous! To us, it was the perfect example of how a dog’s spirit can help accomplish things that we humans might never understand.

A family in Washington state had con-tacted us regarding another dog we had posted online. At the time, that dog was pending adoption with another family, but I took a chance and casually mentioned Angel. Her story captured their hearts, and they immediately agreed to give her a loving home. They bought her a plane ticket and f lew her across the country to live out the rest of her life just as she should! Renamed Chaia, she’s now a happy, healthy girl, and she will forever hold her own spot in my heart. I’m incredibly lucky to have known a dog as tough and inspiring as her!

—Amber Dvorak

Shelter director and humane officer

Monroe County Animal Shelter

Sparta, Wisconsin

In February 2015, it was approximately 40 degrees below zero in Wisconsin when I got a call from a concerned man who had found a stray dog. He told me that she seemed disoriented, and he described the stray as “incredibly thin” and “acting strangely,” but what I saw when I arrived would forever change my life.

When I got there, the man had a beau-tiful red tick coonhound in his garage. She was emaciated, and her body was ice cold to the touch as she stood motionless, pressed up against a wall in the garage. She had become hypothermic, and her body and organs were beginning to shut down. I lifted the weak little lady into my truck, and I drove as fast as I could to the vet clinic. I thought for sure she would pass away before I got there.

When we arrived at the vet clinic, she was immediately placed on heated IVs, and the veterinarian said she had gone

temporarily blind from starvation, dehy-dration and hypothermia.

Over the next few weeks, she remained under observation by the veterinary staff at the clinic. She started having seizures and had to be hand-fed. The vet called me to say they thought she might not improve and may need to be humanely euthanized, so I rushed over to say my goodbyes.

When I arrived, the dog, who I had named Angel, got up to greet me. She had not stood on her own in weeks, so we knew that this meant she was a survivor. We de-cided to give it all the effort we had, just as she had done.

After a total of about six months of rehab at the vet clinic, our animal shelter and then in a foster care facility, this hilarious coon-hound began to blossom! She got her sight back, gained weight and was placed up for adoption. Our veterinarian said she might not ever have 100 percent vision, but that her

After nearly freezing to death as a stray in Wisconsin (see inset below), Angel/Chaia is healthy and happy in her new home in Washington state.


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All the Benefits You Need at an Affordable PriceExtended shelf life • Easy-to-store boxes • Room temperature storage

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