"Never work with children or animals."

"Never work with children or animals" is the famous quote from W.C. Fields.   He was referring to child and animal actors in a film setting and it was inferred that they would steal the scene. 

With my job in humane education it's impossible to avoid working with either one.  I will admit, however, that working with kids and animals can lead to unpredictable situations and my job requires that I go with the flow and try to find teachable moments when unintended situations come up.

The other afternoon I was at the after-school program at Blair Elementary School visiting with the kindergarten through 3rd graders in the school's gym/auditorium.  I did an activity with them showing  how quickly cats can multiply when you start with one unspayed cat.  Fiona, an adoptable HAWS cat, was in the carrier next to me as I worked with the kids and periodically let out mournful meows that told us just how unhappy she was with her confinement.

I always get a bit nervous taking cats to off-site programs because they are very unpredictable.  A cat who is seemingly outgoing and friendly at the shelter can behave very shut down and stressed in a different environment.  An unlike small animals that are easy to confine, cats are so athletic that they can easily get away if loose.

Before I took Fiona out of her carrier I told the kids that she might jump out of the circle they were sitting in, and if that happened they were to be completely quiet, stay put and allow one of the adults to go get Fiona.

I wasn't surprised when Fiona left the circle of kids, walked over to the wall and started walking the perimeter of the room.  It's very common for cats to do this in new environments as a way to ensure there isn't anything dangerous in the area.  I calmly walked behind her allowing her to check things out.  I really wasn't concerned until we came to the part of the room that contained the stage.  Unfortunately I didn't notice until it was too late that one of the sliding doors to the chair rack storage area under the stage was open by a few inches.  That's all it took; in a flash Fiona dashed in the opening and was gone.

The children were amazingly quiet and well behaved while the  adults crowded around the 3 foot high opening and shined a flashlight all the way back into the storage area.  After we pulled the chair carts out, we finally located Fiona huddled way in the back 20 feet away from us. 

Realizing there wasn't any way she'd come out on her own, I sighed, got down on my hands and knees, and crawled through what was probably 15 years worth of dust to retrieve her.

During this whole procedure the kids were still sitting in their circle, being very quiet and respectful.  I explained that Fiona was just a bit frightened and that's why she wanted to hide.   None of the kids complained that they didn't get enough time with the cat, and they all thanked me for coming as I left.

There's a reason...

I didn't grow up with dogs, although I had always wanted one.  One of my first memories is of when I was 3 or 4 years old and sitting on the lap of my grandmother singing a made-up song about a dog.  I had to wait until I was an adult to get my first dog, a sheltie that I purchased from a breeder.

Not knowing anything about dogs, of course I thought I was very knowledgeable.  I wanted to get a purebred because since I was getting a puppy I needed to know it would grow up to be a small dog appropriate for apartment living.  And I was getting a puppy so that I could raise it to be the dog I wanted.  I was so naive.

I was shocked when my puppy ended up pushing my buttons, and behaving in ways I didn't know how to deal with.  I look back at that time with amusement, and yet I think it's a very common situation that most new dog owners go through. 

"There's a reason they gave her up", someone recently told me as they were relating some of the behavior problems a recently adopted dog was giving a mutual friend of ours.  "People don't give up a good dog...", she continued.

Unfortunately the belief that all animals at rescues and shelters have serious behavior or temperament issues is still prevalent.  People who aren't "in the business" can't comprehend that someone would give up a well behaved pet or a pet with a good temperament.   While I wouldn't have dreamed of giving Chester up, many people in the same situation I was in do.  Sometimes it's because their lives are too busy and they don't have time to deal with an ill-mannered, needing to be trained dog.  Sometimes it's because they don't have the money or don't want to spend money on attending training classes. 

As a matter of fact, there are a lot of reasons that people surrender or rehome dogs that have nothing to do with serious behavior problems.  Working at a shelter I know that common reasons are allergies, landlord issues, the owner has passed away, not enough time, not enough money, etc.

While it is true that most dogs in shelters haven't had any training, it's generally a matter of needing family manners training and easily resolved.  This is the same type of training that anyone getting a puppy should commit to.  In some ways training an older dog is easier because they've got better bladder and bowel control, have gotten through much of their intense chewing phase, and  have a longer attention span.

I made plenty of mistakes raising Chester, but I stood by him until his death at the age of eleven.  Chester helped me as I learned about dog training, behavior and became invested in animal welfare.  But he also taught me that had I not stuck with him, had I turned him into a shelter he would have been a really great dog that needed a home.  Just like most dogs in shelters and rescues.

Conversations with Campers

Lucky 4 Leaf Clover

Last week we held Camp Gone to the Dogs for kids between ages 10 and 14 years.  One group was sitting on the grass with their dogs and I stopped by to chat for a bit.

"Are there such things as 4 leaf clovers?" asked one of the girls.

I told her that there were, but they were pretty rare which is why people considered them lucky.  Then I walked off to check in with another group of kids.

A little while later I walked past the first group.  "She found a 4 leaf clover!" one of the kids excitedly yelled.

"Really?  Show it to me," I said hurrying over. 

"Oh, I threw it away already."

How to Tells the Boys from the Girls

Another amusing conversation happened at this week's camp.  Assistant Educator Megan and I were in with a group of kids who were playing with kittens.  One of the kids asked how we could tell the boys from the girls.  Instead of my standard answer, "Boys have boy parts, and girls have girl parts", I decided to make her think a bit.

"Well, how do you know you're a girl and not a boy?" I asked.

"I have long hair", was the reply.

"Ok, well when babies are first born and they don't have hair, how does the doctor know it's a boy and not a girl?"

The little girl thought, and thought. I could see the wheels spinning in her head and I assumed she had it figured out.

"Well, boys have blue blankets and girls have pink."

Rearranging Our Schedule

I have to admit that creating a schedule for our camp sessions is something that I dread.  We have 40-some kids split up into 5 groups so that they get more one on one time with the animals and so that they can get more out of activities.  Needless to say it gets complicated making sure that each group gets to experience the same things and figure out where each group will do their individual activities in the building without disrupting other campers or the regular business of camp.   Additionally I have to make sure that the kids have a learning experience here at camp since our goal is that they come away from their time at HAWS with respect and responsibility for animals. 

That being said, sometimes my carefully crafted schedule gets disrupted and the counselors are forced to be flexible enough to roll with the changes.  Last week we had one such event when HAWS Mobile Adoption Coordinator, Johanna Schmanski was kind enough to bring her foster kittens in for the kids to meet. 

Summer time at HAWS is what we call "kitten season". It's the time of year when tons of kittens are brought in from all over the county.  Many of these kittens are too young to go up for adoption and are farmed out to foster homes until they're old enough at 8 weeks of age to return and find their new homes.  Some of these kittens are too young even to eat solid food and need to be bottle fed.

Johanna's fosters happened to have been bottle babies, and so it was a great opportunity for the kids to learn about how foster homes care for very young kittens -- feeding them every 3 hours by bottle, helping them to potty by stimulating their bottoms, and how much work it is to care for them.

The kids were enthralled and thrilled when they were given a chance to feed the kittens themselves.  And it was worth the disruption of my carefully planned out schedule.

A Conversation with a Camper

The main focus of HAWS Kids 'N Critters Day Camps is to educate children about animal welfare issues, one topic being what it means to be a responsible pet owner.  We have many games and activities that help emphasize such things as doing research before bringing a pet home, ensuring that a new owner has appropriate supplies, providing exercise, grooming and cleaning.

Sometimes, however, the best educational moments are during periods of down-time.  The other day I sat with the kids as they played with a cat and a little girl started a conversation with me about a problem she was having with her parents.  Apparently she wanted to get a kitten and her parents had told her they would purchase kitty litter and food, but that she'd have to figure out a way to provide veterinary care.  She wanted to know if she could get her future kitten spayed or neutered at HAWS for free or for just a small amount of money.

I explained to her that HAWS provides low cost spay and neuter to people who are on government assistance (Social Security, Disability, etc), but that because her parents both have jobs and can afford pet care we couldn't do the same for her.  I also explained that kittens need more vet care than just spay and neuter.  Her kitten would need vaccinations, and may need such things as medicine to get rid of ear mites and intestinal parasites.  HAWS doesn't provide these services to the public, so she'd need to spend money at a vet any way.  Additionally vet care isn't just a one-time visit.  She'd have to spend money every year for a wellness check-up, and if her cat got sick or hurt she might need to take the cat to the vet for care in addition to the annual examination. 

I'm not sure how the topic changed to litter boxes, but the girl indicated that she only planned to clean the box once a week.  I explained that cats are very clean animals, and that they don't like to use dirty litter boxes. 

The little girl didn't get it.  "But why can't I just clean it once a week?" she asked.  I told her that some cats might stop using a litter box if it's dirty and start going potty in other, less desirable places.  She still didn't understand about daily cleanings, and so I asked her if she'd want to use a toilet that never got flushed. 

I'm not sure the girl was convinced.  Typical of many kids her desire to have a kitten to have fun with was stronger than her understanding of the fact that while a pet is fun it's also a responsibility that requires care that isn't always fun.  But I hope I at least planted a seed. 

Summer Campers are Here!

Although HAWS is only into our second week of Kids 'N Critters Day Camp, I can say that it's started out to be our best year ever.  All of the counselors have returned from previous years, we have several teen volunteers helping out, and a mix of the familiar faces of returning campers along with new campers as well!

The kids have had a lot of fun, but they've also been a lot of fun.  I enjoy spending time with them and talking about what animals they love, answering their questions, and watching them play games and interact with the many animals here at HAWS.  It makes my job better to know how excited kids are to spend time at HAWS and learn about animals.

Spring Break Camp 2014

For the past several years HAWS has collaborated with the Hadfield Elementary Boys and Girls Clubs to provide a Spring Break Camp.  This year we had 10 boys and girls from the 4th and 5th grades spend four days learning about HAWS and the animals we take in.  Additionally we try and expose them to science and some of the research that's been done with animals. 

Last week the kids learned about Chaser -- the border collie who has learned the names of over 1000 of his toys, and Alex the African Grey Parrot who had learned to identify objects and label them by color, size, shape and material.  They also had an opportunity to put together their own experiment using dogs. 

This year's experiment involved the creation of two very large mazes and a person at the end of the finish line.  The question posed was will a dog learn the maze faster with a stranger with a treat at the finish, or with the dog's owner with a treat at the finish.  Two mazes were created; one for the stranger and one for the owner, with the two mazes being similar in difficulty level.  Each dog was given 3 trials per maze with each trial timed. 

The results at the end showed that dogs learned the maze more than twice as fast when their owner was at the finish, than when a stranger was at the finish.  I guess relationship means something after all! 

The kids had a really fantastic time at HAWS, enjoyed spending time with all the animals, and had fun with the experiment.  Hopefully they've learned that science is fun as well. 

Here's a video of my dog Mystic on his second run through each of the two trials. 

Hank the Brewer and other Non-famous Strays

Recently a small white stray dog showed up at the Milwaukee Brewers spring training.  Hank has been a staple in the news on a regular basis since then. There has also been a lot of buzz by average news followers, and one comment from a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article  in particular struck me as an example of public confusion over the word "stray". 

"Hopefully the owner doesn't come forward. If the owner cared about him in the first place he would not have been a stray."

In my almost ten years of working in a shelter I've talked to many people who think a stray pet is one that has been fending for itself for a very long period of time.  People are amazed that we have strays up for adoption that are "so friendly!"  Many people think that a stray would most likely behave in a fearful, feral state. 

I've also heard of people who find a stray animal state that they're going to keep it, and don't plan on looking for an owner.  These people are under the same assumption as the person who commented on the Journel Sentinel article -- that the owners must not care about the pet.  Additionally many people don't realize that under Wisconsin State Law (Statute 170.02) the finder needs to make an effort to find the owner. 

What many people don't realize is that a stray animal is simply a pet or domestic animal that is in public and no one knows who it's owner is.   So a cat born to a feral cat colony who has never lived with people and behaves like a wild animal is considered a stray.  But so too is the dog who escaped from the backyard 20 minutes ago and is found by someone a mile from home. 

Just because an animal is found as a stray doesn't mean that the owner doesn't care about him.  HAWS takes in many stray animals that got loose by accident, and whose owners are desperate for their return.   In one case we had a stray come in and once we checked the microchip found the owner who lived in Minnesota.  It turned out that the cat went missing from their home, and it's a mystery as to how it ended up in Waukesha County, WI.  In another case the microchip on a dog led us to an owner who told us their dog had been stolen from their backyard a year earlier, and they were thrilled to get her back. 

As to why Hank's owners never came forward we most likely will never know.  It's possible that the owners didn't want him and abandoned him.  However it's also possible the owners don't realize that Hank is their dog.  Perhaps he got loose or was stolen from his family and then transported several hundred miles or more before being dumped in the area of the Brewers spring training camp.  Because we don't know for sure we shouldn't make assumptions. 

What is an Aggressive Dog?

A three year old boy in California was recently attacked by a dog so severely that he required 50 stitches to his head and neck.  What makes this particular incident different than many other attacks on children by dogs that we hear about is that the dog was on leash, with his owner, and the owner gave the child permission to approach and pet the dog. 

Many times when people think of an "aggressive dog", they imagine a dog that behaves like Cujo; the dog snarls, growls, lunges and is ready to bite at any second.   The actuality is that there really isn't any dog out there that behaves in this way continuously.  It would be impossible for any animal to maintain that level of arousal and heightened adrenaline level every waking moment.  

In real life there aren't aggressive dogs, but rather dogs that behave aggressively in certain situations.  Most of the time "aggressive dogs" are well loved, well behaved family pets.  They are affectionate with their owners, like to play and are trustworthy in most situations.   Most dogs that behave aggressively do so in response to specific triggers (other dogs, strangers, when eating, etc.), and many times the aggressive reaction is due to the dog being afraid. 

Reality makes it hard for strangers seeing these dogs only in situations that bring out the worst behavior to imagine that the dog can behave any other way.  It's not uncommon for the owner of a reactive dog to have complete strangers make comments such as "Why would you want a dog like that?" or "Why don't you put an aggressive dog like that down?"  It's hurtful to hear that a family member you cherish and love is considered to be so disposable by others. 

And it also sometimes makes it hard for the families of these dogs to acknowledge that they have a dog who has a serious problem.  When 95% of the time your dog behaves like the perfect canine member of the family, it's easy to be in denial about how serious his behavior is the other 5% of the time.  And the stigma of having "an aggressive dog" makes it even harder to acknowledge the problem. 

In the case I mentioned earlier, it later came out that this same dog had 2 previous, although less serious, incidents with other children about the same age as the three year old boy.  I'm guessing that the owner was in denial as to his dog's issues with children, and unfortunately a little boy paid a huge price. 

There are two morals to this story.  The first is to not assume that when an owner gives permission to approach or pet his or her dog that it will be ok.  The better option is to let the dog make the choice as to whether the interaction will happen.  A dog who approaches is more likely (but not always) to want to engage with you, than a dog who doesn't move towards you or actively avoids you. 

The second is that there is no shame in having a dog with problem behaviors.  There is huge shame in not acknowledging the problems and doing what you can to keep everyone safe.  Managing a dog to keep him out of situations that you know will make him uncomfortable is the first step.  Finding a professional dog trainer or behaviorist to help you with these issues is the next.   

Education through Experience

HAWS Kids 'N Critters Winter Camp ran during the school's break and was huge success.  Because of how the holidays fell during the week this year, for the first time we ran 5 single day sessions rather than 2 and 3 day sessions.  This allowed families to have more options and work around their own schedules, and it also meant that we were able to accommodate more children -- many of whom were new to HAWS. 

The last two days of camp ran during a cold snap in which the outside temperature was in the single digits.  Normally our schedule would have had kids walking dogs outside, but we modified it to allow small groups of kids to work with dogs and do some training in the comfort of the indoors instead.  

Before we brought the dog in to the kids I prepared them for how to behave around the dog, what we were going to be training, and how to safely deliver treats so that fingers didn't go into the dog's mouth.  

One of the kids asked what kind of dog was going to be coming into the room.  When I told him she was a pit bull mix, he said, "My dad says pit bulls are dangerous."  I started to explain to the boy that wasn't true about all pit bulls, and that the news tended to overly report pit bull attacks compared to attacks by other breeds, causing people to be prejudiced.  (For a great information on this see Dr. Ian Kupkee's blog post.)

I quickly realized that he wasn't hearing me and didn't want to believe what I had to say, especially since it was contradicting his dad.  I finally said, "Well, why don't you spend some time with Cider and then make up your own mind." 

Cider came in the room and we proceeded to work on sit for polite greetings, and then taught her to navigate obstacles in the form of crawling under chairs and walking through a tunnel.  Initially she was a bit fearful about them, but the kids did a great job using treats and their voices to encourage here.  She very quickly felt more comfortable and the kids felt proud of their accomplishment. 

After a half an hour of work Cider was a bit tired, and the kids were able to pet her as she relaxed on the floor.   And the boy who thought pit bulls were dangerous admitted that she was a really nice dog.   Sometimes showing people is better than telling. 

Rabbit on a Field Trip

 

HAWS adoptable Eleanor was kind enough to accompany me to Blair Elementary School in Waukesha for an after school program a few weeks ago.   The kids were really excited to meet Eleanor and learned a lot about rabbits as well. 

I started my visit talking about how fast rabbits can reproduce and the kids were amazed to find out that not only does HAWS take in a lot of rabbits, but that there are times we have more rabbits up for adoption than dogs or cats.   We talked about the fact that HAWS spays and neuters all of our rabbits before they go up for adoption, and how this helps prevent even more homeless rabbits from being born. 

Once Eleanor interacted with the kids they were amazed at how soft her fur was and how much she appeared to enjoy being petted.  Once they found out that as a prey animal rabbits are easily started by sudden movements and loud noises, the kids were very conscious of making sure they were quiet so that Eleanor was comfortable being with them. 

Some of the kids wanted to pick her up and were disappointed when I told them she needed to remain on the floor.  It made more sense to them as to why rabbits don't like to be picked up once I explained that the only reason a rabbit in the wild would be picked up is if an owl or coyote was going to carry them off for food. 

Eleanor had a really great outing that afternoon, and the kids learned a lot about rabbit behavior.  Now we just have to find a home so that Eleanor has a family of her own. 

Humane Education Dogs

My dog Mystic has served as an outstanding education dog in my work at HAWS for the last 8 years.    Mystic started his career when he was only 9 weeks old, and I set out to create the perfect dog to help me in my work.  I knew I needed a dog who would be friendly and outgoing, tolerant of stressful situations and handling, confident in new environments and when meeting new people, and calm around children who's energy level might be an eleven on a scale of one to ten.  He's met literally thousands of children and adults through humane education programs and has been a great example of what a well trained and socialized dog can be.

Mystic is not retiring -- not by a long shot.  But recently I added another dog to my family and I'd like to add the new puppy to my education programs.  Quinn was adopted through Minnesota Border Collie Rescue almost two weeks ago.  They were a great organzation to work with.  I told them what my future puppy would be doing as a humane education dog, and what kind of temperment the puppy should have.  They found a puppy they thought would work, and so far, so good. 

I've started Quinn's education by socializing him to as many people as I possibly can.   Socialization is extremely important for puppies before they are 14-16 weeks of age, and the process should make socialization fun, not scary for the puppy.  Quinn's socialization includes having new people get down on the ground and giving him food.  The idea is that by teaching him that new people have treats he'll start to look forward to meeting new people. 

Here's video of Quinn meeting some kids at Waukesha's Blair Elementary School last week.  The kids are all being appropriate, feeding his food down low and with the treats in the palm of their hands so fingers don't go into his mouth, and he's having a great time meeting him.  I look forward to giving frequent updates on Quinn's progress. 

Resisting Temptation

"Don't you just want to take them all home?" asked the mother of a girl scout whose troop was taking a tour of HAWS.  Our shelter would be well funded if we were given a nickle donation everytime one of our staff is asked that question. 

My very fast answer was no, and the woman was a bit taken aback in surprise, before she started chuckling. 

The truth is that to be a successful shelter employee you can't want to take them all home.  That kind of mind set ends up was the employee being frustrated or, even worse, an animal horder.   Burn out is very common in the animal welfare industry and shelter turn-over is generally very high. 

One of the problems with working in a shelter is that we see a lot of very heartbreaking cases, and there seems to never be an end to common animal welfare problems.  Just when you adopt out a few cats and gain some empty cages someone walks in with a litter of kittens.  When the dog that's been living at the shelter for 5 months finally gets a new home, there seems to be another to take his place.

But part of my job as a humane educator is to teach people about taking responsibility for their pets and making good choices.  I generally practice what I preach. 

I know that I can only afford 2 dogs and still be financially comfortable.  I know that I like very (some would say overly) affectionate dogs, and because I enjoy the training process I like very smart dogs.  Since I enjoy hiking I want a dog who has enough energy to go long distances several times a week.   And due to the fact that I spend a lot of time with other people who also have dogs I need a dog who is going to be very social with both people and other dogs.

I've come to realize that not all animals are going be a good idea for my home.  And over the years of working at HAWS I've seen so many success stories of animals that have found fantastic homes, that I don't feel the need to save them by taking them myself. 

HAWS is unusual in the animal welfare community in that we don't have a lot of turnover.  I've worked with the same people for the most part the last 8 years I've been employed here.  I think that's due in part to the fact that our staff really doesn't want to take them all home. 

Winter Camp and 1000+ Words

Last week HAWS held our annual Kids N Critters Winter Camp.  32 kids between the ages of 6 and 13 years of age attended and were able to spend time with animals, bake cookies with animal shaped cookie cutters, make pinecone bird feeders, and get a short sled time. 

I know that wasn't 1000 words, but I thought I'd let some of the photos taken during the camp do the talking for me.  In the meantime I get to start planning for our summer camp that starts in June, 2013.  Enjoy!

 

One of my first experiences with an animal shelter was a little more than 16 years ago.   At that time I had a sheltie and was considering getting another one.  An acquaintance  mentioned that she'd seen a sheltie at the local shelter.  The next day I stopped in to take a look.

By that time the dog I'd originally come to see had already been adopted, but I walked up and down the rows of caging looking at the other dogs that needed homes.  One of the dogs was housed in a cage on the second level of a stainless steel caging unit.  With her black and white markings and cute papillon ears, she was adorable.  When they took her out for me I knelt on the floor and she immediately put her front paws on my knees and leaned up to lick my face.  I was sold -- the next day Belle came home with me. 

When I think back to that visit it strikes me how much things have changed in animal sheltering in the southeastern part of Wisconsin.  

First of all, I was allowed to take Belle home without her having met my other dog at the time beforehand.  I don't know of any shelter in this part of the state that wouldn't require that the other dog(s) in the household meet the potential adoptee first.  This is to ensure as best as possible that the dogs will be compatible.  While it's difficult to predict this with 100% reliability based on a single meeting, now that I work at a shelter I can say that sometimes it rules out an adoption based on the extreme behavior by one or both dogs. 

Another difference is how Belle was being housed.  She was in a unit of cages on the second level -- something similar to how HAWS currently houses our cats.   In 2009 Wisconsin passed legislation unofficially dubbed the "Wisconsin Puppy Mill Law".  Aimed at improving the poor conditions in which many puppy mills keep their dogs, it applies to most animals shelters and rescues as well since it applies to any individual, business or organization selling 25 dogs or more a year.

The law dictates how big an enclosure should be for a dog based on the dog's size.   According to the current law, today the shelter would be required to keep Belle in an enclosure of 12 square feet -- much larger than the cage she was in when I first saw her. 

When I first started working at HAWS almost 9 years ago I heard stories of the way the dog kennels used to be about 5 or 6 years before that.  In those days every kennel was almost always filled, and most of the time our puppy pits contained at least one litter of unwanted puppies. 

Today we always have at least a few kennels, and many times only half of our dog kennels contain dogs.  It's very rare that a litter of puppies actually comes in -- and when we do have a litter of puppies up for adoption many times they were taken in from shelters in other areas of Wisconsin. 


Another change that I've seen occur at shelters in this area is an increased awareness for mental and physical exercise. All shelters that I know of have a volunteer dog walking program. As a matter of fact the new Puppy Mill Law requires that dogs got a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day. HAWS easily exceeds that with most adoptable dogs getting 2 or 3 walks, if not more, a day.

Most shelters also have some kind of program in place where dogs are given training or are on behavior modification programs. Not only does this make the dogs more adoptable, but it gives them an opportunity to use their brains, boredom, and allows them more time with people.

There are many more changes in animal welfare. While I've only talked about the changes for dogs, there are many extremely positive things happening for cats and other animals as well. The days of animal shelters being merely a "pound" where unwanted animals were housed with the hope that maybe they might get adopted are over. Shelters are doing a lot to make an animal's stay as positive as possible, and as a result give pets a better chance of adoption.

It's All Happening At the Zoo

Earlier this month the Critter Club took a field trip to the Racine Zoo for a program on careers with animals in a zoo.   After the program we spent quite a bit of time walking around and looking at the various animals in their exhibits. 

When we came to the bears I started reminiscing about going to the Milwaukee County Zoo as a kid with my family.  I happened to mention that we used to bring bags of marshmallows with us and entertained ourselves by throwing them to the bears.  The kids were amazed that the zoo allowed this, and it's a good reminder of just how far animal welfare has come.  Nowadays any zoo prohibits members of the public bringing food in to feed the animals.  And when you think about how many families visit a zoo on any given day, it clearly is not a good idea for bears to eat who knows how many pounds of marshmallows. 

The Milwaukee County Zoo was one of the early adopters of exhibits that attempted to provide animals with a more natural appearing habitat, rather than housing them in cages.  Over the years zoos have also become more aware of providing for their animals mental and emotional needs, in addition to their physical needs.  Good zoos have animal enrichment programs which allow animals to fulfill these needs. 

It makes sense when you think about the fact that in the wild an animal would spend most of it's waking time searching for food and some animals would also be searching for or building living space.  Captive animals have all of their needs provided for them, but they still have the instincts and habits in place that can cause extreme boredom and even depression if they aren't given an outlet for them.  

Zoos make an effort to constantly make changes to an animals environment, provide interactive materials as toys, and feed in such a way as to require the animal to hunt or forage their food.  Really great video and photo examples of these types of activities in zoos can be found at the Honolulu Zoo's website.

Zoos aren't the only organizations to make such changes to better the welfare of their animals.  In my next blog I'll talk about some of the changes that can be seen in animal shelters. 

Fears and Anxiety

Last Friday night we had a meeting for KHAWS -- a HAWS program for kids between the ages of 8 and 12 years of age that meets once a month.  The presenter this month was a dog trainer who came to tell the kids about dog sports, and she brought her very well behaved choclate lab to visit the kids as well. 

One of the kids who attends this program is a girl who was attacked by a dog when she was younger.  As a result she is terrified of dogs, and her mother enrolled her in KHAWS so that her daughter would have an opportunity to spend time with safe dogs in a controlled environment and hopefully, eventually get over her fear.

The mother stayed during the program and I was extremely impressed with how she helped her daughter.  The dog was about 25 feet from the girl at all times, but the girl was still afraid.  We left the door to an adjoining room open to her so that she would have, as she called it, a safe place to go when she was feeling overwhelmed with anxiety at the presence of the dog.  The little girl took advantage of the safe place any time she saw the dog move or even stand up from a down. 

At one point the presenter mentioned that her dog had developed a fear to something.  I overheard the mother telling the little girl, "See, even dogs are afraid sometimes".

By the end of the evening the girl remained in the room -- albeit at the 25 foot distance from the dog.  But the dog was up and moving, and being greeted by the other children, and the girl chose to remain.  Her mother remarked that her daughter's behavior around a dog was the best it's been that evening. 

As a dog trainer I'm well versed in helping dogs confront fears that they may have.  Common convention is that forcing a dog to confront something it's afraid of is the worst thing you can do -- it can backfire and cause the dog to be even more afraid than it was to begin with.  Dog trainers much prefer to work at what we call a "threshold" -- an exposure that causes the least amount of fear response from the dog, and as the dog recovers at a particular threshold we expose the dog to their fear item at a stronger and stronger threshold, until the dog is capable of coping with whatever previously caused them extreme anxiety.

Dog trainers also use "safe places" as well.  It provides an opportunity for a dog to remove himself if the threshold he's being worked at becomes a little too much for him.  A dog who is empowered to make his own choice when nervous is more likely to be able to deal with his fears.  A good example of a behavior modification model that uses this is Behavior Adjustement Training (BAT) developed by Grisha Stewart.

The empathy the mother displayed for her daughter and the decisions she was making on her daughter's behalf were right on target.  And it's a good reminder that no matter if you are a human being or an animal, we all have fears.  And what seems silly to one person (I can't imagine being afraid of all dogs) is very real to another.  So whether you're a dog who's afraid of men with beards, no matter how well intentioned the bearded man is, or a little girl who's afraid of dogs - no matter how well behaved the dog might be, it's not silly at all.  

Compassion and Kids

Wade might not be the cutest dog at HAWS.  And he certainly isn't the most playful.  But despite his disability, or perhaps because of it, he has captured the hearts of several of our Critter Club members. 

At last nights club meeting the middle school aged members spent part of their time at HAWS training some of the shelter dogs.  Like many shelters, HAWS has a large number of ill-mannered adolescent aged dogs that benefit from training to make their adoption more likely.  The kids greatly enjoyed working with the dogs during the training session. 

The last half hour of the meeting the kids were allowed to socialize the animal of their choice.  Out of all the animals they could have chosen, Jennifer and Caitlin were excited to be able to spend some time with Wayde - an 8 year old blind terrier mix.  Expressing their love for him and how wonderful they think he is, the girls quickly brought him into an interview room and spent the next 30 minutes telling him how wonderful he is, and giving him non-stop petting. 

One of HAWS goals in our education program is to instill empathy for all living creatures.  I don't know if the programs are working, or if we just happy to be attracting kids who are already outstanding animal ambassadors to our programs.  Either way, it makes me happy to see young people be able to appreciate an animal who isn't young, cute and energetic.  It's spending time with kids like this that make my job truly worthwhile.   

Critter Club Starts Again!

Summer is over, camp is a not so distant memory, and with the start of the school year HAWS begins again with our fall programs.

One of my favorite programs is Critter Club -- a club for students in grades 6th through 9th, in which members learn about animals, do special animal related projects, and volunteer on Saturday mornings helping at HAWS. 

Last night was the first meeting night.  Critter Club consists of 15 students.  Ten of them are returning Critter Club members, which speaks to how much fun the kids had in their previous semesters in the program.  It's nice to see familiar faces -- I've really gotten to know these wonderful kids during the time I've spent with them.  And I look foward to getting to know the five new members this semester as well.

HAWS Education Assistant, Megan Katzuba, is new to Critter Club as well.  Last night she did a great job training the kids on cat socialization, despite the rowdy mood that came from the kids reuniting with students they hadn't seen since the end of the last school year. 

After the brief training session the kids were given a quick tour of the cat area, had a chance to look at all the adoptable cats, and were allowed to take some of the cats out for a little bit of play-time.   

I'm really looking forward to this year's group of kids.  Many of them have attended HAWS Kids 'N Critters camps over the years, and I've watched them grow into some amazing people.  They are the future of animal welfare, and it's wonderful to see that they are going into that responsibility.

HAWS Summer Kids 'N Critters Camp ended at the end of last week.  The building is certainly much quieter for the first time in 11 weeks.

The feedback from the parents and kids overall was extremely positive.  I've heard so many parents tell me what a great time their kids had -- even that out of all the activities the kids did over the summer, coming to HAWS was their favorite.  A lot of the kids are already planning on attending our camps next year. 

I went through some of the many (literally thousands) of photographs that my staff and I took throughout the summer to document what the kids did while they were here.  One of the things that struck me is how many different types of animals the kids were able to meet and learn about during their camp sessions. 

HAWS is a little unique in animal sheltering in that we will accept just about any kind of animal.  Many shelters handle only dogs and cats because they aren't set up to be able to accomodate the needs of other types of animals such as rabbits, pocket pets, birds and reptiles. 

While it's unfortunate that there is a great need for a place for all types of animals to go when their owners can no longer or aren't willing to care for them any more, the fact that HAWS does take in all different types allows us to use them as a learning opportunity in our education programs. 

Many times this means that we have to educate ourselves before we can pass this knowledge on to the kids.  Over the years I've learned about a lot of different species, but the Red Tail Boa we accepted a few weeks ago was a new one on me.  This one is only about 4 feet long, but full grown can end up to be about 10 feet long, and will weigh about 50lbs. 

Additionally the kids learn that all animals are not the same.  Different species need different care, require different habitats, display different behaviors, and require different handling.  Our campers learn about all these differences and get to see some of them first hand here at HAWS when they interact with the animals.