Choice equals Respect and Safety

I wrote the following post originally for a HAWS Tattle Tales article.  I would argue that teaching children animal safety should absolutely include this concept. Allowing pets to make choices is a topic I'd like to explore in the future, since I believe that this is the foundation for respect and fundamental to humane education. 

A study with nursing home residents showed that those individuals who were encouraged to make personal choices for themselves were happier and healthier than residents who had all decisions made by staff.  (Langer & Rodin, 1976). 

Lack of control in the workplace is considered to be a huge stressor for an employee.  A study showed that employees in high stress jobs with a lack of control were more stressed than employees in high stress jobs and more control.  (Karasek, 1979) 

Allowing an individual at least some autonomy gives them control over their lives, helps develop confidence, reduces stress, promotes a happy life, and can be an important part of developing a relationship. 

Everything I’ve written so far is in reference to human beings, but is equally applicable to animals.  Indeed zoos make every opportunity to allow their animals to have as many choices as possible.  Just because an animal is on display doesn’t mean you’ll get to see him if he’s decided he wants to hide from you.  A large part of enrichment for zoo animals incorporates the opportunity to make choices and have some control over their environment.      

I would argue that we also need to provide our pets with choices.  So much of our pets lives are dictated by us; we tell them where to eliminate, where they should sleep, control when they eat, dictate what they can and cannot play with, and decide when we are going to provide them with exercise.  While we can’t give our pets full autonomy, we can try and give them the ability to make choices as often as possible.   

Humane Education is all about respecting and displaying compassion for all living things.  What better way to instill these concepts than to teach children about allowing animals to have choices.   Just because you want to pet the kitty doesn’t mean that the kitty wants you to pet her.  Allowing a cat to leave the room and hide is a great way to show respect and acknowledge her rights as an individual to decline an interaction that makes only one of the two of you happy.  

Giving our pets choices about whether they want to be touched or approached by us or others not only gives them autonomy and respect, but is also a safety issue.  Animals that are stressed, anxious or frightened are more likely to feel the need to defend themselves; we know that most bites are caused by animals who are frightened.  

Our jobs as pet owners are not only to care for them, but to protect them and help them thrive in our world.   And what better way is there than finding ways to give our pets some choices about their lives. 

Amazing kids!

At the beginning of the school year I received an email from Randall STEM Academy saying,

"Our 2nd/3rd graders are doing a unit on Community. Their final project will be for them to work in small groups and carry out a service project to help the Waukesha community and be good citizens. 

We are looking for representatives from Waukesha area service groups to come in and explain what the group does to help the community and how kids can be involved (either now or in the future)." 

Of course I went and talked to the kids and had a really fun time talking about HAWS and what we do here.

A few weeks ago I received another email from the teacher saying they were holding a service expo and that the students would like to show the representatives from the non-profits what they had done.  I attended that expo on Wednesday.

As I walked into the media center I saw that groups of kids were surrounding tables that were labeled with the name of the non-profit that the group had chosen to help.  I walked past several tables looking in the sign that said HAWS, and started to wonder if maybe none of the groups had chosen us for their project.

As I came around one of the tables I looked up at a doorway leading into another room and saw tabled the the door frame "HAWS".  We didn't just get a table, we had a whole room because about 8 groups of kids had chosen us!   I was immediately touched and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the desire that so many 2nd and 3rd graders had to want to help the animals of Waukesha County.

I approached one of the groups and introduced myself and asked to see their project.  They were thrilled to see me, excited to show me the video they had created to promote their project, and proudly presented me with a plastic baggie, telling me that it held $43.00.

As I spoke to the next group I started getting tugs on my arms with children from other parts of the room asking me to come see their project.  I assured all the students that I was planning on visiting every table.  Every group of kids was proud of the video or slide show they'd created, and even more proud of the results, since every group had collected items from HAWS wishlist.

I hear sometimes that kids today are being raised to be selfish and materialistic.  I think the Randall STEM 2nd and 3rd graders prove that just isn't true. 

Below is a video I created for the students.  Our staff and volunteers truly appreciate their hard work!

Training Toby

Toby is HAWS official shelter cat.  We decided to keep him last spring when it became apparent that he had a chronic upper respiratory condition and felt that he would be difficult to place because of it.  Besides, we kind of liked having Toby around.  He's very friendly, entertaining and our staff and volunteers feel a great deal of affection for him.

From Toby's point of view being HAWS shelter cat is a good deal.  He gets to watch the adoptable rodents, get attention from dozens of people each day, has fun running around the building, and finds all sorts of ways to get himself into trouble.  Trouble usually means finding things to eat, which now that he's a whopping 17 pounds means that he's officially on a strict diet.  On the plus side all the staff has been instructed to play with him more frequently so that he gets more exercise.  The number of Toby designated laser pointers and fishing pole toys scattered around the building is amazing!

When HAWS officially decided to keep him I had it at the back of my mind that he would also make an excellent education cat.  With his outgoing personality he will be great at visiting schools and other facilities.  I knew, however, that there would be some skills that Toby would need in order for this to be as stress free as possible.

The skills I had in mind were to go in a crate on cue, come when called, and walk on a harness. And that meant I'd need to train him to do these things.  I'm a dog trainer, and haven't ever trained a cat, but I was up for the challenge.

Our training program started last month, and I ended up deciding against the harness training because I'm not sure it will be necessary.  He has such a great recall and his visits will all be inside.  

A few things I've learned about training cats.

1) Keep the sessions short.   Initially I had Toby's attention for about 30 seconds.  Now we can do sessions as long as 3 minutes, but past that and he'd just plain done.

2) Find what they love, and use that as a reinforcer.  Toby loves food and that's what I was originally going to use for all his behaviors.  But I discovered that while tuna worked great for teaching him to go into his crate on cue, he wasn't interested in coming for tuna when I called him to come.  For that he would much rather have play time.  So I carry around a laser pointer so that I can reinforce him when he comes when I call him.  (Other staff have started doing the same that he'll come no matter who calls him.)

3) They will surprise you.  I had really thought it would be hard to get Toby to go into a crate on cue, but I had him willingly going in after just 2 training sessions.  The hard part was getting him to come out of it once he's made himself comfortable.

Here's a video of today's training session.

 
First Section:  I called Toby to come to me, and his reward is getting the chase the laser light for a few seconds.

Second section:  Not only am I asking him to go in the crate, but I've conditioned him to not be concerned when the door closes, and we're just starting to work on my picking the crate up.  This will be important if he's going to enjoy going to schools because I'll be carrying him to and from the car.

Third Section:  I'm working on teaching him to weave through my legs.  I figure people will be amazed if Toby knows a few tricks, and it will be a great way to demonstrate that any animal can be trained!

Victims of the Backyard Chicken Movement

Increasingly we're becoming more educated about our impact on the environment, and more concerned about what our families are eating.  Urban farming is becoming more popular as people want to know where their food comes from, and ensure that the food they eat doesn't leave a carbon footprint. 

Part of the urban farming movement is getting backyard chickens, and some cities have passed ordinances allowing limited numbers of chickens to be raised in a person's backyard.  What could be better than knowing that the eggs you're eating came from the hens you're raising and not transported in a way that causes carbon emissions? 

Additionally many people like the idea that their backyard chickens live a pampered life and aren't subjected to the crowded, filthy and inhumane environment of chickens in a factory farm that produce the eggs we purchase in store. 

One of the problems with backyard chickens is that most municipalities that allow it have a prohibition against roosters since they are very noisy.  Roosters don't just crow at the crack of dawn, they start their crowing at the crack of dawn and continue throughout the day.  That type of noise is unwelcome in an urban or suburban environment.  The hatcherys that sell chicks can only give a 90% guarantee that the chicks they are selling will be hens, and not roosters.  This means that a person ordering several chicks runs a very real risk of one of them growing up to be a rooster, and will face a difficult decision as to what to do with him when that happens. 

Increasingly HAWS has become a solution for some suburban backyard chicken fanciers in Waukesha County.  A few weeks ago we had a woman surrender her rooster when it became old enough it was apparent it was a male.  Last week 5 roosters were abandoned in a box in Menomonee Falls.  A few days ago a man brought in another rooster that someone had dumped at his farm.

Unfortunately some people who want to do a good thing by humanely raising chickens and knowing where their eggs come from are behaving in an irresponsible manner as a consequence of their hobby.   If someone wants to get chickens they should do their research and know what they are getting themselves into beforehand.  If they don't want to risk getting a rooster then older chickens should be purchased.  And if they get chicks they should have a clear plan as to what will happen if one or more turns out to be a rooster, and be responsible enough not to give it to an animal shelter. 

Critter Club meets Camp

HAWS Kids 'N Critters Summer Camp ended last week after a 10 week run.  One of the things that made it especially wonderful was that we had three dedicated volunteers from our school year Critter Club helping out our camp staff.  While Camden, Melissa and Mia didn't come every day, these teens probably came about half the time -- which is incredible considering how kids generally look forward to the freedom that summer vacation can give them!

Our volunteers helped clean up after campers, ran games with the kids, got supplies and animals for the counselors, and helped with supervision.  They were enthusiastic and went above and beyond our expectations!

At the end of camp we gave them each thank you cards signed by each of the staff along with a gift card for $10 to Culvers.  I wanted them to know how much we truly appreciated their hard work, dedication and sacrifice of part of their summer, and hoped the cards made them feel appreciated.

I was truly touched at their reactions.  Mia became teary eyed, Melissa objected to the gift card because she kept saying that she was volunteering as a camp assistant because she enjoyed it, not because she expected to get anything, and Camden also said that he enjoyed coming and helping out at HAWS.  All three were very surprised and touched by their thank yous, and that made it worth it. 

My hope is that our gratitude made an impression on them and they understand how valued they are. 

Guest Blogger from "Science with the Animals"

Hi, my name is Madi Edens and I’ve been a part of different HAWS Education programs for about seven years and have recently started being a camp volunteer.  This week I’m in a fairly new camp called “Science with the Animals.” This camp is like a regular Kids ‘N Critters Camp but has more scientific activities. Some of these activities include looking at mites/parasites under microscopes, watching a surgery performed by HAWS veterinarians, learning about animal anatomy, and conducting our own experiments after  learning about the scientific method. We have to come up with a experiment ourselves and decide how we’re going to conduct it.

Khris gave us a PowerPoint on the first day of camp that showcased the scientific method. Following this PowerPoint were videos of different experiments researchers have done with dogs, birds and chimpanzees. One of the studies that interested me was one that focused on how dogs pay attention to us and the signals we give them. In this study, people would put dogs in a sit/stay a couple feet away from a chair and two cups. The person would then sit on the chair, give the dog a release word and point to one of the cups. They found that dogs almost always go to the cup that was pointed at. This is something that even chimps don’t do even though they are thought to think more like humans than any other animal. 

As I mentioned earlier this camp is newer as it was for the first time last summer and I’ll admit my group didn’t do so well with our experiment then. This year however, we knew what we were doing and conducted an interesting experiment. The experience we did was based off of the one in the video we saw. We decided to see whether cats or dogs respond better to pointing. Our hypothesis was that dogs would respond better. We tried to eliminate variables by using the same treats and cups for both the dogs and the cats, and making sure that we did say anything to the animal or move our hands around while pointing. 

What we found at the end of our research proved our hypothesis. There was a 100% success rate with the dogs and only a 62.5% success rate with the cats. We found it interesting that cats had such a lower success rate. While dogs were thought to be domesticated first, cats have still been around humans for a LONG time. I feel as that the independent nature of cats factors into why they didn’t respond as well to pointing as the dogs did. Since cats don’t rely on us as much as dogs they may not be as in tune to what we are doing or showing them.

Activities like this are one of the many reasons I love coming to camp. Not only do we get to come up with and perform our own experiment, we get to think about why we see the results we do and make conclusions based on these results. This was just one small activity in science camp but it made us think outside the box and figure out why the results ended up how they did. Who knows, maybe years down the road a camper will think back to their experiment and decide to look further into it?

Birthdays! (that is plural!)

HAWS recently celebrated our 50th birthday.  50 years ago a group of kind hearted Waukesha County Residents decided that something needed to be done for the stray and unwanted animals in the community, and created an animal shelter.

Eva Metrusias has been a Kids 'N Critters Camp attendee for the last several years.  This week is her second session attending our Camp Gone to the Dogs.  We know what a wonderful kid she is, and always enjoy seeing her at camp.

However today Eva gave proof that younger generations are just as kind hearted as those who started HAWS half a century ago.  She came to camp with her mother and brother carrying a lot of donations for HAWS.  When I asked her about how she was able to collect so much for us, Eva told me that her birthday was earlier this week and she asked for donations to HAWS in lieu of presents.

So Happy 12th Birthday Eva!  And thank you so much for sharing your birthday with HAWS!