The History of

Science in Animal
Shelters
Like Darwin going to the Galápagos,
everywhere you look in animal shelters, there
are questions to pose
 By Julie Hecht on April 30, 2016






Credit: Mars image database

When Stephen Zawistowski, PhD, CAAB, started working at the

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA) in 1988, his animal behavior colleagues were a bit
confused.

“After I moved to the ASPCA,” explains Zawistowki, ASPCA

Science Advisor Emeritus, “I continued to attend Animal
Behavior Society conferences. Folks would say, ‘Didn't you
study genetics and behavior in flies? What's up with the ASPCA
stuff? Is there any science to do there?’”

Maybe you’re wondering the same thing. Animal shelters are

typically not thought of as institutions of science; they are
places where dogs, cats, bunnies, and a litany of other animals
find themselves for any number of reasons (just earlier this
month, Animal Care in Brooklyn took in a cow who got out of a
slaughterhouse. Jon Stewart then brought the cow up to Farm
Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY). Many companion animals who
enter the animal shelter system are adopted into new homes or
transported to other rescue organizations that facilitate
adoption. Where’s the science?

On closer inspection, scientific inquiry does have a role in the

history and development of the animal sheltering field. “When
academic colleagues asked me what is was like working in
shelters,” says Zawistowski, “I told them it was like being
Darwin going to Galápagos. Everywhere you looked there was
something to measure or describe and questions to pose.”
Animal shelters were not born out of science. As Zawistowski
explains in his book Companion Animals in Society, when Henry
Bergh founded the ASPCA in 1866 in NYC, he was concerned
with the treatment of work horses as well as the treatment of
dogs and cats caught by poundmasters. At the time, unwanted
or stray animals were routinely killed “in the most convenient
fashion…. Clubbing, strangling, and drowning were among the
most common methods employed.” Around that time, in
Philadelphia, Carolyn Early White was behind the first humane
shelter which took in and cared for stray dogs and cats and
worked to find them homes. The animal-sheltering system that
grew in the USA in the 20th Century served two main roles:
providing homeless animals with care and protection, and
protecting the general public from dangers like bites and
zoonotic diseases.
Scientific questions about animal relinquishment and animal
care and management gradually became part of sheltering,
with much work published in peer-reviewed journals
like Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. Today, there is
even a veterinary specialization in Animal Shelter Medicine. As
Zawistowski explains, over time shelters tried to get a better
sense of the animals coming in: “How many animals were
coming in? What kinds of animals? What happened to them?
And why were the animals coming into the shelters?”

Over time, shelter data and statistics began to shed light on—
and even challenge—assumptions about relinquishment.
Zawistowski highlights some of the findings: “puppies and
kittens were not a primary source of relinquishment; behavior
is an important reason for relinquishment—but not as
significant as sometimes thought (i.e., some folks were claiming
that 90% of relinquishments were a result of behavior
problems); the role of owner-related personal questions (i.e.,
illness of the owner, financial issues, moving, and housing
problems); and, of course, that pets given as gifts are not at
increased risk for relinquishment.”
Heather Mohan-Gibbons and Emily Weiss of the ASPCA further
discuss reasons for relinquishment in the book Animal Behavior
for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff: dogs coming into shelters
tend to be between 5 months and 2 years and intact (Salman et
al., 1998; New et al., 2000) and are more likely to be housed
outside or untrained (New et al., 1999; Scarlett et al., 2002).
Financial issues and lack of pet-friendly housing were also
identified as drivers in pet relinquishment (Weng & Hart, 2012;
Weiss et al 2014). Findings like this highlight the importance of
projects like Ruff Riders (Facebook), a grassroots project
supporting pet owners living in under-served neighborhoods of
Brooklyn. Ruff Riders “delivers free pet food/supplies,
facilitates basic veterinary care and spay/neuter, provides
transportation, and shares pet-related information with
individuals who have trouble accessing and/or affording these
services.” Pets for Life, through the Humane Society of the
United States, has a similar objective.

Studies find a link between relinquishment and normal dog

behaviors that people can find frustrating, from hyperactivity
and chewing to aggressiveness and separation anxiety.
Companion dogs seem to do best in the home when they’re
equipped with the skills that people expect out of, you guessed
it, companion dogs. For example, while people prefer that dogs
pee and poo outdoors, despite thousands of years of
domestication, this, sadly, is not a skill dogs are born with;
individual dogs have to learn where “to go.” Although house
soiling is continually identified as a reason for relinquishment,
it is a problem that can be resolved. In some cases, house
soiling is a medical issue. In other cases, dogs can learn to go
outside just as you learned to go inside.

Socialization and learning opportunities seem to help dogs stay

in the home. In 2003, Duxbury and colleagues published a study
finding that dogs who participated in puppy socialization class
were more likely to stay in the home than dogs who had not
taken a similar class. Mohan-Gibbons and Weiss astutely point
out that “this data can be interpreted in many ways; it could be
that those that attend classes are more bonded to their puppy
and that the class itself increases the bond between puppy and
person. It is also possible that the behavior and life skills the
puppy learns in class increase the behavioral tendencies that
help improve the bond (comfort with other dogs and people).”
Regardless, early life socialization and learning are seen as just
as important as physical health; organizations like the American
Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior state that “it should be
the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization
before they are fully vaccinated” (AVSAB 2008).
Understanding and preventing behavior problems are high on
the list of research questions. While studies find that
professional advice can be associated with decreased behavior
problems, many people do not seek professional assistance. Just
this month, for example, Emily Blackwell and colleagues
published a study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical
Applications and Research investigating the effect of providing
dog adopters with written behavioral advice on separation
anxiety (SA) and separation-related behavior (SRB) problems.
Adopters were either given written advice designed to prevent
separation-related behaviors in their new home (treatment
group) or given advice about healthcare (control group). While
the researchers highlight that compliance with the advice was
generally poor, “dogs in the control group were more likely to
show signs of SA/SRB than those in the treatment group, and
hence the provision of written advice to adopters appears to be
effective in reducing the development of SA/SRB after
rehoming.”

Writing off dogs in shelters as “damaged” or “problematic”

draws an incorrect conclusion. In addition to the many
identified reasons why dogs wind up at shelters, what is a
behavior problem for one person is not necessarily a problem
for the next. Mohan-Gibbons and Weiss highlight that
“relinquishment may have more to do with the person’s
perspective of the behavior than the actual behavior itself.”
Books like Love Has No Age Limits: Welcoming an Adopted Dog
into Your Home by Patricia McConnell and Karen London focus
on providing adopters with realistic expectations and the tools
to welcome an adolescent or adult dog into the family. But
McConnell and London are also realistic, “We would love to tell
you that every dog can flourish in every home, but the truth is
that, no matter what you do, sometimes a dog and family are
not a good fit.”

Many commonly cited behavior problems can often be modified.

Even dogs with more serious fear- and undersocialization-
related challenges can change their tune (a topic covered in the
last post about work at the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation
Center). This next video features Muenster, a graduate of the
Center who was rescued from a puppy mill. He learns to enjoy
human handling with the help of cheese (which is hilariously
wonderful)!

Next up in The Science of Animal Shelters series: What are

shelters like for dogs? What is being done to enhance their
shelter stay and help them on their way to new homes?
This is the third post in 'The Science of Animal Shelters’
series. Post 1: The Science of Animal Shelters: An Inspirational
Series, Post 2: Second Chance Dogs: Part Love, Part Learning
[Video]

References
Blackwell et al. (2016). Efficacy of written behavioral advice for
separation-related behavior problems in dogs newly adopted
from a rehoming center. Journal of Veterinary Behavior:
Clinical Applications and Research 12, 13—19.
Clark & Boyer (1993). The effects of dog obedience training and
behavioral counseling upon the human-canine
relationship. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 37, 147—159.
ADVERTISEMENT
Duxbury et al. (2003). Evaluation of association between
retention in the home and attendance of puppy socialization
classes. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical
Association 223, 61—66.
Mohan-Gibbons & Weiss (2015). Behavior Risks for
Relinquishment. In E. Weiss, H. Mohan-Gibbons, S. Zawistowski
(Eds.), Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff.
Iowa, Wiley Blackwell.
New et al. (1999). Moving: Characteristics of dogs and cats and
those relinquishing them to 12 US animal shelters. Journal of
Applied Animal Welfare Science 2, 83—96.
New et al. (2000). Characteristics of shelter-relinquished
animals and their owners compared with animals and their
owners in US pet-owning households. Journal of Applied Animal
Welfare Science 3, 179—201.
Patronek et al. (1996). Risk factors for relinquishment of dogs
to an animal shelter. Journal of the American Veterinary
Medical Association 209, 572—581.
ADVERTISEMENT
Salman et al. (1998). Human and animal factors related to the
relinquishment of dogs and cats in 12 selected animal shelters
in the United States. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare
Science 1, 207—226.
Scarlett et al. (2002). The role of veterinary practitioners in
reducing dog and cat relinquishment and euthanasia. Journal of
the American Veterinary Medical Association 220, 306—311.
Weiss et al. (2014). Large dog relinquishment at two municipal
facilities in NY and DC: Identifying targets for
intervention Animals 4, 409–433.
Weng & Hart (2012). Impact of the economic recession on
companion animal relinquishment, adoption, and euthanasia: A
Chicago animal shelter’s experience. Journal of Applied Animal
Welfare Science 15, 80–90.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
Rights & Permissions

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Julie Hecht is a Ph.D. student studying dog behavior and writes the Dog Spies blog
at ScientificAmerican.com. Follow Julie Hecht on Twitter

Recent Articles by Julie Hecht

 Good (and Bad) Ways to Help a Dog Afraid of Fireworks
 Dog Science Is Timeless
 Do You Play with Your Cat? This Online Study Is for You!
Load comments
READ THIS NEXT

ASTRONOMY
Three Times That Solar Eclipses Transformed Science
Paul M. Sutter

CLIMATE CHANGE
Electric Vehicles Aren't Ready for Extreme Heat and Cold.
Here's How to Fix Them
Molly Glick

PUBLIC HEALTH
We Need Gun Safety Ahead of Elections in the U.S.
Tim Carey | Opinion

ASTRONOMY
See What the Solar Eclipse Will Look Like across Most of the
U.S.
Katie Peek

POLICY
To Design Cities Right, We Need to Focus on People
Tim Keane | Opinion

MENTAL HEALTH
Farmers in Crisis, Long Overlooked, Are Finally Getting Mental
Health Support
Anna Mattson