The New Zealanders might have just overtaken Australia in the race to modernised animal sheltering industry.

Over 125 years ago, New Zealand opened its first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA. Today, proving that even an ‘old’ organisation can lead the way in modern thinking, they have pledged their dedication to a No Kill future for New Zealand.

The Saving Lives philosophy is that every life is precious, and with that philosophy comes the need to help every animal into the fulfilment of life, so long as its quality of life is preserved.

Calling their program ‘Saving Lives’ rather than ‘No Kill’, they reaffirm that they are in the “business of saving lives” and call on their staff to “becomes passionately committed to supporting its philosophy” and “accept the philosophy that Saving Lives is totally achievable”.

But this isn’t just feel-good piffle. To move towards their No Kill goals, they first had to take a long hard look at their policies, identifying the common causes of shelter killing, and take audit of each one’s validity.

One of the major breakthoughs from this audit, was the identification of a cultural problem with exisiting euthanasia protocols. Rather than use the protocols to make compassionate decisions, the documentation and policies had become a way to defend killing and absolve individuals of the responsibility.

The new model asked people to step up and be more than just a ‘rule follower’;

Accountability allows, and indeed requires, flexibility. Too many SPCA centres lose sight of this principle, staying rigid with their protocols, believing they are engraved in stone. They are not.

Where protocols are important because they ensure accountability, protocols without flexibility can have the opposite effect by stifling innovation, causing lives to be needlessly lost, and allowing those who fail to save lives an excuse as to why they failed.”

The organisation’s pledge to maintain protocols and procedures orientated towards preserving life, means they must find solutions to the common reasons for shelter killing.

Beyond killing

Health

“Cat flu is not a reason to kill cats”.

By referring to cat flu as ’snuffles’, a normal and preventable part of caring for shelter cats, the group was able to take a scientific, rather than defensive, approach to managing illness;

In an eight-year study conducted in Auckland, approximately 40% of incoming cats developed ’snuffles’ (in the first year of the survey). Various methods, including efforts to reduce the stressful environment, in addition to cleaning regimes, have reduced this figure to 25%. With the development of isolation areas providing the opportunity to treat those affected, the success rate for treatment has increased from 34% (annual average) to 61%, while euthanasia of snuffles sufferers has dropped from 24% to 3% in the treatment area.

These figures clearly indicate that a combination of stress-free environments, cleaning regimes, strict isolation areas and the correct medical treatment can have a direct effect on saving lives from “snuffles”.

“Ringworm is not a reason to kill animals”. Describing ringworm as a ‘nuisance’ rather than a deadly disease, but recognising ringworm passed to the public is a publicity nightmare, the group recommends the following;

The use of foster homes is ideal in isolating ringworm from an SPCA centre. However, such fosterers need to be dedicated to the task and, due to the length of treatment, are “put out of action” for the fostering of other animals for a lengthy period of time. The use of off-site adoption events to rehome these animals will ensure that they do not return ringworm to the centre.

The use of a team of ’special needs’ foster carers, coupled with a healthy, stress-free environment, strict isolation and treatment regimes mean a commitment that pets with ringworm will be saved.

The group also treat skin conditions (flea allergies and mange) either on site, or in foster. By offering full disclosure and treatment plans to new adopters, pets with skin conditions are able to finish their recovery in their new homes.

Temperament

Pets entering shelters, by definition, have varying backgrounds and requirements for care. The organisation pledge to help all animals, regardless of their condition;

If we are to save lives we need to cater to these special problems by providing facilities that can attend to their needs and, of equal importance, that involve rehabilitation methods requiring the expertise of those qualified to provide the help needed to restore them to normality.

When referring to cats, ‘feral’ is not in the group’s vocabulary.

By definition, “feral” cats do not have contact with or dependency on humans. Accordingly, centres are very unlikely to receive genuine “feral” cats.

Incoming stray cats will normally be abandoned previously owned companion cats or possibly cats from colonies. Either way, they will not appreciate being trapped and will show their displeasure in no uncertain terms. For this reason they are described (incorrectly) as “feral”, when in fact they are “wild” (unused to handling, resenting capture, possibly never domesticated), “scared” (frightened by their captivity and uncertain of their future), or “timid” (naturally mistrusting and unsure).

Such cats deserve the chance to live, and should be given the opportunity to adjust and relax a little over a few days rather than being hastily dispatched.

Dogs get a similar level of respect, with the recognition that the behaviour of dogs is a product of their previous environment and that with time, patience and training – most dogs with perceived temperament problems can be successfully adopted.

Any temperament assessment should be aimed at “getting to know the dog” and whether any behavioural problems might exist that can be treated, rather than being aimed at putting it to the final test to determine its ultimate fate.

Additional to “on-site” facilities, rehabilitation of behavioural problems, particularly with dogs, will include the input of independent and professional individuals.

The variety of temperament problems may call for different advice, from either a veterinarian or a behaviourist.

Correct behaviour adjustment techniques can be taught to staff/volunteers, which can prove a very real asset in the operation of a centre, resulting in the correct and professional handling of animals while in our care.

Age

Recognising the importance of foster care in saving underage animals, this organisation engages the compassion of community;

The inability to save healthy young animals reflects badly on us as a welfare organisation, particularly when there are so many people in the community who would gladly volunteer themselves and their homes to foster the young until ready for adoption.

…………………………….

Getting pets out of shelters

Along with a requirement to overcome killing as a method of managing shelter pets, the organisation also needed to get those pets they have, out of the shelter.

Pet retention strategies

The Saving Lives philosophy calls for a willingness to work with people to help them solve their problems, with the sole aim of keeping people and their companion animals together. In our ethos of “prevention” we need to be seen as a place that people can turn to for advice and assistance, and we need to respond to that. to solve problems

Identifying that the very first call for help is an opportunity for the shelter to lend assistance, the organisation works to develop relationships with local trainers, veterinarians and behaviouralists. These relationships are symbiotic, generating new clients for these businesses, and expanding the knowledge base of the shelter, though simple training for staff.

There is discussion about the development of a general national call number for people with pet problems in the future,

Desexing

High-volume, low cost desexing is at the heart of any successful life-saving programme to substantially reduce the number of unwanted births, and the number of animals surrendered to SPCA centres.

It is fair to say that a proactive high-volume, low/no cost desexing programme is the best investment any centre can make in the fight to save future lives.

Along with community desexing clinic, the organisation desexes all animals before adoption and seeks the support from local council animal management for desexing initiatives. Free, targeted desexing for at-risk pets in low income areas, desexing vouchers for semi-owned cat owners, mobile desexing facilities and proactive education campaigns bring the benefits of desexing to all pets in the community.

An effective desexing programme has been proven in many cities internationally to virtually halve the centre incoming animal population within a decade of its introduction missed.

Improving reclaims

A focus on the importance of microchipping. All adopted pets are chipped and the organisation run ’snip and chip’ promotions.

The requirement that all animals are scanned and that pet owners are contacted promptly. They also list found pets on the internet.

Maximising adoptions

Focusing on promoting the benefits to the adoption of shelter animals:

- unique ‘feel good’ factor
- the use of the term ‘orphan’ rather than ’stray’
- great value (desexed, vaccinated, microchipped)

They also make the following requirement of their shelters:

SPCA facilities should be a great place to visit, with staff/volunteers happy and helpful professional people who are keen to assist as best they can because they want to, not only for the people they are serving but also for the animals they are dedicated to saving.

Adoption areas need to be clean and contain contented, well-presented animals in bright and airy surroundings, rather than the “prison behind bars” that the public envisage we are. Public facilities in cared-for grounds and surroundings must abound, to help add to the enjoyment
of their visit to the SPCA.

Hosting adoption areas with staff/volunteers who are helpful and knowledgeable is essential. Make sure that staff/volunteers are easily recognisable with suitable clothing and name tags.

There is nothing worse than having the public looking for animals when there is no one they can find to help them with their selection.

They ask that shelters name the pet to engage potential adopters (even if the animal is a stray) and that an information sheet is provided on the animal. These sheets are designed to accentuate the positive (“Not good with children” becomes “good with adults”) and all pets must be ready for adoption (behavioural and health problems resolved).

Opening hours must be convenient for potential adopters, including seven-day-a-week adoptions and early evening opening hours. They also endeavour to provide a wide range of animals:

A centre with a wide choice of animals is a successful centre, providing variety for “discerning shoppers”. If low on animals, source them from elsewhere (other SPCAs, pounds, rescue groups, etc).

Dogs being walked, all wear ‘adopt me’ jackets to attract attention and a database of people looking for a particular ‘kind’ of animal is kept. Profiles of adoptable animals are also posted to the web.

Price is presented as a recouping of a set amount of ‘adoption costs’ and special pricing promotions are used to attract adopters. ‘Two for the price of one’ kittens, special pet care giveaways, free food promotions.

A ‘14 day’ guarantee, helps adopted pets stay in their homes:

Inevitably, some animals (particularly cats) may be slow to adapt to their new surroundings, and may even become stressed, bringing on other “ailments”.

New “owners” are generally nervous and may panic at such behaviour, often rushing off to their vet for advice and incurring associated costs which they may endeavour to recover from the SPCA.

Provide a 14-day period where the animal will be covered for any associated costs at a set ceiling price (say, $50) at your expense. You will find that few people will claim this and, by setting a maximum, considerable money will in the end be saved from over-exuberant vets and anxious “owners”!

Off-site adoptions

Adoption vehicles in shopping centre car parks and outside pet shops or the use of retail space, display pets for adoption. Partnerships with local businesses can help get pets ’seen’, and off-site adoption attracts people who may not even be considering adopting an animal.

Where this has been practiced, it has been noted that off-site adoptions can account for between 20% and 40% of total adoptions achieved, and accordingly is well worth the effort.

These promotions not only raise awareness, but are a great opportunity to fund raise.

Working with rescue groups

There are a large number of animal welfare groups and individuals who, in their own way, undertake the rescue and rehoming of many animals and to whom we should look to assist us in our mission of saving lives.

These groups and individuals should not be viewed as “the competition” (as is sometimes the case), rather they should be seen as allies undertaking the same work for the same reasons we do. For, as long as unnecessary killing occurs in our own centre, rare would be the case where we would not utilise their assistance in taking custody of and rehoming those animals we have whose life is at risk.

Get to know them all, and work with them to save lives.

Working with foster homes

Proactive recruitment of foster carers, advanced levels of support and training opportunities and a positive regard for the contribution they make is vital to the success of their foster care program;

Training, equipment, food, litter and any medication required are all supplied by the SPCA to its foster homes, and a full support network of helpful staff or volunteer supervisors is also important to the programme. Keeping our fosterers happy is as important as keeping our animals happy!

They also offer innovative foster programs, like ’seniors for seniors’ and the adoption of foster pets by the foster homes.

Working with volunteers

Volunteers have been described as a dedicated “army of compassion” and are the backbone of a successful centre operation.

The organisation engage volunteers for animal care, but also public interaction and adoption support.

…fortunately there are a large number of people who gladly give of their time to help animals – however, we need to ask them, train them, assign duties to them and look after them.

Saving the strays

There are a vast number of people who voluntarily tend to stray cats in the community, normally in a “cat colony” (which can be small or large) or in a controlled situation or on their own property. Such cats were mostly once companion cats who have been abandoned, while some are the offspring of those cats who were not desexed prior to abandonment. They assemble in colonies, requiring the support and assistance of humans for their ongoing sustenance and welfare.

These people are dedicated to their task, spending many hours (and much of their own money) to care for these cats. Their sole objective is to save lives, and accordingly they are an essential part of this programme and deserving of our full support.

Recognising the contribution of community cat carers is vital to reducing intakes and the number of cats dying in shelters. This organisation embraces their work and offers them the support they need to continue in their life-saving work.

They formed the ‘Cat Coalition’, assisting with donated food and desexing vouchers and support to manage problems as they arise. The coalition members, in addition to being supported, also operate under protocols designed with the ongoing welfare of the cats and their care in mind.

They expanded the program to include those people looking to surrender a ’stray’ cat. Rather than accept a fractious cat from a surendee’s own property, the organisation offers the chance to adopt the cat as a ‘barn cat’, have it desexed and save its life.
………………….

No Kill is about what you DO, do

This organisation has taken on every aspect of the No Kill equation, and reclaimed its role as a life-saving resource in the community. What their experience has shown is that No Kill isn’t about what you don’t do (kill), but what you do, do… execute a series of proven, modern animal sheltering techniques that simply run in a contrary manner to convenience killing.

The fact that one of the oldest and largest animal welfare organisations in the country has taken the lead in moving New Zealand towards its No Kill future, is testament to the dynamic leadership of the organisation (see my previous article on Bob Kerridge from the SPCA here).

The ‘Saving Lives’ plan from the SPCA New Zealand could be rolled out in any shelter tomorrow.

It’s time that every Australian demands the same level of performance from our own animal welfare groups and seek out and support those organisations who are already on a No Kill path.

Australian shelter pets also deserve a No Kill future.

Seth Godin’s book Linchpin changed my life.

He has riffed out pretty much the whole lot and given it away free. No, not just given it away, asks people to share it.

So I can’t recommend this highly enough.

The April Linchpin Session (click)

First up, the blog post of the year;

Fighting the inevitable: The propaganda war against no-kill

People are not stupid; they understand the difference between “killing” and “euthanasia.” And the no-kill movement is not about what individual shelters do, but about a community-based effort to develop non-lethal animal population management practices nationwide. And it’s not a Utopian fantasy, it’s the reality right now in many communities, and that number is growing every year, because of the very love and commitment of people that you don’t believe in.

Go read it.

And once you’ve done that, why not settle on down on the couch for a video brain massage?

First up, we have Nathan Winograd – lawyer, director of the No-Kill Advocacy Centre and author of “Redemption: The myth of pet overpopulation and the No-Kill Revolution” – speaking with Steven from Hound TV…

Next, we have Nathan’s full presentation from the conference…

Image from gaping void

Followers of this blog will know that I’ve been working with an organisation to improve their adoptions.

One of the biggest changes they’ve had to make, is in the language they use when they promote their pets. Before, their language was negative and designed to highlight the flaws in the pet, in an effort to ‘protect’ them from unsuitable homes. The result has been a long-term conversation with the public, focused around the idea that all the pets coming through this shelter have ’something wrong with them’.

I’m pleased to report that after months of coaching (fight the fear!), the adverts coming from this organisation are now much more positive. Not glowing mind you, but certainly more focused on encouraging the right kind of owner, rather than driving the wrong kind of owner away. I was happy with how we were progressing.

But yesterday, disaster. The results of a large community survey were in and the findings had everyone shaken. Turns out many in the community think there is something wrong with shelter dogs.

[well duh emoticon here]

Now, this won’t come as news to you, but OMG it did to them! Everyone began to flapping about looking for a solution to this ‘new’ problem. They now had the answer to their low adoptions; they must bring in programs immediately to remedy it!

So they proposed that every dog moving through the organisation participate in a basic, certifiable dog training class before adoption; taking around 1-2 weeks and requiring an army of trained volunteers. Great right?

Well, no not exactly.

Certainly training programs (especially off-leash exercise & dog 2 dog socialisation programs) are vital for dogs in a shelter environment. But it turns out when I asked shelter staff, there wasn’t a mentionable problem with the behaviour of the dogs. Dogs aren’t being returned because of unwanted behaviours. Even those dogs deemed hyper-twatty while in care, when released from a 3×2 kennel and join a family, find inner peace. Then there’s the guys who are lovely in the shelter/absolute gorgeous when they get home.

Turns out the dogs aren’t the problem. It’s the public’s perception of the dogs that’s the problem.

So while a boost to internal dog training programs may see a small but measurable improvement in dog behaviour, how far does it really go to remedy the years they’ve spent marketing their pets as abused, special needs and ‘not for the faint hearted’ (one of their favourite adoption advert catchphrases).

They argue that a training program is a hook for the media; ‘every one of our dogs come with a training course certificate’, but again, aren’t we just reinforcing to people that these dogs have ‘problems’?

Thinks the public: “a training program? why do the dogs need a training program? is there something wrong with them? I think I’d rather a ‘clean slate’ thanks very much; I’ll get a puppy”

So how do they change people’s perceptions of what a ‘rescue dog’ is?

1. Recognise that the people working in the shelter aren’t marketing copywriters.

Just as you wouldn’t get the engineer that built the car to write the copy for the brochure, neither should your animal staff be writing adoption adverts. This is no reflection on their abilities, it’s just that if your core business is rehoming pets, then the role of animal promotion should be allocated to a marketing professional and the strategy given as much emphasis as your fundraising copy or organisational newsletter.

2. Get your pets ‘out there’

If the problem is that people think all your pets are abused and faulty, locking them away from the public only reinforces the idea that they are dangerous. This organisation has many huge events throughout the year and available pets aren’t invited – the risk to the public, they say, is too great.

When people adopt a dog, the first thing they do is take it to the beach, or the off-lead dog park, or for a walk to the shops, because that’s what people with dogs do. If our dogs can’t do these things while they’re in the hands of trained professionals, what is that telling the public about their behaviour?

By contrast (and I’ve seen this at in-store events) a bunch of healthy, happy, social dogs enjoying a few hours out meeting people sends an incredibly powerful message to the public. “Hey! Look at this guy! A rescue? Really? But he’s so NICE!”

3. Recruit your adopters

The strongest advocates for animal adoptions are people who’ve adopted. Happy family case studies are hugely powerful tools for changing people’s perceptions about rescue dogs.

However, having these case studies sitting in your email inbox, or posted in the wall of your office isn’t bringing about change. Get them on your website, get them in your media interviews, get people sharing their stories online (see how easy it is to gather hundreds of ‘happily ever after’ stories here on the PetRescue facebook page). Get people to make YouTube videos about their pets and post them. Invite adopters to come to your events with their pets and give their pets ‘I’m an adoptee’ jackets to wear. Anything to empower them to show off their great new animal and let them break down these stereotypes on our behalf.

….

It’s the strangest thing; these three things which seem so obvious as someone working ‘on the outside’ are completely beyond what this group can cope with doing right now. Everyone is still looking to fix ‘the animals’ rather than change themselves. But it’s a process and I have belief they will get there.

I see now that being a ‘change agent’ is less about having revolutionary ideas (these aren’t my ideas, they’re just some really good ideas) and more about not allowing yourself to become indoctrinated into the stagnant thinking that often plagues these organisations. I encourage anyone who wants change to get inside and fix what’s broken. It absolutely can be done.

… because it’s not fair to put anyone through this.

From Post Secret.

Don’t know what promotion your group should do this xmas?

My advice; doing anything is better than doing nothing. Don’t over think it, just ask yourself question; how can we get people into our shelter this holiday season?

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Pets Haven Animal Shelter in Woodend, Victoria is open until 10pm tonight. Talk about going above and beyond to get pets into new homes!

See details on their Facebook page.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The Animal Welfare League Queensland are the masters of off-site adoption. They have joined forces with pet and pet supply shops, rehoming cats and dogs to new, loving homes.

There are currently nine stores (seven Gold Coast, two Brisbane) helping - not only making more room at the shelter, but helping spread the word about responsible pet care issues like desexing. In-store programs also give those animals who don’t cope well in a shelter environment a better chance at adoption, while also reaching more potential new owners – particularly those people who don’t like the idea of a ’shelter’.

Click here to see the full list of rehoming centres.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

RSPCA’s NSW’s New Animal Care Centre opens tomorrow! From their media release;

On Friday 11 December 2009, the RSPCA Care Centre is being officially opened. Each year thousands of animals end up at RSPCA Shelters, and in order to rehome even more, another facility needed to be built.

Rather than build another shelter, the RSPCA designed a shelter outreach facility. Called the Care Centre, it’s the first of its kind in Australia and includes:

- Animal Adoptions
- Veterinary Outpatients Clinic
- Retail Products
- A Pet Advisory Service
- Community Education and
- Events

The aim of the RSPCA Care Centre is to rehome more animals in a welfare friendly environment, decrease euthanasia rates and educate the community about responsible pet ownership. Staffed by RSPCA trained animal wellbeing attendants and vets, Rouse Hill celebrates responsible pet ownership and represents the future of the RSPCA in NSW.

A huge round of applause to the RSPCA NSW Team for such a great initiative!


*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The RSPCA in Queensland are again running their ‘save a kitten from liquidation sale’. Rather than sit on their hands and wait for the rush of kitten killing, they’ve been honest with their public, stepped up and asked them for help. They’re even promoting their CATCHOO (cat flu) kittens.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Also getting a jump on the cat rush, the Cat Haven in Perth are profiling 12 older cats to give them an extra chance of finding a new home.

Staying with the Christmas theme the cats are named Holly, Rudolf, Twinkle, Sparkle, Santa, Snowflake, Stardust, Elfie, Jingles, Bell, Tinsel and The Grinch.

But the real kicker? All cats that the Cat Haven adopt over Christmas would be sold ‘free to a good home’, but “only on the condition that owners bought an adoption package that start at $125 which includes essential services such as sterilisation that owners would need to purchase anyway to take care of the cat.”

What a great way to show exactly where the cost of an adopted pet comes from and to put value to the service they provide.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

And finally, JB from PetRescue has turned on a new social networking feature on the site, making it easier than ever to get your pets featuring on Facebook and Twitter. The new ‘Twitter a Critter’ feature, gives every animal listed on the site a Twitter and Facebook icon on their listing.

Use your social network; ‘Twitter a Critter’ your pets straight into new homes!

The No Kill Nation blog has today an excellent piece on the history of HSUS and how its back flip from considering the best outcome for feral cats to be death;

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Feral cats should be humanely euthanized if they cannot be [adopted]. For feral cats, this traditional approach remains the only practical and humane solution.
Shelter Sense, Volume 15, Number 5, May 1992

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

To their position today;

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Effective strategies for permanently reducing the homeless cat population are essential and Trap-Neuter-Return, when properly implemented, offers such a solution.
Feral Cats: Frequently Asked Questions: 2008

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

May be about to be mirrored in changes in their position towards ‘fighting’ and ‘dangerous’ dogs, following the backlash they received after defending the killing 150 dogs and puppies earlier in the month.

So why would a group like the HSUS be flipping their position on so many hot topics?

Profitable Change

No matter what the subject matter, there is one thing that is nearly always the same amongst groups advocating for change they’re poor.

A new idea is often unpopular simply because it’s new. No matter what science you have to back it up, when you present a new idea to the public they roll it around in their heads and feel perturbed – then reject it because it challenges what they know, they know.

Groups advocating for genuine change usually find themselves slogging away, beating their drum on a shoestring and only supported only by similarly minded people. Then, one day they grow big enough that they crack it, or they get some break like the media jumping on board or the issue becoming particularly topical.

That’s when the idea suddenly becomes ‘Profitable Change’. Those groups who until this point have been waiting in the wings either actively or passively resisting, now ’see the light’ and suddenly jump into action.

They champion this ‘new’ idea. Rewrite the history books and begin to advocate on its behalf. The public, having ‘heard the idea somewhere before’ are emboldened and congratulate the revolutionary thinking. And that’s when the $$$ start really rolling in.

The Lesson? There’s no money in bringing change to market; but there’s plenty to be made if you’re the group that’s second in line.

The HSUS gave the term ‘No Kill’ a whirl earlier in the year because it was getting a lot of media and industry interest. Feral cat supporters became so numerous that they could no longer be ignored. Puppy mills = Oprah. Now, pit bulls are getting their turn in the spotlight simply because the backlash to their position has been so severe that the HSUS had no choice but to review it.

Advocacy groups make their money from following popular opinion, not creating it.

So how do you make YOUR idea into a Profitable Change?

Keep beating your drum. It’s hard to think that eventually the very groups working against you now, will turn tide and profit handsomely for doing so, but that’s ok. In fact, make it easy for them when the time comes.

Because we’re working for the animals and results are results are results.

Like virtually all living things, they will suffer any hardship, endure any insult, for a moment’s additional existence.

Life, in short, just wants to be.”

Bill Bryson

As rescuers, working to save the lives of pets, you would expect that we’d be driving the charge to overhaul the animal sheltering process should it be failing and causing unnecessary death.


However, rather than find it abhorrent that we’re are damaging the very pets we purport to care for, it seems we’ve become apologists; excusing killing and poor performance with the defeatist rhetoric that not only is a certain level of killing acceptable, but that killing should be considered a viable alternative to the ‘trauma’ of being impounded.

For dogs who come into pounds what being in a pound does to them, mentally, is much crueler than euthanasia. Some dogs just do not deal well with impoundment and become either difficult or impossible to rehome due to the behaviours they exhibit when people visit the pound looking for a dog. For those dogs being PTS on day 1 would be preferable – sad but true.
Rescuer

I work every day with animals that sit in concrete runs waiting to die, they are scared, defensive, no doubt confused, some of them get rehomed, one would hope to a better place, but we know that is not always the case. Most die, but they die after sitting in those cage scared. A quick painless death before that, is preferable.
Rescuer

Rather than demand an environment that cares for the animals unlucky enough to find themselves impounded; rather than implore that we operate in ways that make an animals’ stay as least behaviourally challenging as possible; rather than insist on policies that increase a pets chance of adoption, and pressing to get pets off site via foster carers and rescue… we simply proclaim that quick death is preferable to being given a chance at life.

My pound is now at the all surrenders are PTS on surrender stage. We can cry, beat our breasts and stamp our feet and say it is unfair, but there is no where for these animals to go, a very lucky few will be pulled out and saved. I know for a fact that many dogs that are pulled from the pound go to homes that are less than desirable, is that good just because they are alive, I don’t think so.
Rescuer

This is the language of certain failure. When animals are coming out worse than when they went in; when the way they’re treated causes them to lose their chance to become a pet again; when the way they’re presented to the public causes the adopter to reconsider rescue because the dog has lost it’s marbles; then we’ve failed in our duty of care. And failure is not something we should be proud to defend.


When we believe that a pet is better off dead, than with us;

The animal has no idea whats going on. Its better to be PTS at the vets than dumped in a shelter where it spends 8 days in a tiny pen and is then PTS anyway.
Rescuer

Then we’ve absolutely failed. And we must recognise it as failure if we’re ever to move towards success.

Whenever a shelter kills a homeless animal entrusted to its care, it has profoundly failed. And animal shelters fail, as a general rule, fifty to eighty percent of the time. Put another way, animal sheltering is an industry whose leadership mostly fails. Unlike any other industry, however, these directors still retain their positions, are pillars of their communities, and are tapped as ‘experts’ by the large national groups. That credibility, and esteem, has been seriously threatened by the No Kill movement. In other words animal control directors, fearful of being held accountable for failure, are putting their own interests ahead of the lives of the animals.

Nathan Winograd – Itchmo.com

An animal should never, ever be better off dead than in our care. And when it is, then we’re doing something completely and indefensibly wrong.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL5_fMlKv6w]

Nathan Winograd speaks at the No More Homeless Pets Conference in October. Check out the blogs here for all the conference information.

When we speak to the media, it’s often about the reason de jour that people are giving when surrendering their animals. Obviously the latest trend is ‘the economy’ and you don’t have to search very hard to find a rescue group lamenting that financial issues are causing people to hand over their pets.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) – They’re man’s best friends, but apparently not in times of financial stress, as hundreds of people in Australia are abandoning their pet dogs and cats, often because they cost too much.

Coming up to the xmas holiday period, the rescue media blitz is on owners who surrender because they couldn’t find a boarding kennel or because they wanted to go on holidays. And the old chestnuts, allergies or moving house never really seem to go out of style.

So what would you say if I told you that by promoting these reasons for pet relinquishment, we’re actually encouraging people to surrender their pets? Would you reconsider your next media release?

People do what other people are doing

‘Social proof’ is a psychological phenomenon described by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Call it the ‘herd mentality’. If unsure of what to do, people will look to others and just… do what they do.

It’s the reason teenagers all dress alike and why advertisers use slogans like ‘1000 happy customers can’t be wrong’. Because we care a great deal about what others think of us, we work hard to fit in and avoid being criticised. We are highly susceptible to ‘popular opinion’, as when we’re not sure, we assume others know more than us and just fall into line.

Social proof can be an extremely powerful tool in marketing. If convinced that ‘everyone else is doing it’, people often overcome any reservations and comply. Also, the more people that engage in a particular behaviour, the more acceptable this behaviour becomes. Think rubber bracelets, recycling or Red Nose Day.

In the case of social proof bringing about accepted social change, anyone who falls outside the new ‘trend’ will be ostracised and the community will essentially self-regulate. As anyone who’s watered the lawn outside of their non-allocated day will tell you!

Testimonials are a very powerful form of social proof and your adopters are by far your best advertisement. By including the stories of other happy adopters we say ‘Look! They’ve done it and they’re really happy’, and help to alleviate any reservations people might be having about taking home a rescue.

So what’s this got to do with surrenders?

Social proof isn’t all good news. This ‘monkey see – monkey do’ also extends to unfortunate events and leads to negative ‘copycat’ behaviour. If a celebrity commits suicide for example, mass media coverage soon leads to more suicides. The simple explanation being that they feel validated by the suicide of another, so they act.

From Copyblogger;

In other words, social proof also tells us it’s okay to do what we already want to do. This isn’t all bad, especially when it involves the acceptance of your message. But it can also result in negative social proof, in that it motivates people to do the opposite of what you want because you’re trying to change behavior already supported by social proof.

Take a look at these well-intended messages:

• This year Americans will produce more litter and pollution than ever before. ~U.S. Forest Service
• 4 years ago, 22 million single women did not vote. ~Women Vote
• 42% of college graduates never read a book again. ~Dan Poynter’s ParaPublishing

These messages point out important problems. But what are some people really hearing?

• Everyone litters, it’s not just me.
• Voting is a hassle, and others like me think so too.
• I don’t enjoy reading, and I’m in a lot of good company.

These are all examples of negative social proof. Instead of prompting people to change, it encourages people to stick with the crowd that hasn’t changed (especially if the change is inconvenient or undesired). It can even lead people to engage in behavior they otherwise wouldn’t, once they know others are doing it.

So social proof can actually backfire completely and increase peoples bad behaviour because they have proof that lots of others also engage in the behaviour.

If we say people are surrendering because of the economy, voila! People will dump their pets citing the economy as their reason;

Australia’s animal welfare agency, the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA), said “can’t afford it” was now the fourth most cited reason for people dropping off pets at the shelter, up from number 8 last year. ref

Avoiding negative social proof

Copyblogger offers these tips for avoiding negative social proof.

1. Focus on the desired action, not the action you want people to avoid.
   ‘Rescues say; book your boarding kennel now‘, not ‘Pets flood shelters as kennels fill‘




2. Reframe negative social proof to highlight those who are on board rather than those who are not.
   ‘Dog training schools a haven for happy pets‘ not, ‘Most Australians lazy; untrained pets rife‘




3. Characterize the undesirable action as isolated, out of touch, uncool, aberrant, etc.
   (isolating and stigmatizing) The Bogan Breeder phenomenon

Understanding that people need other people’s approval to feel they’re making the right decision will go a long way to using language that supports this process. We can change the community by harnessing the power of social proof, but we must ensure that we focus on the positive behaviour we’re trying to promote and choose what we say carefully so our message has only the desired effect.