gdp's Comments

Dancing Dog Blog : A Visit With Dr Roger Mugford, Behaviorist, Trainer, Founder of Company of Animals

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 01:54:56 +0000

Thanks for the heads up, Mary. I read this and have tears in my eyes. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to finally find a shelter willing to try this concept. For over a year I have been trying like crazy to get this idea out and have met nothing but derision, scoffing and canned excuses. So many have stuck their toe in the water by moving to what I call "boutique" sheltering, but none have dared dive in all the way to what I call communal housing - UNTIL NOW! Lake Shore now gets my nod for most progressive shelter in the United States. For a year I have tried to describe this model (what you guys are doing) on my website = https://sites.google.com/site/drdoolittle2800/Wel... I have just gotten into the details of this new model on our group's blog = http://www.arc-na.org/the-end-of-animal-shelters Please join me there and read all about your shelter! God bless you guys for being true pioneers. In all fairness, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of rescuers across the country who do this in their homes every day, but getting a shelter director and her board to try this is unheard of! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I have proof it actually works. Read all about yourselves on my blog! As soon as I'm through here I'm going to run quick like a bunny over and feature Lake Shore on my site and blog! For the readers who don't get all the fuss, what these innovative people have done is to house their animals in larger groups. There are a bunch of shelters that have been modernized and taken a baby step forward with semi-private rooms which house 1-2 dogs. Some shelter directors will allow 3-4 little dogs if they are perfect together. Here are the main players in boutique facilities: San Francisco SPCA, PAWS Chicago, AnimalArk, Washington Animal Rescue League, ASPCA, and Longmont Humane Society. Mary, I'm writing to you separately, but great job to all of you there! Get me the pics and video, okay?

Dancing Dog Blog : Giving Pet Shops and Puppy Mills the Boot

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 02:28:11 +0000

I liked this blog and discussion thread so much I went onto Youtube, did one search and found this very encouraging video of how rescuers can work with a pet shop to stop selling animals. They now work with local shelters/rescue groups and adopt out animals. Here's proof it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64K2RDJkaKY&fe...

Dancing Dog Blog : Giving Pet Shops and Puppy Mills the Boot

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:46:25 +0000

(Conclusion)... Afraid of aggression? Well first, most animals with behavior problems are killed. For the few that get a chance at redemption, why not stop trying to deal with them in an environment that is, at its best, not conducive to rehab work? Does your famous shelter hire trainers to work with the dogs in the shelters, Mary? Why not use those trainers to train serious fosters to do this important work in their homes? It's a better environment and a much better use of the trainers. The military has for decades called this "force mulitipliers," the use of one to train many. By fosters, please know I mean serious people who want to do more than just provide room and board for Muffy or Princess. There have been mediocre attempts at creativity, but all fall short of success. Check out Rich Avanzino's SF SPCA, Scotlund Haisley's Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL), and Ed "I'm In The Money" Sayres' ASPCA. All have undergone renovations and created pretty little apartments for two, but still fail to honor the notion that dogs and cats are social animals. Even Mike Fry's Animal Ark in Hastings, Minnesota - the leading advocate of No-Kill sheltering - has gone to this limited boutique housing instead of all the way to communal housing. This is not unfamiliar turf. For goodness sake, rescuers around the country have been doing this for years. I and some of my rescuer friends have housed together as many as ten unruly large dogs in our homes. We know what it takes. What's wrong with these shelter experts? It's all about marketing, and specifically merchandising. Don't treat these sentient beings as products, but learn from successful businesses. On a final note, if we think sheltering is working, why does the leading defender of the status quo, Wayne 'Vick's Da Man' Pacelle's Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) states that as few as 15% of the animals finding homes this year will come from shelters? What a pitiful market share. Shame on shelters! Shelter directors across the country need to learn what "market penetration" means. Oh yeah, one last thing: Brent, great discussion with Mary. Puppy mills don't make their money off retail sales in pet stores. Nope, not at all - a mere drop in the bucket. Their big outlet is from the back of pick ups and beat up old station wagons down south on country roads. They peddle those beautiful little animals by the thousands every weekend. We can easily work with retailers to be part of the solution - we just need to try. Petland is an example of defiance upon whom we can take more drastic action, like a boycott. And it's working! Mary, great work. Now please spread the word. You're in a great position to be able to help lead us into a new era of animal welfare. Shelters have to change or independent rescue groups will take over. Brick-and-mortar retailers fought the internet for years until the smart ones got on board and learned to sell competitively on the internet. Yeah, some obstinate retailers died but that shouold be a real motivator for the others to learn this new way. We The People aren't going to tolerate for much longer this antiquated way that is killing so many of our family companion every year. Thanks for putting it on the line for our furry friends.