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1.
The results of an examination of 10 animal shelters was, that anyone was unical. The everyday and fundamental problems in administration, housing animals and animal care were the same: Most of them employ laity, which do their job with a lot of commitment but without knowledge. Therefore they come into conflict with the demands of animal protection. Veterinary surgeons, responsible authorities and communities are strongly asked to take steps against the situation. The reason for the fact, that such steps are missed, is, that there is no guideline or recommendation available for these persons, which handles animal shelters relative to "animal justice" and the right housing of animals. The results of the survey helps to make a guideline for animal home owners and builders, veterinary surgeons, veterinary authorities and communities, which gives suggestions to build, equip and run animal shelters for cats and dogs responsible regarding the individual circumstances and in the best way for animals.  相似文献   

2.
Feline upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), mainly caused by feline calicivirus (FCV) and feline herpesvirus, is a major cause of disease outbreaks in feline accommodation such as animal shelters, catteries and multi-cat households. We conducted a longitudinal, yearlong study in five UK feline animal shelters to identify risk factors for the time to diagnosis of URTD. We were especially interested in risk factors that could be identified at the time the cat entered the shelter. Shelter staff recorded data for 1434 cats during 2002–2003. Most of the cats were domestic shorthair cats and were from private households, or were stray or abandoned. Sixty cats without clinical signs of URTD at entry had URTD diagnosed (typically within the first month at the centre). We used two multivariable models: one was a Cox proportional-hazards model, and the other a regression analyses with complementary log–log model.The hazard varied substantially between shelters and was considerably lower for the shelter that had a purpose-built admissions unit with its own isolation facilities. The hazard was greater for purebred cats (HR 4.3–5.0) and for neutered cats (HR 2.0). The hazard was also typically greater if the centre had a greater proportion of cats present with URTD. The analyses suggested that the centre-level risk factors were more important in determining hazard than cat-level risk factors.  相似文献   

3.
In the context of all causes of human morbidity and mortality, or even within the context of all infectious diseases affecting the public health, pet-associated zoonotic infections are of moderate importance. The data documented in Table 1, however, indicate that they do exact significant human health and economic costs. If complete data were available for all of the infections shown in Table 1, the costs would be considerably higher. Moreover, most of these diseases are preventable through educating the public, particularly pet owners, of the zoonotic potential of these diseases, so that they may take precautions to minimize the risks leading to infection. These measures include appropriate health care of pets to eliminate infectious agents, reducing the number of uncontrolled, ownerless pets as well as unwanted or poorly supervised pets, preventing pets from soiling public places with their feces, excluding animals from areas where children play, enforcing leash laws, and promoting responsible pet ownership. Veterinarians, physicians, and public health agencies can aid in these efforts; ultimately, however, the responsibility lies with the pet owner.  相似文献   

4.
Salmonella enterica is an important zoonotic agent and nosocomial infections and epidemics have occurred in animal facilities. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella in the environment in animal shelters. From 12 to 25 samples were taken from each shelter to represent environmental contamination. Samples were collected from surfaces in areas used by animals and in public access areas including animal receiving rooms, kennels, paediatric wards, treatment, visitation rooms, isolation, euthanasia, outdoor runs and play areas, reception rooms, animal transport vehicles, offices, break rooms and restrooms. Samples were tested for Salmonella and compared within shelters to identify high- and low-risk areas; and between shelters to identify differences in environmental contamination by geographical location, infection control policies, and shelter size characteristics. Twenty-eight per cent of sampled Colorado shelters had environmental Salmonella contamination. Two regions in the eastern 1/3 of the state had prevalences of 30% and 100%. Within-shelter sample prevalence ranged from 0 to 100%. Results of this study indicate that animal shelters can be frequently contaminated with Salmonella spp., a variety of Salmonella species may be present, contamination can be widespread within a facility and recovered isolates may harbour antibiotic resistance The findings from this study may influence and help focus educational policy on issues of infection control and zoonotic disease awareness in animal shelters.  相似文献   

5.
Limited economic resources and pet overpopulation force animals shelters to consider euthanasia of adoptable animals every day. Veterinary medical schools can play a positive role in increasing pet adoption and combating overpopulation by providing free neutering for shelter animals. This retrospective cohort study illustrated that the cooperative efforts of a veterinary medicine surgical teaching program and local animal shelters decreases euthanasia of adoptable pets. At the University of California, Davis (UCD), shelter dogs are neutered by veterinary students and then returned to the shelter for adoption. The rates of adoption and euthanasia of the dogs neutered at UCD were contrasted with a comparison shelter group to determine the effect of pre-adoption neutering. The UCD-neutered dogs had a lower rate of euthanasia than the comparison shelter group at the shelters investigated. At Sacramento County Animal Care and Regulation, 73% of the UCD group but only 36% of the comparison group were adopted. At Yolo County Animal Services, 71% of the UCD group and 45% of the comparison group were adopted. The sex of an animal did not significantly affect the rate of euthanasia. Dogs that were predominantly pit bull, rottweiler, or chow chow breeds had higher rates of euthanasia than other breeds, independent of neuter status. Also, juveniles (less than one year old) had lower rates of euthanasia than adults, independent of neuter status. UCD adult dogs had lower rates of euthanasia than comparison adults. Post-surgical UCD dogs spent a longer average time in the shelter before adoption (15 days at Sacramento; 16 days at Yolo) than the comparison dogs (11 and 12 days, respectively). UCD dogs also spent a longer average time in the shelter before euthanasia (18 and 25 days, respectively) than the comparison dogs (13 days at both shelters). Lower probabilities of euthanasia for behavioral or medical reasons were found for UCD dogs than for the comparison dogs. The probability of euthanasia for reasons of space limitations increased with time in shelter for both groups. In this study, pre-adoption neutering increased adoptions without increasing the probability of medical or behavioral euthanasia.  相似文献   

6.
The adoption strategies used in animal shelters can have a large impact on the total number of adoptions and donations that take place. Reducing adoption fees during peak kitten or puppy season is one way to reduce inventories and increase the number of open spaces to save more lives, but does not necessarily increase the financial well-being of the shelter if the per-animal costs exceed the revenues generated. We developed a stochastic model to simulate the expected costs, revenues, and net income of a hypothetical animal shelter for various alternative management strategies, based on US conditions. A total of 8 scenarios were developed and compared to the base-case scenario (BC).  相似文献   

7.
A cross-sectional needs-assessment survey was used to characterize animal shelters in a 6-state region in the western US and describe infection-control practices and disease awareness. Survey questions focused on shelter demographics, infection-control practices and policies, awareness and concern over infectious and zoonotic diseases, staff and volunteer training relating to infection-control and disease awareness, use of diagnostic tools, and isolation procedures and protocols. Fifty percent of shelters responded to the survey and represented a wide variety of shelter types, sizes and locations. The top-three diseases of concern to shelters were feline upper respiratory disease (FURD), canine parvovirus and ringworm. Concern over these diseases was greater in open-admission shelters (compared to limited admission or no-kill/sanctuary) (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.1-12.5) and in shelters with a desire for more zoonotic-disease training (OR=6.1, 95% CI 1.5-24.8) (compared to shelters desiring infectious-disease training, training on cleaning and disinfection or those who have no need for further training). In 45% of responding shelters many to most animals arrive with infectious diseases. Written protocols for preventive medicine exist in 88% of shelters, cleaning and disinfection protocols in 75%, specific disease protocols for outbreak situations in 36% and infection-control manuals in 15%. Veterinarians are in charge of infection-control in 6% of shelters. Approximately 45% of shelters vaccinate dogs and cats for rabies. Infectious-disease training is provided to 30% of staff and 35% of volunteers upon hire. Overall, volunteers received less training in infectious- and zoonotic-disease identification, prevention and control than staff members. Ninety percent of shelters said they would benefit from training in infectious and zoonotic disease. Results from this study can be used to assess and address needs in animal shelters relating to infection-control, infectious and zoonotic-disease awareness and can help guide development of shelter staff and volunteer training.  相似文献   

8.
Animal behavior problems often have detrimental effects on the relationships between pets and their owners and are one of the most frequently given reasons for canine relinquishment. The stressful environment of animal shelters can exacerbate behavior problems; yet most shelters do not have the staff necessary to address this issue adequately. Veterinary students may provide an untapped resource for solving this dilemma. As a service component of the curriculum, Veterinary schools can join with local humane societies to expose students to behavioral issues and concurrently build relationships within the community and perhaps even offer shelter animals a better chance of successful adoption. The following paper describes a "hands-on" undergraduate animal behavior and obedience training psychology course, created as a model to address these needs.  相似文献   

9.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of euthanasia rates, euthanasia practices, and human resource practices on the turnover rate among employees with euthanasia responsibilities at animal shelters. DESIGN: Cross-sectional original study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 36 shelters across the United States that employed at least 5 full-time employees and performed euthanasia on site. PROCEDURES: By mail, 1 survey was sent to each shelter. Surveys were completed by a senior member of management and were returned by mail. Questions assessed characteristics (eg, euthanasia rates) and practices of the animal shelter, along with employee turnover rates. By use of correlation coefficients and stepwise regression analyses, key predictors of turnover rates among employees with euthanasia responsibilities were investigated. RESULTS: Employee turnover rates were positively related to euthanasia rate. Practices that were associated with decreased turnover rates included provision of a designated euthanasia room, exclusion of other live animals from vicinity during euthanasia, and removal of euthanized animals from a room prior to entry of another animal to be euthanized. Making decisions regarding euthanasia of animals on the basis of factors other than behavior and health reasons was related to increased personnel turnover. With regard to human resources practices, shelters that used a systematic personnel selection procedure (eg, standardized testing) had comparatively lower employee turnover. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Data obtained may suggest several specific avenues that can be pursued to mitigate turnover among employees with euthanasia responsibilities at animal shelters and animal control or veterinary medical organizations.  相似文献   

10.
Animal shelter workers are a vulnerable population whose exposure to zoonotic disease may be greater compared with the general population. The aim of this project was to identify baseline zoonotic disease knowledge of animal shelter workers and to develop and evaluate zoonotic disease awareness training. Ten animal shelters in six western states were randomly selected. One hundred and eleven trainees were evaluated by identical pre- and post-training tests. Training topics included identification of clinical signs, susceptible species, and transmission of disease to animals and to humans. Zoonotic diseases included rabies, plague, leptospirosis, internal parasites, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and salmonella. A statistically significant difference in overall total scores between pre-test (58.5%) and post-test (69.5%) was observed (P = 0.0001). No association was observed between test scores and length of time working in animal shelters, or with the participants' role at the animal shelter. Overall test scores were raised by 11%. The lowest baseline levels of knowledge were found with leptospirosis, MRSA, plague and rabies, emerging diseases with increasing prevalence and high consequence. Zoonotic disease awareness training is a valuable service to animal shelters. In the current study, training was modestly successful in transferring short-term knowledge to animal shelter workers. To understand and evaluate the effectiveness of training completely, observable or measureable behaviours should be compared before and after training. Long-term assessment with measureable outcomes is needed.  相似文献   

11.
Animal shelters have limited resources and must accommodate large numbers of animals at unpredictable intake rates. These dogs and cats are often parasitized, which can adversely affect the health of animals and expose shelter workers and adoptive owners to zoonoses. We analyzed survey responses from rural (n = 32) and urban (n = 50) companion animal shelters across Canada, and compared the wholesale cost of commercially available anthelmintics to identify cost-effective methods of managing parasites within shelters. Almost all shelters employed nematocides (98% to 99%), but cestocides and ectoparasiticides were used less frequently. Shelters identified cost as an important consideration in choosing to perform fecal diagnostic testing and administer anthelmintics, and this motivated many shelters to selectively perform testing (66%) or never to test (32%), and to use drugs extralabel (80%).  相似文献   

12.
OBJECTIVE: To measure stress levels among cats in traditional and enriched shelter environments via behavioral assessment and urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratios. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. ANIMALS: 120 cats in 4 Boston-area animal shelters. PROCEDURE: Cats were randomly selected and observed during 3 periods (morning, midday, and afternoon) of 1 day and scored by use of a behavioral assessment scale. The next day, urine samples were collected for analysis of the urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio. Information about each cat's background before entering the shelter was collected. RESULTS: Stress scores were highest in the morning. The relationships between the amount of time cats spent in the shelter and the cat stress score or urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio were not strong. There was no correlation between the cat stress score and urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio. Urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratios did correlate with signs of systemic disease and were significantly lower in cats in the more environmentally enriched shelters, compared with cats in the traditional shelters. Urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio was highest among cats with high exposure to dogs. Of the cats in the study, 25% had subclinical hematuria detectable on a urine dipstick. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In this study, the cat stress score was not a useful instrument for measuring stress because it failed to identify cats with feigned sleep and high stress levels. Urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratios can be monitored to noninvasively assess stress levels in confined cats. Environmental enrichment strategies may help improve the welfare of cats in animal shelters.  相似文献   

13.
The problem of dangerous dogs receives a lot of public attention. However, there is another group of animals that can threaten public security--the group of dangerous exotic animals. In daily routine mainly venomous snakes, spiders and scorpions or crocodiles, giant snakes and snapping turtles are of practical importance. The paper gives hints how to keep these animals according to animal protection and public safety rules.  相似文献   

14.
The high prevalence of heartworm infection in shelter dogs creates a dilemma for shelter managers, who frequently operate with insufficient funding, staffing, and expertise to comply with heartworm guidelines developed for owned pet dogs. The purpose of this study was to survey canine heartworm management protocols used by 504 animal sheltering agencies in the endemic states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. Open-admission shelters, which tended to be larger and more likely to perform animal control functions, were less likely (41%) to test all adult dogs than were limited-admission shelters (80%), which tended to be smaller non-profit humane agencies, and foster programs (98%) based out of private residences. Open-admission shelters were more likely to euthanize infected dogs (27%) or to release them without treatment (39%), whereas limited-admission shelters and foster programs were more likely to provide adulticide therapy (82% and 89%, respectively). Of the 319 agencies that treated infections, 44% primarily used a standard two-dose melarsomine protocol, and 35% primarily used a three-dose split-treatment melarsomine protocol. Long-term low-dose ivermectin was the most common treatment used in 22% of agencies. Open-admission shelters were less likely (35%) to provide preventive medications for all dogs than were limited-admission shelters (82%) and foster programs (97%). More agencies used preventives labeled for monthly use in dogs (60%) than ivermectin products labeled for livestock (38%). The most common reason diagnostic testing and preventive medication was not provided was cost. These results indicate a lack of protocol uniformity among agencies and insufficient resources to identify, treat, and prevent infection. Sheltering agencies and companion animal health industries should develop guidelines that are feasible for use in sheltering agencies and provide improved access to preventive and treatment strategies for management of Dirofilaria immitis.  相似文献   

15.
To maximize their capacity to save lives and optimize resource allocation, animal shelters need to identify highly adoptable animals that are unlikely to be delayed on medical grounds before they can be made available for adoption. In this retrospective cohort study, our objective was to identify risk factors for delays from intake to approval for adoption on medical grounds in shelter puppies and kittens. Shelter medical records from 2008 for 335 puppies and 370 kittens were selected randomly at a large metropolitan adoption-guarantee shelter. Data including signalment, source shelter, intake veterinary examination findings, clinical history and days from intake until approval by a veterinarian for adoption on medical grounds were extracted from shelter records and analyzed using multivariate Cox regression. Puppies and kittens with clinical signs of respiratory or gastrointestinal disease at intake took significantly longer to receive approval for adoption on medical grounds (puppies - respiratory p<0.0001; gastrointestinal p<0.0001; kittens - respiratory p<0.0001; gastrointestinal p=0.002). Stray kittens were more likely to be delayed than owner-relinquished kittens or those transferred from other shelters (p<0.01). Older kittens were less likely to be delayed (p<0.0001). Administration of oral or parenteral antibiotics to puppies and kittens with respiratory and/or ocular signs within 24h of intake significantly reduced time to approval on medical grounds for adoption (puppies p=0.02; kittens p=0.03). The analyses suggested that puppies and kittens with respiratory or gastrointestinal signs on intake are more likely to experience delays between intake and veterinary approval for adoption on medical grounds. Prompt antimicrobial treatment of animals with respiratory and/or ocular signs may decrease length of stay in the shelter.  相似文献   

16.
Cats in animal shelters are highly susceptible to infection by feline herpesvirus (FHV) by virtue of their stress and close proximity to other cats. Animal shelters take several different approaches to prevent FHV-related upper respiratory infections (URIs), including empirically treating all cats with L-lysine, a supplement believed to prevent the replication of FHV and, therefore, manifestations of herpesvirus infections. In this study we tested oral supplementation of L-lysine as a means to prevent URIs. One hundred and forty-four cats were treated with L-lysine in a small amount of canned food once daily. A 'no treatment' group of 147 cats received no lysine during the course of the study. The development of conjunctivitis or URI was tracked between the two groups. In all measures, there was no effect between the two groups, suggesting that lysine was not able to prevent URI or conjunctivitis in our shelter situation. Cats entering shelters encounter stressors that may make them more susceptible to FHV reactivation or infection. Infection control and control of fomite transmission are also key to keeping cats healthy in a group housing situation. The finding that lysine did not prevent URI in this animal shelter suggests that shelters may better use their resources by finding ways to decrease stress among their feline population, focusing on proper infection control measures, and limiting fomite transmission of disease.  相似文献   

17.
Estimates of prevalence of faecal Salmonella shedding among dogs in the United States have varied widely. Surveillance among shelter dogs has been limited, although dogs in animal shelters may be at elevated risk of Salmonella infection because of their previous exposure history as well as factors inherent to shelter environments. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella shedding among shelter dogs across Texas, to identify risk factors for shedding and to characterize the isolates. Using a repeated cross‐sectional study design, we collected faecal samples from dogs on two or three visits to each of seven Texas animal shelters between May 2013 and December 2014. Standard bacteriologic culture methods were used to isolate Salmonella from samples, and isolates were characterized via serotyping and anti‐microbial susceptibility testing. The prevalence of faecal Salmonella shedding among sampled dogs was 4.9% (27/554), and within‐shelter prevalence ranged from 1.9% to 8.3%. There was a marginal association (P = 0.09) between watery faecal samples and positive Salmonella status, as estimated by a logistic regression model that controlled for shelter as a random effect. However, over 60% of Salmonella‐positive dogs had grossly normal faeces. Salmonella prevalence did not vary significantly by age group or sex. The most common serovars were Newport (22%) and Javiana (15%), both of which were widespread among shelters. Resistance to anti‐microbial agents was uncommon. The prevalence of faecal Salmonella shedding among shelter dogs in Texas appears to be comparable to that seen among pet dogs in general.  相似文献   

18.
Every year thousands of dogs from EU Member States and third countries are brought to Germany by private animal protectionists, animal protection societies and public animal shelters offering them for an average charge of 250,00 Euro each. In addition to violations of current legal regulations, there might also be real crime offence behind the matter. Moreover, people, especially children, are increasingly endangered by various infectious diseases imported to Germany and spreading throughout the country as well as by dogs suffering from bad deprivation damage. The fact that the new owners are often not told the truth about the dogs'foreign origin is another problem.They are often marked with a chip after being brought to Germany and only then they are provided with a national vaccination record or a German pet passport. Finally the question arises whether the "rescue" of dogs and finding a place for them in Germany is just "big business"--for animal protection societies, practitioners, dog shelters, dog psychologists and the media.  相似文献   

19.
"Kennel cough" in dogs in animal shelters is readily transmissible, reduces adoption rates, and commonly leads to the euthanasia of affected dogs. In cats, tracheobronchitis, conjunctivitis, and pneumonia have been associated with Bordetella bronchiseptica infection-but most cases of upper-respiratory infection (URI) probably are caused by herpesvirus and calicivirus, and many B. bronchiseptica culture-positive cats are clinically normal. Our prospective observational study was undertaken to document the contribution of B. bronchiseptica to disease in cats and dogs from two animal shelters undergoing outbreaks of canine kennel cough, to evaluate whether cross-species transmission might have occurred, and to determine if the presence of infected cats represented a risk to dogs. Clinically defined cases of kennel cough in dogs and URI in cats were investigated in two shelters by calculating clinical-disease incidence, alveolar-lavage cytological examination, bacterial and viral cultures, antibiotic-susceptibility testing, and molecular fingerprinting by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.In a 40-cat and 40-dog "no-kill" shelter, the prevalences of culture positivity were 47% for B. bronchiseptica and 36% for calicivirus at the same time as two resident dogs demonstrated clinical cough. When no dogs had kennel cough 3 months later, 10% of cats were B. bronchiseptica-culture-positive and 63% calicivirus positive. In a large traditional shelter, the incidence of kennel cough in dogs increased over 12 weeks to a maximum of 19 cases/week/120 dogs, during which time the culture prevalence was 23% for B. bronchiseptica in dogs and 47% in cats. Three to 6 months before the kennel-cough epidemic, no dogs or cats were B. bronchiseptica positive. Very little genetic variability was detected in isolates from these shelters; all isolates except one corresponded to a single strain type which was identical to the pattern in a vaccine used in these shelters. Isolates from other cats, a horse, a llama, and a sea otter were genetically distinct from the shelter isolates. There was widespread resistance to cephalosporins and ampicillin, but low or no resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanate, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, and enrofloxacin. Greater percent resistance was observed in the traditional shelter than in the no-kill shelter and feline isolates were more likely to be resistant than canine isolates.  相似文献   

20.
US animal shelters house and care for dogs with unknown medical histories. Such unknown medical backgrounds pose concern for zoonotic transmission of diseases to the shelter staff. One important zoonotic exposure is to rabies virus which is almost always fatal after the onset of symptoms. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of dog shelters associated with the probability that the shelter had a policy to vaccinate shelter personnel against rabies. Five states with an established shelter registry were selected from each geographic region of the United States. A list of shelters within those states was developed from the registry list, through Internet searches and comparisons with other known lists. At least two forms of direct communication were used to ensure that humane organizations met the study definition of a dog shelter. In total, 342 of 461 (73%) shelters that met the study definition were visited by a team of students. Forty‐two of 332 (13%) shelters responding to the question required staff to be vaccinated against rabies. Logistic regression was utilized to test shelter characteristics for association with the probability that they have a rabies vaccination policy for shelter staff. Municipally funded shelters were more likely to vaccinate staff for rabies than shelters funded privately (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.40–6.39). These results demonstrate that shelter funding source may influence rabies control programmes in shelters.  相似文献   

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