The purpose of this thesis is to create a concept of digital communication for nonprofit organisations like animal shelters. These organisations struggle with lack of money, people and capacity and do not utilize the potential of digital marketing. The proposed strategy should help them to mitigate the impact of those problems and also to fulfill the objectives of the organisation at a minimal budget.

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abstract: Previous research has indicated that certain breeds of dogs stay longer in shelters than others; however exactly how breed perception and identification influences potential adopters' decisions remains unclear. Current dog breed identification practices in animal shelters are often based upon information supplied by the relinquishing owner, or staff determination based on the dog's phenotype. However discrepancies have been found between breed identification as typically assessed by welfare agencies and the outcome of DNA analysis. In Study 1, the perceived behavioral and adoptability characteristics of a pit-bull-type dog were compared with those of a Labrador Retriever and Border Collie. How the addition of a human handler influenced those perceptions was also assessed. In Study 2, lengths of stay and perceived attractiveness of dogs that were labeled as pit bull breeds to dogs that were phenotypically similar but were labeled as another breed at an animal shelter were compared. The latter dogs were called "lookalikes." In Study 3, perceived attractiveness in video recordings of pit-bull-type dogs and lookalikes with and without breed labels were compared. Lastly, data from an animal shelter that ceased applying breed labeling on kennels was analyzed, and lengths of stay and outcomes for all dog breeds, including pit bulls, before and after the change in labeling practice were compared. In total, these findings suggest that breed labeling influences potential adopters' perceptions and decision-making. Given the inherent complexity of breed assignment based on morphology coupled with negative breed perceptions, removing breed labels is a relatively low-cost strategy that will likely improve outcomes for dogs in animal shelters. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2015

abstract: Each year, nearly three million dogs will enter one of over 13,000 animal shelters in the United States. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand how breed identity and dog welfare in the shelter, in addition to post-adoption and fostering interventions out of the shelter, can contribute to the betterment of dog lives. In Chapter 2, I conducted the largest sampling of shelter dogs’ breed identities to-date to determine their breed heritage and compare shelter breed assignment by staff as determined by visual appearance to that of genetic testing. In Chapter 4, I examined the efficacy of a post-adoption intervention intended to reduce returns by encouraging physical activity between adopters and their dogs. In Chapter 6, I examined the effects of brief stays in a foster home on the urinary cortisol: creatinine ratios of dogs awaiting adoption compared to ratios collected before or after their stays; and in Chapter 7, I characterized the relationships between multiple physiological, health, and cognitive measures and the in-kennel behavior of shelter dogs. Four suggestions from the findings of this dissertation that will likely better the lives of dogs living in animal shelters are: 1) Shelter dog breed heritage is complex and visually identifying multiple breeds in a mixed breed dog is difficult at best. Shelters should instead focus on communicating the morphology and behavior of the dogs in their care to best support adopters. 2) While encouraging walking did not influence owner behavior, adopters who reported higher obligation and self-efficacy in dog walking were more active with their dogs. Thus, post-adoption interventions that can effectively target owner perceptions of obligation and self-efficacy may be more successful in changing behavior. 3) Temporary fostering is an impactful intervention that reduces stress for dogs awaiting adoption; however addressing stressors present at shelters that are likely contributing to higher stress responding is also needed. 4) It is possible to predict the internal stress responding of shelter dogs by observing their overt, in-kennel behavior, and this study is a first step in assessing and improving the welfare of dogs living in animal shelters. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2018

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Benamių gyvūnų globos ir teisių apsaugos problemos yra aktualios viso pasaulio mastu. Europos Sąjungos erdvėje benamiai gyvūnai vertinami skirtingai, atsižvelgiant į nacionalinius įstatymus, tradicijas, istoriją ir elgesio kultūrą. Benamių gyvūnų reprodukcijos problema yra visuotinai pripažinta, tačiau nėra globali. Visuomenės pasirengimas globoti ir rūpintis benamiais gyvūnais rodo jos sąmoningumo ir atsakingumo lygį. Šio baigiamojo darbo tikslas - išanalizuoti benamių gyvūnų teisių ir globos problemas, jų atsiradimo priežastis ir sprendimo būdus, remiantis Lietuvos Respublikos gyvūnų gerovės srities ekspertų nuomone bei Europos Sąjungos šalių gerąja patirtimi. Darbe nagrinėjama užsienio ir Lietuvos mokslinė literatūra, kuri padėjo suformuluoti darbo uždavinius ir įsitikinti darbo temos pasirinkimo pagrįstumu. LR, ES, Jungtynės Karalystės ir Vokietijos Federacijos teisės aktų bei kitų dokumentų analizė padėjo įvertinti benamių gyvūnų globos ir teisių reglamentavimo pakankamumą, palyginti Lietuvos ir kitų Bendrijos šalių praktiką šioje srityje. Administracinės sistemos ir viešųjų įstaigų veiklos rezultatų analizė, Europos šalių benamių gyvūnų problemų sprendimų praktika, Lietuvos ekspertų nuomonės, leido patvirtinti iškeltą tyrimo hipotezę, kad nepakankamai efektyviai sprendžiamos benamių gyvūnų globos ir teisių apsaugos problemos (o tai leidžia daryti prielaidą, kad šios problemos nėra tiek aktualios, kiek reikalauja dabartinė situacija). Darbo siūlymuose pristatyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Care for and rights protection of homeless animals are the pressing problems of today’s World. The attitudes of EU members towards homeless animals do differ depending on national policies and legislation, local traditions, history and culture. The problem of homeless animals’ excessive reproduction is recognised at some level but not yet globally. Society is ready to care and protect homeless animals, which shows the level of its consciousness and responsibility. The purpose of this master’s work is to analyze the issues concerning the rights and protection of homeless animals; define the root of the problems and suggest the solutions relying on the expertise of Lithuanian specialists who work for the animal welfare, and incorporating the successful experience of EU countries. The literature of both foreign and Lithuanian authors has been studied in the project in order to help to indicate and set the tasks for this work and to support the validity of choosing the topic. In order to evaluate the efficiency of regulations concerning the welfare and rights of homeless animals, the analysis of legal (and other types) documents of Lithuanian Republic, European Union, United Kingdom and German Federation has been undertaken. The information gathered from observing the activity of the administrative and public structures as well as the experience of problem-solving in the EU and summarizing the views of Lithuanian experts have all supported the hypothesis that the problems of... [to full text]

The focus of this thesis is the application of data envelopment analysis to understand and evaluate the performance of diverse animal welfare organizations across the United States. The results include identification of the most efficient animal welfare organizations, at least among those that post statistics on their operations, and a discussion of various partnerships that may improve the performance of the more inefficient organizations. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that there are 4000 - 6000 independently-run animal shelters across the United States, with an estimated 6-8 million companion animals entering them each year. Unfortunately, more than half of these animals are euthanized. The methods shared in this research illustrate how data envelopment analysis may help shelters improve these statistics through evaluation and cooperation. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is based on the principle that the efficiency of an organization depends on its ability to transform its inputs into the desired outputs. The result of a DEA model is a single measure that summarizes the relative efficiency of each decision making unit (DMU) when compared with similar organizations. The DEA linear program defines an efficiency frontier with the most efficient animal shelters that are put into the model that "envelops" the other DMUs. Individual efficiency scores are calculated by determining how close each DMU is to reaching the frontier. The results shared in this research focus on the performance of 15 animal shelters. Lack of standardized data regarding individual animal shelter performance limited the ability to review a larger number of shelters and provide more robust results. Various programs are in place within the United States to improve the collection and availability of individual shelter performance. Specifically, the Asilomar Accords provide a strong framework for doing this and could significantly reduce euthanasia of companion animals if more shelters would adopt the practice of collecting and reporting their data in this format. It is demonstrated in this research that combining performance data with financial data within the data envelopment analysis technique can be powerful in helping shelters identify how to better deliver results. The addition of data from other organizations will make the results even more robust and useful for each shelter involved.

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