The pet overpopulation problem is a multiactorial problem that many organizations such as animal shelters attempt to manage. Many studies have focused on the reasons animals are relinquished by their owners but few have also looked at the characteristics that may influence adoption. Identifying which characteristics that influence adoption may help shelters provide more detailed adoption programs based on their dog and cat profile. Increases in the number of dogs and cats entering animal shelters during the spring and summer month is a perception among shelter staff. Investigating the seasonal trends in the number of animals entering a shelter may help the facility prepare to provide additional space and resources. The focus of this study was to identify any seasonal variation in the number of dogs and cats entering animal shelters in Mississippi and to determine the characteristics of dogs and cats that influenced their adoption.

United States animal shelters care for unwanted animals until they are adopted, transferred to another facility, or euthanized. However, there are unanswered questions about what factors predict these outcomes, and what risks shelter dogs pose to human public health. The objective of this thesis was to use quantitative methods to answer questions in animal shelters that apply not only to the animals housed within them, but also the personnel that they employ. One chapter of this thesis will focus on defining humane organizations in the United States and quantifying the number of shelters that exist in five US states. The bulk of this thesis will focus on identifying phenotypic characteristics to predict the outcomes of adoption, euthanasia, and transfer of shelter dogs in municipally funded shelters in states from each region of the US. Finally, the last chapter will identify shelter characteristics that affect shelter worker vaccination against rabies virus.

Improved adoptability is a common goal among rescue shelters. Dogs are more likely to be adopted if they are friendly, mannerly, and approachable. The possibility of improving rescue shelter dogs' behavior through an obedience program has not been examined. We developed an approachability test to determine whether dogs became more approachable during and after a standardized 12-week obedience program. We also quantified jumping behavior and pulling on the leash to measure if these problematic behaviors also improved through training. The subjects consisted of 26 dogs donated to the Triple Crown School for Professional Dog Trainers for one of the 12-week sessions. The approach test was administered six times, at two-week intervals. The tests were videotaped and jumping and pulling behaviors were quantified after testing. Scores for approachability were based on the proximity between the tester and the dog at the end of each test. For the dogs that completed all 12 weeks of the study, contingency analyses were performed for each behavioral measure. Relative to the start of the 12-week training program, the dogs became more approachable (p<0.025), jumped less (p<0.025), and pulled on the leash less (p<0.025) than when the study began. These results reinforce the importance of obedience training as a tool for increasing a rescue shelter dog's adoptability and permanence once placed in a home.

Improved adoptability is a common goal among rescue shelters. Dogs are more likely to be adopted if they are friendly, mannerly, and approachable. The possibility of improving rescue shelter dogs' behavior through an obedience program has not been examined. We developed an approachability test to determine whether dogs became more approachable during and after a standardized 12-week obedience program. We also quantified jumping behavior and pulling on the leash to measure if these problematic behaviors also improved through training. The subjects consisted of 26 dogs donated to the Triple Crown School for Professional Dog Trainers for one of the 12-week sessions. The approach test was administered six times, at two-week intervals. The tests were videotaped and jumping and pulling behaviors were quantified after testing. Scores for approachability were based on the proximity between the tester and the dog at the end of each test. For the dogs that completed all 12 weeks of the study, contingency analyses were performed for each behavioral measure. Relative to the start of the 12-week training program, the dogs became more approachable (p<0.025), jumped less (p<0.025), and pulled on the leash less (p<0.025) than when the study began. These results reinforce the importance of obedience training as a tool for increasing a rescue shelter dog's adoptability and permanence once placed in a home.

Published: December 2002. Accession No.: 118821; File size: 277.3kb; Report No.: 38072. Offprint: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Vol 83 (12).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Tricia Wachtendorf, Dept. of Sociology. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. L. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes special report study entitled: Self-sustaining landscape to support streetsleeper living in urban park. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Charles Reilly. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2005. / Principal faculty advisor: Ruth Fleury-Steiner, Dept. of Individual and Family Studies. Includes bibliographical references.