As Chief Scientific Officer for the Center for Canine Behavior Studies along with Dr. James Serpell PhD of the University of Pennsylvania, we propose an Animal Ownership Interaction Study designed to determine the precise impact dog owners have on their pets’ behavior.
The Halo Pet Foundation has generously helped fund this vital study, which is fully up and running. One of the biggest challenges we face now is the mass recruitment of volunteers willing to participate in this life-saving study. Yes, we need huge numbers of dog owners to enroll their dog(s)!
You would think that recruiting dog owners to participate in our study should be an easy task, considering the many owners who love dogs, especially those who have adopted a shelter dog on track to being euthanized.
However, recruitment of the scale we need hasn’t been easy. While we all want to see America achieve the goal of reducing surrender of dogs to shelters and the successful adoption all dogs who end up in one, accomplishing this objective is not something that can be achieved with just a few simple measures.
Solving the shelter problem will require the convergence of numerous forces to collectively move the ball forward. We need to address this problem in terms of minimizing relinquishment and facilitating successful adoptions.
Everyone—from individual dog owners to major foundations that provide critical animal welfare grants—loves to see immediate results. For example, the former pet dog facing imminent destruction unless an adopter is found, or the suffering animal that needs an immediate lifesaving operation. And many people want to support the shelter or rescue desperate for food supplies and to improve and facilitate shelter operations.
Will you please help? If so, please visit our website at DrDodman.Org and see what participation involves.
Armed with this information, PLEASE consider volunteering with your dog to participate in the study and help us spread the word. It’s easy, it’s free and there are benefits to participating, the most important of which is helping to provide one critical piece of the solution to achieving No Kill.
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Dr. Dodman is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Director of the school’s Animal Behavior Clinic. He is also Chief Scientific Officer for the CENTER FOR CANINE BEHAVIOR STUDIES. He has written over 100 scientific articles and several popular press books, including The Dog Who Loved Too Much and The Cat Who Cried for Help.