Digital Commons Network^™

Letterbox

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

No abstract provided.

Reaching Out To The Senior Community, Debbie Swanson

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Older and wiser, the retirement set can be great resource for shelters—and vice versa

Scoop

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

• In Washington state, a mobile clinic helps disadvantaged people and pets
• Advocates push to ban New York City carriage horses
• Brooklyn Bridge dog walk raises money and awareness for shelter pets
• Sometimes raptors make house calls. Luckily, so does wildlife rehabilitator Victor Collazo
• Out of Katrina’s ruins, a haven emerges
• Results reveal mixed perceptions of felines— and some surprising demographics
• Don’t miss Animal Care Expo 2010!

Risky Business, Jim Baker

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Finding insurance can be tough for shelters and rescue groups, but here’s how to convince companies that you’re a safe bet

A Tribute To Mutts, Carrie Allan

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Like snowflakes, each one is unique—and never to be seen again

An Unexpected Truth, Val Poulton

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

In Nebraska, one shelter’s strategy for coping with breed-specific legislation saves lives

“Do Not Adopt”? More Like “Do Not Forward”, Cherie Travis

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

The legal hazards of “do not adopt” lists

Take Time For Training, Hilary Anne Hager, Megan Webb

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Successful volunteer programs rely on well-prepared people matched to the right roles

Unchained

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

A Virginia city passes a chaining ordinance a decade in the making

Meet The Real Slum Dogs Of India, Jim Baker

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

A British photographer captures the daily lives of the subcontinent’s street dogs

Your Attention Please: Increasing Ambient Noise Levels Elicits A Change In Communication Behaviour In Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae), Rebecca A. Dunlop, Douglas H. Cato, Michael J. Noad

Bioacoustics Collection

High background noise is an important obstacle in successful signal detection and perception of an intended acoustic signal. To overcome this problem, many animals modify their acoustic signal by increasing the repetition rate, duration, amplitude or frequency range of the signal. An alternative method to ensure successful signal reception, yet to be tested in animals, involves the use of two different types of signal, where one signal type may enhance the other in periods of high background noise. Humpback whale communication signals comprise two different types: vocal signals, and surface-generated signals such as ‘breaching’ or ‘pectoral slapping’. We found that …

A Modular One-Generation Reproduction Study As A Flexible Testing System For Regulatory Safety Assessment, Richard Vogel, Troy Seidle, Horst Spielmann

Experimentation Collection

The European Union’s Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) legislation mandates testing and evaluation of approximately 30,000 existing substances within a short period of time, beginning with the most widely used “high production volume” (HPV) chemicals. REACH testing requirements for the roughly 3000 HPV chemicals specify three separate tests for reproductive toxicity: two developmental toxicity studies on different animal species (OECD Test Guideline 414) and a two-generation reproduction toxicity study (OECD TG 416). These studies are highly costly in both economic and animal welfare terms. OECD TG 416 is a fertility study intended to evaluate reproductive performance of animals …

Canine Influenza Virus: Fact Or Fiction?

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

An expert breaks down what you need to know.

Can Animal Models Of Disease Reliably Inform Human Studies?, H. Bart Van Der Worp, David W. Howells, Emily Sena, Michelle J. Porritt, Sarah Rewell, Victoria O'Collins, Malcolm Macleod

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

• The value of animal experiments for predicting the effectiveness of treatment strategies in clinical trials has remained controversial, mainly because of a recurrent failure of interventions apparently promising in animal models to translate to the clinic.
• Translational failure may be explained in part by methodological flaws in animal studies, leading to systematic bias and thereby to inadequate data and incorrect conclusions about efficacy.
• Failures also result because of critical disparities, usually disease specific, between the animal models and the clinical trials testing the treatment strategy.
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies may aid in the selection of the most …

Publication Bias In Reports Of Animal Stroke Studies Leads To Major Overstatement Of Efficacy, Emily Sena, H. Bart Van Der Worp, Philip M.W. Bath, David W. Howells, Malcolm Macleod

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

The consolidation of scientific knowledge proceeds through the interpretation and then distillation of data presented in research reports, first in review articles and then in textbooks and undergraduate courses, until truths become accepted as such both amongst “experts” and in the public understanding. Where data are collected but remain unpublished, they cannot contribute to this distillation of knowledge. If these unpublished data differ substantially from published work, conclusions may not reflect adequately the underlying biological effects being described. The existence and any impact of such “publication bias” in the laboratory sciences have not been described. Using the CAMARADES (Collaborative Approach …

Non-Invasive Genetic Sampling Of Faecal Material And Hair From The Grey-Headed Flying-Fox (Pteropus Poliocephalus), Heather J. Baldwin, Stephen J. Hoggard, Stephanie T. Snoyman, Adam J. Snow, Culum Brown

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Remote-sampling DNA from animals offers obvious benefits for species that are difficult to sample directly and is less disruptive for species of conservation concern. Here we report the results of a pilot study investigating non-invasive DNA sampling of the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), a threatened species that is restricted to the east coast of Australia. We successfully extracted DNA from fresh scats and hair, each of which was of sufficient quality for amplifying mitochondrial DNA markers and microsatellites. A single-locus multitube approach was used to investigate amplification success and genotyping reliability. Faecal samples yielded a higher proportion of successful amplifications …

Risk Assessment Of Catch And Release, Rolf Erik Olsen, Tor Fredrik Næsje, Trygve Poppe, Lynne Sneddon, John Webb

Aquaculture and Fisheries Collection

The report was produced during most of 2009, and gives a state of art overview of current knowledge on the effects of catch and release practices on these fish species’ welfare, using accessible and peer reviewed published literature as basis for the assessment. Anecdotic and non-published reports have been used to a limited extent as they are regarded as untested or containing unverified statements. The Panel on Animal Health and Welfare discussed the full report in a meeting on the 9th of December, and gave its support to the conclusions drawn by the ad hoc-group.

The report has concentrated on …

Changes In Area Affect Figure–Ground Assignment In Pigeons, Leyre Castro, Olga F. Lazareva, Shaun P. Vecera, Edward A. Wasserman

Perception Collection

A critical cue for figure–ground assignment in humans is area: smaller regions are more likely to be perceived as figures than are larger regions. To see if pigeons are similarly sensitive to this cue, we trained birds to report whether a target appeared on a colored figure or on a differently colored background. The initial training figure was either smaller than (Experiments 1 and 2) or the same area as (Experiment 2) the background. After training, we increased or decreased the size of the figure. When the original training shape was smaller than the background, pigeons’ performance improved with smaller …

Letterbox

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

No abstract provided.

Coffee Break

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

In your space, you told us about the times you’ve come close to losing your cool with a frustrating member of the public, but managed to save a difficult situation by staying calm and polite.

Helping Cats Find Their Happy Place

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Towering trees, designer digs—and more modest efforts, too—showcase kitties and please people

The Soft Touch

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Molding “hard” dogs into “soft” dogs may be easier than you think—and it also saves lives

Scoop

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

• In hard times, pet food pantries supply a lifeline
• An innovative HSUS program keeps pets and their people together
• Sanctuary for exotic animals hosts event for adoptable kitties
• Artists collaborate to bring money—and warmth—to shelters
• A socially conscious teenager helps a Colorado shelter go solar
• A Yonkers family and Farm Sanctuary shepherd a lamb to safety
• Fighting juvenile animal cruelty in Phoenix
• The right way to transport

Scam In A Can?

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

The history of an elaborate con should serve as a warning to animal welfare groups

Minds Of Their Own

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Exploring the emotional and moral lives of animals

Making Babies? First, Make Baby-Ready Pets

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

Shelters help prepare pet-loving expectant parents

Big Dogs, Little People

Animal Sheltering 2010-12

New show on Animal Planet aims to dispel stereotypes of pit bulls, short-statured folk

Hair Whorls In The Dog (Canis Familiaris), Part Ii: Asymmetries, Lisa M. Tomkins, Paul Mcgreevy

Anatomy Collection

In horses and cattle, hair whorls have been shown to act as a structural marker of reactivity and behavioral lateralization. Few studies on canine whorls have been reported and none have assessed whorl position or direction of flow. This study describes the distribution and characteristics of whorl in each of 10 regions in which whorls are typically located in dogs. Hair whorls were assessed in dogs (n = 120) and were recorded as clockwise or counterclockwise in the cephalic, cervical (dorsal, lateral, ventral), thoracic and brachial axillary, chest, shoulders, elbows, abdominal, and ischiatic regions. Bilateral whorls, including brachial axillary, elbow, …

Measures Of Weight Distribution Of Dairy Cows To Detect Lameness And The Presence Of Hoof Lesions, M. Pastell, L. Hänninen, A. M. De Passillé, J. Rushen

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

There is increasing interest in automated methods of detecting lame cows. Hoof lesion data and measures of weight distribution from 61 lactating cows were examined in this study. Lame cows were identified with different numerical rating scores (NRS) used as thresholds (NRS >3 and NRS ≥3.5) for lameness. The ratio of weight applied to a pair of legs (LWR) when the cow was standing was calculated using a special weigh scale, and the cows were gait scored using a 1 to 5 NRS. Hoof lesions were scored and the cows placed into 1 of 4 mutually exclusive categories of hoof …

Assessment Of Lameness Prevalence And Associated Risk Factors In Dairy Herds In England And Wales, Z. E. Barker, K. A. Leach, H. R. Whay, N. J. Bell, D. C. J. Main

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

Visits were made to 205 dairy farms in England and Wales between October 2006 and May 2007 by 1 or more of 4 researchers. At each visit, all milking cows were locomotion scored (lameness scored) using a 4-point scale (0 = sound locomotion, 1 = imperfect locomotion, 2 = lame, 3 = severely lame). The mean prevalence of lameness (scores 2 and 3) across the study farms was 36.8% (range = 0–79.2%). On each farm, the presence within the housing and grazing environments of commonly reported risks for increased lameness was recorded. Each farmer was interviewed to gauge the ability …