Animal behaviorists have come a long way, still have a long way to go

I read this article the Chicago paper and found it to be pretty comprehensive on what shelters are doing in the animal behavior field. Although I have been involved in this field and with training and working with shelter dogs, I am by no means an expert and continue to read everything I can concerning this field.

I have seen potentially dangerous animals lose their lives due to animal aggression or resource guarding. I have had heated discussions on why I felt an animal should be given a second chance or why I felt it should be euthanized. I tend to agree with part of the article who said these behavior tests are subjective and are left up to the individual testing the animal.

I also know there are behaviors which can be corrected with training. The problem is there are simply not enough trainers or volunteers to handle the number of animals which come into a shelter system. There is not enough time or money to spend on these animals, the "problem children" if you will, so they are killed to make room for the next abandoned pet.

Behaviorally challenged pets are lots of work. I know this because I used to have one. I cannot describe the frustration and fear I sometimes felt in dealing with Jasper, who not only didn't like other animals, but was not fond of people, either. I continued to work with him until the day he crossed the Rainbow Bridge but it wasn't easy. He was the sort of dog who would have been killed immediately in a shelter if he had been given up.

Fortunately for him, when I make a commitment, I follow through and I had done that with Jasper when I brought him into my home.

Feelings run high on this subject. Check out the article here.