Gunter Lisa M, Blade Emily M, Gilchrist Rachel J, Nixon Betsy J, Reed Jenifer L, Platzer Joanna M, Wurpts Ingrid C, Feuerbacher Erica N, Wynne Clive D L
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Nov 15;13(22):3528. doi: 10.3390/ani13223528.
Human interaction is one of the most consistently effective interventions that can improve the welfare of shelter-living dogs. Time out of the kennel with a person has been shown to reduce physiological measures of stress as can leaving the shelter for a night or more in a foster home. In this study, we assessed the effects of brief outings and temporary fostering stays on dogs' length of stay and outcomes. In total, we analyzed data of 1955 dogs from 51 animal shelters that received these interventions as well as 25,946 dogs residing at these shelters that served as our controls. We found that brief outings and temporary fostering stays increased dogs' likelihood of adoption by 5.0 and 14.3 times, respectively. While their lengths of stay were longer in comparison to control dogs, this difference was present prior to the intervention. Additionally, we found that these programs were more successful when greater percentages of community members (as compared to volunteers and staff) were involved in caregiving as well as when programs were implemented by better-resourced shelters. As such, animal welfare organizations should consider implementing these fostering programs as evidence-based best practices that can positively impact the outcomes of shelter dogs.
人际互动是改善收容所中犬类福利最有效的干预措施之一。事实证明，与人类一起离开犬舍的时间，以及在寄养家庭中度过一晚或更长时间，都能降低犬类的生理应激指标。在本研究中，我们评估了短期外出和临时寄养对犬类停留时间和结局的影响。我们总共分析了来自51个动物收容所的1955只接受这些干预措施的犬类数据，以及作为对照的居住在这些收容所的25946只犬类数据。我们发现，短期外出和临时寄养分别使犬类被领养的可能性提高了5.0倍和14.3倍。虽然与对照犬相比，它们的停留时间更长，但这种差异在干预之前就已存在。此外，我们还发现，当有更大比例的社区成员（与志愿者和工作人员相比）参与照顾，以及当资源更丰富的收容所实施这些项目时，这些项目会更成功。因此，动物福利组织应考虑将这些寄养项目作为基于证据的最佳实践来实施，这些实践可以对收容所犬类的结局产生积极影响。
