A Sheltered Life: How to Choose a Great Shelter Dog
I’m just an average middle-aged guy. I have a nondescript tannish brown coat, I’m carrying a few extra pounds, and going a little prematurely gray around the muzzle. I’ve lived here at the shelter for the past two weeks. It’s not so bad, the food is decent and the people are pretty nice. I know it’s only temporary until some nice family sees my inner beauty and decides to take me home to live with them. I can’t wait to be in a family again; I loved my last one.… Continued
Welcome to Hotel Bruno: How I Transformed the Space Beneath Our Basement Stairs into a Storm Shelter
This spring has brought frequent severe weather, requiring us to take shelter in the basement due to tornadic activity. I was motivated to create a storm shelter beneath the basement stairs and described how to plan ahead for people, and their pets. I describe how I built and stocked the shelter. Considering the nearly daily severe weather events all across the nation, this may help families stay safe. Meteorologists just a few years ago hesitated to link local weather catastrophes with climate change, but now it is common for them… Continued
PPG Appoints Maria Karunuñgan as Vice Chair of Its Shelter & Rescue Division
Please join us in congratulating Maria Karunuñgan as the new vice chair of PPG’s Shelter and Rescue Division! “I am excited to help support Division Chair Holden Svirsky and the PPG in this new role, and continue the volunteer efforts and collaboration that I have been a part of since this division was formed in 2017.” Maria Karunuñgan, PhD, CTC, CSAT, has spent nearly 10 years working in different behavior and training capacities for various shelters and rescues in the Northern California Bay Area, including the East Bay SPCA, Joybound… Continued
Shelter Dog Reactivity in the Big City: Daisy’s Success Story
Dogs living in a big city may face big challenges related to their environment and the expectations placed on them. As a long-time shelter worker and dog trainer, I’ve seen countless leash-reactive dogs enter the system who are ill-equipped to cope with life in a sprawling metropolis like San Francisco, where I live, and that includes two of the three dogs I’ve adopted myself. Those of us embroiled in sheltering and canine behavior modification may be familiar with the common refrain, “He just needs a backyard/farmland/island of his own and… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Separation Anxiety in Shelter/Rescue Dogs
Guest speaker: Malena DeMartini Host: K. Holden Svirsky Date recorded: April 23, 2024 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Shelter and Rescue Research
Guest speaker: Dr. Lisa Gunter Hosts: Maria Karunuñgan, LT Taylor and Malena DeMartini Date recorded: April 18, 2024 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Shelter Dog Playgroups
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup Shelter Dog Playgroups Guest speaker: Sarah Wharton Hosts: K. Holden Svirsky and Maria Karunuñgan Date recorded: December 4, 2023 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Tabby’s Transformation at the Shelter
by Tom Candy Tabby was a 3-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat who came to the shelter following a period of straying. Nothing else was known about her history. At the shelter, she was kept in an individual cat pen that measured 5 feet by 30 inches and was 30 inches high with a cover over the top. A raised bed was inside the pen, and food and water were located near the bed area. A litter tray was located on the far side of the cattery with a… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Resources
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Shelter & Rescue Individual
Terms: $60 / Year First Name:* First Name Required Last Name:* Last Name Required Address Line 1: Address Line 1 is not valid Address Line 2: Address Line 2 is not valid City: City is not valid Country: Country is not valid — Select Country — United States (US) Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belau Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island… Continued
Organizational Shelter & Rescue 11-15 Members
Terms: $450 / Year First Name:* First Name Required Last Name:* Last Name Required Address Line 1: Address Line 1 is not valid Address Line 2: Address Line 2 is not valid City: City is not valid Country: Country is not valid — Select Country — United States (US) Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belau Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island… Continued
Organizational Shelter & Rescue 6-10 Members
Terms: $300 / Year First Name:* First Name Required Last Name:* Last Name Required Address Line 1: Address Line 1 is not valid Address Line 2: Address Line 2 is not valid City: City is not valid Country: Country is not valid — Select Country — United States (US) Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belau Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island… Continued
Organizational Shelter & Rescue 0-5 Members
Terms: $150 / Year First Name:* First Name Required Last Name:* Last Name Required Address Line 1: Address Line 1 is not valid Address Line 2: Address Line 2 is not valid City: City is not valid Country: Country is not valid — Select Country — United States (US) Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belau Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Research in Shelter Animal Welfare
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup Research in Shelter Animal Welfare Guest speaker: Dr. Lisa Gunter Hosts: K. Holden Svirsky and LT Taylor Date recorded: August 30, 2023 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Shelter & Rescue Articles
Shelter & Rescue Division
K. Holden Svirsky Your divisional chair and a member of PPG’s Steering Committee Email Holden The goal of the Shelter & Rescue Division is to develop tools and resources to help support those who work for or represent animal shelters and rescues. PPG’s discounted Rescue Membership level provides access to all the benefits, educational resources and tools of a professional membership, including materials to share with adopters. As a rescue member of PPG, you get exclusive access to these popular PPG programs: You also get discounts on PPG’s Pet Dog Ambassador… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – SFACC Fetch: Helping Long-Term Shelter Dogs Thrive via Consistency and Enrichment
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup SFACC Fetch: Helping Long-Term Shelter Dogs Thrive via Consistency and Enrichment Guest speakers: Pauline Le and Jessica McEntee Hosts: K. Holden Svirsky and LT Taylor Date recorded: May 2, 2023 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Welcome K. Holden Svirsky, New Chair of the Shelter & Rescue Division
K. Holden Svirsky of HoldenK9 LLC has stepped up as chair of PPG’s Shelter & Rescue Division. Holden is a dog behavior consultant with a certificate in training and counseling from the Academy for Dog Trainers. She is also a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer through Malena DeMartini’s certification program. She has been with PPG’s Shelter & Rescue Division since 2019 and helped author and develop the Pet Rescue Resource, an online toolkit for shelters and rescues to improve the adoption and retention rates of homeless pets, launched by the division in 2020. Read the full news… Continued
The Importance of Transparency in Sheltering and Rescue
Much like the lack of transparency in dog training, there’s also a lack of transparency in sheltering and rescue organizations. Animal Sheltering Data In 2018 eight prominent animal welfare organizations and foundations released a joint mission statement concerning accountability and transparency regarding data sharing of the numbers of animals in their care and their outcomes. Additionally, Shelter Animals Count partners with various sheltering organizations to collect standardized data for their National Database, with a long-term goal of 100% shelter participation nationwide. But this project primarily tracks intake/outcome numbers, like how to count… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Shelter Cats and Purr
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup Shelter Cats and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy Guest speaker: Dr. Zazie Todd Hosts: K. Holden Svirsky and LT Taylor Date recorded: March 28, 2023 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Time, Space and Choices: Improving Welfare for Shelter Cats with Dr. Zazie Todd’s Purr
by K. Holden Svirsky “Cats are jewels,” I told my family after visiting Cat Town in Oakland, California. I felt lit up, like something magical had happened in the hour I’d spent there, kneeling on the floor in the open-space “cat zone,” and later peeking into the special studios of the adoption center. I was eager to see what I’d learned from reading Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy by Zazie Todd, PhD, come to life and practice. While chatting with Cat Town’s program manager, Dilara Göksel Parry, CCBC,… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Jumpy, Mouthy Dogs
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup Jumpy, Mouthy Dogs Guest speaker: Kate LaSala Hosts: K. Holden Svirsky and LT Taylor Date recorded: December 14, 2022 Click the logo to retrieve the recording.
Scent Work Works for Shelter Dogs
Using scent work as part of enrichment programs in shelters can improve both welfare and adoption rates for dogs by Rachel Lane You’ve probably heard people say that when you adopt a shelter dog, you adopt problems and bring home headaches—or another version of the same sentiment. I have heard this far too often, and it always makes me sad. Yes, it is true that sometimes dogs in shelters do display behaviors that adopters label as undesirable, but there are also lots of amazing animals waiting for their forever homes.… Continued
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup – Reducing Shelter Overpopulation: Removing Barriers & Supporting Communities
Shelter & Rescue Division Membership Meetup Reducing Shelter Overpopulation: Removing Barriers & Supporting Communities Guest speaker: Laura Jean Skiles Host: K. Holden Svirsky Date recorded: October 13, 2022 Click the logo to watch the video in the private PPG Shelter & Rescue Facebook group. You must be a member of the group to watch the video.