Temple Cats and Shelter Dogs

Nicole Lacrocco’s visit was very interesting for me in terms of the way that dogs behave when they are in a shelter situation. My previous work has always been with animals that come from loving homes and are trained with positive reinforcement since they were puppies. It is definitely important to consider that a dogs’ behavior may be different when it is in a forced situation, such as a shelter. I think the idea of umwelt really pertains to the life of a shelter dog. Nicole gave the example of dogs that weren’t used to human contact and the fact that the way we perceive a walk and attention, is not how this dog may perceive it.

Temple Cats has also been a very rewarding experience for me since my roommates and I decided to get involved last semester. Since then, we have fostered 12 cats, with many overnighters as well. All of them have had different personalities and needs, and may were obviously pets that had been abandoned. I think that Claire Tillman and Terri Martin worked well together as speakers. Education is a huge factor in the way in which animals are treated. If people knew about responsible pet owning from an earlier age, there may be less abandoned and neglected animals.