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.

Nicole's presentation with Ollie definitely struck a chord with me, and it is something I have been thinking about during my readings of Timbuktu. First, she explained the body language of dogs to us -- something we also learned in our training with PSPCA. Before this course, I never knew to look to the mouth of a dog to tell me about their emotional state. However, as both Nicole and the trainer at the PSPCA mentioned, a dog who licks or yawns in unusual circumstances is a stressed one. She also described the positioning of the tail -- something Timbuktu utilizes a bit as well. Mr. Bones describes orphaned dogs as always walking about with their tail between their legs. This is probably because they are stressed, anxious, or cautious. In the same way, Nicole explained how dogs experience the fight-or-flight response; how, if backed into a corner, their only reaction may be to fight. Mr. Bones also displays this response, running away from situations that do not work in his favor, such as with Henry Chow and his father. Lastly, it seemed that Nicole and Ollie had a real companionship. It seemed as though the enjoyed each other's company, and that she respected her pet as is, with a certain level of respect. Mr. Bones encounters many humans with varying levels of respect and appreciation for him -- some love him and care for him, and treat him as an equal, while others (the mean kids; the man with the shotgun; the pilot) treat him as an inferior, without compassion or connection. It reminds me that the dogs at the PSPCA come from such varying backgrounds. That not all of them have been treated well or with kindness, and that this has made them wary of the world, and rightfully so. It reminds me to consider them as is, to try and understand them in a more holistic way, based on their background and where they come from. And it reminds me that when I cannot be there, their lives continue on.

-Shannon P. Kelly

Personal Connections Made in the Classroom

Our class was very fortunate to have had guest speakers who offer such amazing insight of experiences in the world of non-human animals. Nicole Larocc of Philly Unleashed took time to come speak with us accompanied by her unbelievably bright Australian Shepard mix Uli. Not only did she talk to us about obedience training with dogs and the most effective and ineffective ways to go about it; she gave us a full demonstration. Just as the essay by Uexküll explains the concept of the Umwelt, Nicole enlightened us on her profession of learning and understanding how dogs perceive things very differently than humans. Her companion Uli was an amazing example and put the measly tricks I have taught my dog back home to shame. It was truly inspiring to see the ways in which she fully understands how to communicate and in a way, manipulate the mind of a dog. She taught us how dogs comprehend and communicate back to humans and that humans could do the same if they take the time to learn the dog and listen to them. 
       In the same week we got to meet Terri Martin who is the head of Temple Cats and Claire Tillman who has an extensive past with animal efforts. Terri Martin has continuously devoted much of her time and money to help save and protect the abundance of stray cats around campus. She personally inspired me to reach out in my own neighborhood off campus in which the streets were the home of a pregnant stray that I had been feeding and become accustomed to. Terri helped me immediately with providing info, a carrier, and some food in order for me to help her in her goal to prevent unwanted strays in North Philadelphia. Unfortunately the cat was father along than I thought and delivered four kittens late last week. Not all is lost though thanks to Terri. Her and I are going to get the kittens checked out by a vet and once they are healthy and ready to leave mom, into a good home. In addition we have found a home for the mom and we will get her spayed. Talk about having friends in high places, and its all thanks to her for coming into speak with us that I made this great connection.
       Claire Tillman now serves as a community outreach educator aiming to educate kids in inner cities the truth about animal ethics and their role in helping the cause. She told us about all of her amazing work with less privileged kids as well as her experiences with them. She talked a bit about Pit bulls and the disposition they have been given as a "breed" that cannot be trusted. Her talk related to me on a very personal level as well as I have a close friend who recently adopted a Pit bull mix from the SPCA. Her name is Lady and she is very stocky with jaws as wide as her body. I'll admit she is intimidating from afar however when close all she wants to do is bask in your love. I was walking her up and down my street over the weekend and there were neighborhood kids messing around on a stoop. As we neared them the majority of the kids squealed and ran into the house; I was shocked. Claire had told us that stereo-typically these dogs are feared as they are only known to be aggressive. These kids were a perfect example of what she told us.
       I reassured them that the only thing Lady could do to them was lick their face off. One 'brave' child came off the stoop and greeted her to show them I knew what I was talking about. As we said goodbye and continued walking, I noticed they were all following us and wanted to pet her. If I had not known about this dog's reputation among city kids, I wouldn't have had this chance to make a difference in their opinion of this misunderstood, amazingly friendly animal.

Lady and I <3

Nicole Larocco and Uli

         The three special guests that came to our class over the last couple of weeks provided a great perspective into what the class is actually about and were very inspirational. I most enjoyed Nicole Larocco’s visit with Uli. In addition to showing us some neat tricks and ways to train a dog, she also made some good points about the true nature of animals, focusing on dogs. She said that every dog has a different personality, just like people, and in order to be a good pet owner, a person has to realize that fact. After reading the Umwelt by Uexkull, I think that the ideas presented in that essay can be related to what Nicole taught us. Dogs are very unique to humans, and they learn in ways much different than is, because they see the world in a different light. The idea of the Umwelt in Uexkull’s essay is very much related to this. The Umwelt is a sensory sphere that is perceived different by every individual, especially between species. Her visit also reminded me of the work at the PSPCA. Nicole pointed out that some dogs are much happier after being trained. It would be especially good if all dogs who are up for adoption at the PSPCA and other shelters like it were somewhat trained. They would be more appealing to possible owners and the dogs might have a quicker adoption rate. I learned that dogs are much easier to train than I had previously thought, but it does take a lot of practice and patience. Uli seemed like a great dog and having a canine friend come visit the class was a great idea. 

Thoughts on Uxekull and Timbuktu

After reading Uxekull's essay Umwelten about how the reality of different creatures may be completely different, it became easier for me to notice how the writer of Timbuktu took into account how the reality of Mr. Bones was thoroughly considered. Such as how we look down upon creatures for not appreciating or being able to understand 'art' and yet their art may be entirely different from ours and it may in fact be them pitying us for our inability to see art the way they do. When different things are important to different creatures, such as smells to dogs, blood to mosquitoes, migration for whales, those things take precedence and that becomes our reality. I suppose that creates extremely different worlds. I think the difference between humans and animals is that we have the ability to find interest in so many different things and go down so many different roads that may or may not converge or overlap with other interests and its created an extremely diverse environment and ecosystem for us. Whereas for animals, they APPEAR mostly single-minded and focused on a limited number of things that makes their reality APPEAR so simple from a human perspective. I found the idea of a Symphony of Sounds really interesting. I feel that of all the five human senses, our sense of smell has been the one most overlooked or ignored due to our poor ability to smell. Yet having an advanced sense of smell could really open up an entirely new dimension to our world. Imagine being able to recognize people not by sight by scent, knowing their moods, desires and whereabouts. Theres been many times when I walked dogs, both my own and the ones at the PSCPA that I thought that if I could read the mind of this dog as it madly sniffs the ground, I would be thoroughly amused. The book "Timbuktu" reminds me a lot of the book "The Art of Racing in the Rain" which follows the birth and death of a dog and the life of the family he lives with. It's one of my favorite books ever because it's beautifully written and a lot of the behaviors and thoughts of the Mr. Bones was similar to the dog Ezo in the "The Art of Racing in the Rain". I think that would've been a fantastic book to include in this book.

Zoosemiotics

Following our discussions of Uexkull, umwelten, and reading the animal, here's a wiki page as point of entry into zoosemiotics, which is influenced by Uexkull's work and may be useful as we turn to Paul Auster's Timbuktu:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoosemiotics

Interpreting Emotional Animals

From Heather Dyer...

The presentation I found most interesting so far was Nicole Larocco and Uli’s visit. I have always been interested in the communication of dogs and the distinct ways that they express themselves. Nicole was really able to show us exactly what certain emotions dogs experience look like, since Uli was able to be the model. This information proved helpful for me the next time I visited the Pennsylvania SPCA because I realized I had been misinterpreting some of the dogs’ signals for what they were feeling.

Another thing I noticed about Nicole’s presentation on how animals exhibit their emotions was the connection between the way humans and nonhuman animals react to physical feelings and emotions. Peter Singer’s article “Practical Ethics” states humans know nonhuman animals can feel pain because “animals in pain behave in much the same way as humans do, and their behavior is sufficient justification for the belief that they feel pain” (42). I found this statement to be true at both Nicole and Uli’s presentation and at the Pennsylvania SPCA. When Uli was trying to understand what Nicole wanted from her when she was working with the brick, Uli got increasingly frustrated and became more vocal as she got more frustrated. We, as humans, knew Uli was frustrated because when we are frustrated we react in a similar way, becoming more vocal or exhibiting signs of agitation, just like Uli. At the PSPCA, the animals who had signs on their kennels that they had just come from surgery exhibited similar reactions to pain as humans would in a similar situation. When a human feels physical pain, they simply want to lie down and shut out the rest of the world to get the pain to go away. I felt this was the same state many of the post-operative animals were in.

In my journal, I wrote about my most recent experience with the cat handling class. I found it interesting how different domesticated animals have opposite meanings for the same gestures. After taking the cat class, I also realized how cats and dogs have different motivations. Uli seemed to be happy to appease Nicole by trying to do everything in her power to understand what Nicole was asking of her when Nicole was directing Uli to the brick. All Uli was focused on was the reward treat she would receive by doing what Nicole asked. The cats at the Pennsylvania SPCA, on the other hand, did not seem to be motivated to please humans. Many were either indifferent to human contact, or only wanted the volunteer to pet them, rather than seeming eager to please. I wonder if this observation of cats is true to form of the average cat, or if I simply saw two animal species in different environments and acquired an inaccurate observation of the cats because of their surroundings. Regardless, I got the impression dogs are more people pleasing nonhuman animals, while cats are more interested in other cat companions or solitude. I am glad I experienced both the dog and cat handling classes as well as Nicole’s presentation on domesticated animals’ expression of emotions. After each training session, I felt more comfortable with translating emotions being exhibited by nonhuman animals. All this training and hands on experience will surely aid me in the future.

Animal Welfare and Humane Education

Terri Martin and Claire Tillman visit our class to talk about their experiences with animal welfare and humane education on Temple's campus and in our local communities.

Reading Dogs

Students of "Eco-literature: Human-Animal Community" hanging out with Uli at Temple:

After giving a talk on "reading dogs," CPDT and owner/president of Philly Unleashed Nicole Larocco gives a demonstration with Uli in Tuttleman Hall.

Alexandra Horowitz at the Wagner

I highly recommend this event at the Wagner (near Temple) on Thursday, 3/14, "Observing Dogs" by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz (author of Inside of a Dog). And I second Lauren's praise of Inside of a Dog--a smart and delightful book that gave me a deeper appreciation of dog cognition and behavior.

Observing Dogs at the Wagner

From the Wagner press release:

Have you ever wanted to know what your dog was thinking? Why do dogs do what they do and how do they perceive the world? Given that dogs live in an estimated 75 million U.S. households, it is not surprising that we understand dogs by anthropomorphizing their behavior, but a wave of recent studies have given us new, and sometimes surprising, insights into the cognitive abilities and behaviors of man’s best friend. Dr. Alexandra Horowitz will discuss the latest discoveries in this field and her lab’s approach to studying the dog using observational and simple experimental practices that provide a new understanding of the dog’s point of view. Join us to peek inside your dog’s mind.

Dr. Alexandra Horowitz teaches animal behavior, psychology, and canine cognition at Barnard College at Columbia University. The Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab, in New York City, is currently studying dog and human play. She is author of the best-selling “Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know,” and her new book, “On Looking,” was published in January 2013.