Though an animal shelter can be the difference between life and death for many of the animals that are brought into our care, it is important to keep in mind that the shelter environment is an unnatural place for a pet to live. There are a multitude of new sounds, smells, and experiences that are introduced, all of which can elevate stress levels. This can lead to behaviors that have never been displayed before such as fear, high arousal, or even aggression. This response to a strange, new environment is what we call “shelter stress.”
One of the major hurdles to overcome shelter stress, is that you may not see the “true” personality of a pet when you first meet them. A dog who is calm and well-behaved in the home, may seem hyperactive in the shelter environment. Or a cat that hides throughout the majority of the shelter stay, may blossom into a happy and outgoing feline in the home. Proper management of mental health can mitigate this, but often, we don’t know exactly how an animal will be in the home.
Another thing to keep in mind with shelter stress is lowered immune function. Shelter animals are more likely to get sick, and will recover slower from illnesses and injuries than owned pets. Severe illness or injury means that an animal needs to heal first before becoming available for adoption, increasing their length of stay, which leads to higher levels of stress.
Management of stress in the shelter is extremely important to the animals that depend on us. Great Plains SPCA strives to provide top quality care, and mitigate stress in a few key ways.
How We Mitigate Shelter Stress
- Daily Enrichment. Enrichment is the best way to engage our pets’ minds, prevent boredom, and allow an outlet for them to release stress. Examples of enrichment are scents, kongs, long-line time, additional walks, and opportunities to shred appropriate items like cardboard under supervision.
- Office Breaks. Every staff member at Great Plains SPCA shares their office space with a dog during the day. This gives our animals a more home-like environment to get a break from their kennels and spend quality time with a person.
- Cat-Tastic Thursday. Each Thursday, every staff member onsite takes at least 15 minutes to spend 1:1 time with a cat in our care. Our more outgoing cats play with toys, while shy cats can get calm attention at their pace.
- Pack Walks. Every Monday and Friday, all available staff bring a dog (or cat in a stroller) on a walk to the park. With a variety of new scents, and new friends to meet, this is a perfect time for our more outgoing pets to get exercise and socialization.
- Foster Homes. When the shelter is too overwhelming, our dedicated team of fosters welcomes our animals into their home giving our pets opportunities to shine while they wait for their forever families.
How You Can Help
- Advocate for Long-Term Pets. A long shelter stay means an extended period of time with high stress levels. The sooner an animal can find their forever home, the better. Sharing their posts on social media or mentioning adoptable pets to friends and family is a perfect way to advocate for long-term shelter pets.
- Become a Volunteer. As a volunteer, you are able to provide additional enrichment for shelter pets. Take them on doggy-day-outs to a nearby park, or simply spend 1:1 time with them. All of these things are beneficial to an animal’s mental health, and will lower their stress.
- Become a Foster. Fostering saves lives. Providing a home environment for our stressed pets not only gives them a place to decompress, but it allows us to see their true personality outside of the shelter.
- Adopt a Shelter Pet. What every animal in a shelter needs is a forever home where they can be loved and cared for.
If you’re ready to take the next step and make an impact in a shelter animal’s life, we welcome you with open arms. CLICK HERE to learn more about our volunteer opportunities, or CLICK HERE to view our available adoptable pets.