BROWARD
COUNTY, FL - To provide the best possible care for animals during their stay at Broward County Animal Care, select staff is participating in the Behavior, Training, Enrichment (BTE) Bootcamp for Shelters offered by the
University of California-Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program.
The
six-week program allows 10 selected shelters from across the nation to work
with experts to identify new ways to improve animal welfare and wellness by creating programs that enrich the animals' stay while at the
shelter. It will also help establish initiatives that keep pets in their homes.
"With
the training we receive from this bootcamp, our organization will be able to
better care for our animals by focusing on the right place, right time, right
care, and the right outcome," said Emily Wood, Director of Broward County Animal
Care.
Some
of the anticipated changes following the bootcamp include:
- Fear Free Shelters Training for all staff handling
animals. This training helps pet professionals better understand a pet's
emotional and physical wellbeing. The goal is to reduce the amount of
stress that pets feel while in the shelter by embedding Fear Free training in
all aspects of an animal's stay.
- Better Housing Options to make animals feel at home. This
includes removing cages to create more free-roaming rooms for cats, and the use
of "real life" rooms that resemble an indoor setting for dogs to help reduce
shelter stress.
- Continued Enrichment to enhance positive interactions between the animals at the shelter and their future owners. This includes providing in-kennel enrichment including sense of smell and hearing stimulation, out-of-kennel training and behavior modification exercises, and more playtime.
- Population Management includes working within the shelter's capacity for care. This helps to reduce the length of stay of shelter animals and allows Animal Care to tend to an animal's medical and behavioral issues.
About
Animal Care
Animal
Care provides shelter for homeless pets and helps reunite owners with their
lost dog or cat. It offers spay/neuter services for pets and community cats.
The Agency also enforces animal laws to help support public safety and offers Volunteer
and Foster opportunities to those interested in supporting pets in need. For
more information about us, visit our website, or like us on Facebook.
June 11, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: Attiyya Atkins, Public Information Officer
Animal Care Division
954-357-7068
Aatkins@Broward.org