Читать книгу Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff - Группа авторов - Страница 182

While safety net programs generally strive to keep animals in their homes, there are some circumstances in which temporary separation is necessary. Clients may be unable to care for their animals on a short‐term basis for a variety of reasons, including disasters, health concerns, or domestic violence. The importance of care for the family pet in these times of crisis is emphasized by the inclusion of provisions for pet‐directed response in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Bazan 2005) as well as by literature supporting the importance of companion animal safety in the decision‐making of those affected by domestic violence (Ascione et al. 2007; Collins et al. 2018; Taylor et al. 2019). See Chapter 21 for more information on temporary sheltering as a component of disaster response.

Animal welfare organizations may voluntarily initiate or be called upon by governmental or human social services to aid in temporary sheltering of animals. Effective temporary sheltering programs avoid permanent relinquishment by facilitating reunification once clients’ circumstances allow them to safely resume caring for their pet. Ideally, even this temporary separation would be avoided through co‐sheltering of people and companion animals, but logistics and client circumstances often make co‐sheltering impossible. As an alternative, the use of foster care for these animals is ideal to avoid the medical and behavioral detriments of sheltering as well as to avoid shelter crowding. Regardless of whether displaced animals are sheltered in foster homes or in a shelter’s kennels, legally approved agreements and thorough guidelines should be set up for temporary sheltering programs to create clear expectations for all participants and to avoid ambiguity regarding the duration and extent of care.

Temporary sheltering programs require a fair investment of resources on the part of a sheltering organization to oversee the program and ensure adequate housing/caregiving without detrimental impact to the existing shelter population. However, their benefit to the client and animal has the potential to be significant. Times of crisis are likely to be periods in which maintenance of the human‐animal bond is critical for the client’s emotional health. Without these programs, clients may avoid seeking help for themselves due to fear about their pets’ well‐being (Ascione et al. 2007). Program oversight can be greatly aided by collaboration with governmental or non‐profit human social services, allowing the animal welfare organization to focus primarily on animal care. Because of these connections, the benefits of a temporary sheltering program extend to the organization and community by strengthening a community framework of support for pet owners.