Item 3 - LaneCountyAnimcalControl

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The long-term benefits of creating a shelter that is an inviting destination, and programs that support the adoption of healthy, behaviorally sound animals, is that the shelter will increasingly become the place of choice for the adopting public when seeking a new family companion animal. Focusing on education and outreach programs such as training, behavior classes, hotlines, and abuse intervention will help keep animals from entering the shelter in the first place, and help reduce the financial impact on this important community program in the future. Building a modern new animal control facility is not only an opportunity to provide more animals with better housing, but it also presents a chance to reinvigorate staff and volunteers by providing them with a less stressful, more productive work environment. Modern animal services facilities are designed to allow the public the opportunity to socialize with animals in the shelter in much the same way as they would in their adoptive homes, making it much easier to place companion animals into appropriate homes. Environments can be designed that stress the comfort of animals, engenders a more pleasant working environment for the staff, and are more adoption friendly for the public. Small, incremental improvements, such as visual and auditory separation and the creation of comfortable and defensible spaces have a remarkable cumulative effect. When dogs are happier and less stressed, they tend to bark less. This in turn decreases the stress level and consequently the barking of the other dogs in the housing unit. Possibly the most exciting change in animal housing that we are seeing is a change toward rooms, not runs, for dogs and cageless housing for cats. Animal housing that looks more like your living room than a jail cell is more pleasant to visit, and ultimately will better “market” the adoptive animals. On the most fundamental level, a home-like environment is also better for the animals. 3