Video Length: 67 Minutes
Whether you're looking to start a foster program at your shelter, or give a boost to an already-existing foster program, Maddie's Fund® has a webcast series for you! We're going all-in on foster care, including programs that have worked to get more dogs and cats adopted in communities across the country. You'll have the chance to learn from your peers in other organizations, get your questions answered, and start saving more lives. View the complete series here, and sign up today!
Will getting a shelter dog out for a sleepover or short-term foster make that dog's life better? Yes, says Lisa Gunter, MA, CPDT-KA, a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University in the Department of Psychology and researcher at the Canine Science Collaboratory, and Kelly Duer, Maddie's® Foster Care Specialist and Foster Expansion Coordinator for a national study of foster care for medium and large dogs with long shelter stays.
Short-term fostering and sleepovers can reduce stress for shelter dogs and gives them a break from the shelter. They also benefit from interactions with the foster family, human interaction is known to improve animal welfare, particularly for highly social species like dogs.
Their presentation will include:
This course have/has been pre-approved for Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits.
Lisa Gunter, MA, CPDT-KA is a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University in the Department of Psychology and conducts her research under the mentorship of Clive Wynne in the Canine Science Collaboratory. Before beginning her graduate studies, Lisa worked for nearly a decade with dogs both in animal shelters and with pet dogs and their owners.
Lisa's research attempts to better understand the influence of breed labels on perceptions of dogs and what breeds and breed mixes are present in animal shelters. She also studies the impact of stress on the welfare of kenneled dogs and post-adoption interventions focused on owner retention. She has published her research in scientific journals and presented her findings at numerous conferences.
Kelly Duer is Maddie's® Foster Care Specialist and Foster Expansion Coordinator for a national study of foster care for medium and large dogs with long shelter stays. She also co-coordinates the Medium and Large Adult Dog Foster Apprenticeships, which bring shelter leaders from across the country together to learn how to implement foster programs for adult dogs.
Her work has been featured in many national publications, websites and networks, including Animal Sheltering magazine, the Huffington Post, Best Friends magazine, BarkPost, iheartdogs.com, HuffPost Live and Fox News. Kelly has presented at various conferences including the Best Friends National Conference, American Pets Alive! and HSUS Animal Care Expo.