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SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2

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Kellie Snider

This document provides an overview of protocols for handling animals at an animal shelter to prevent the spread of illness. It discusses common diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans. Strict cleaning procedures are followed daily and all animals are vaccinated upon intake. Animals are assessed and assigned one of four "shapes" (circle, triangle, square, diamond) based on how easy or difficult they are to handle. Information about each animal is recorded on a kennel card, including identification details, medical history, and assigned shape. Handling protocols are established according to an animal's assigned shape to ensure safety of animals and humans.

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Animal Handling ~ Part 2
Handling for Health Preventing Illness While Handling Shelter Animals Rev. 12-29-15 ~ Kellie Snider http://www.slideshare.net/secret/v5mEkjk7hy AHhG
Disease outbreaks are a concern for every animal shelter. The good news is that with proper disease control protocols , we can keep outbreaks to a minimum and protect our animals and our personnel. Infection control is essential because we’re constantly bringing in new animals that may bring illnesses with them. The picture on the next screen is a microscopic view of ringworm spores.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Ringworm is just one of many diseases that crop up in our shelters. Zoonotic diseases are those that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Some examples are ringworm, salmonella, herpes B, rabies, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. If you see an animal that seems sick, fill out a vet check form right away. Your supervisor will tell you where to find one.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
All of the animals at the SPCA of Texas are vaccinated as soon as possible after intake. This reduces the risk of them contracting new diseases after they arrive and sharing diseases they may be carrying with other animals. We also test them for a variety of conditions including heartworms, intestinal parasites, and feline leukemia so that we can immediately start making the best decisions for their care and the wellbeing of all our shelter animals and personnel.
TAKE PICTURE OF CLEANING KENNELS
We follow strict, daily cleaning protocols in the shelters to ensure a clean, healthful environment for our animals. One of the reasons we don’t open until noon is because of the amount of cleaning and disinfecting that has to be done. But it’s not optional. Our shelters are dedicated to ensuring a healthful living situation for the animals and a healthful work environment for staff and volunteers.
Animals must be removed from their kennels for proper cleaning to take place, so dogs are taken outside for a bit of fresh air and cats are moved to other locations while their kennels are cleaned. This all takes time and skill. Volunteers are our primary dog walkers each day, and the animals depend on them to get this much-needed outside time.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Hand washing is a big deal when working with animals. Wash your hands frequently, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and running water. Wash them every time you change work areas, any time you notice that they’re soiled, after using the bathroom, and before you eat. There may be times when you need to wash your face, arms and other exposed skin also.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Be extra sure to wash any wounds with soap and water as soon as possible after the injury happens, and notify your supervisor.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
We encourage you to wear protective gloves when performing cleaning and medical tasks with the animals. These are available in all of the shelters. Sometimes other protective wear such as surgical gowns, masks, foot and hair coverings may be required. Your supervisor will instruct you about these situations.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
When we handle animals, germs from their bodies can rub off on our clothing, and that means it’s possible to hand them off to the next animal we handle. Puppies and kittens are especially vulnerable. Wash your hands before you handle puppies and kittens. Then, when holding them, place a towel between them and your clothing to reduce the risk of your clothes and hands transferring illnesses to them. If you will be handling animals that are sick, talk to your supervisor about handling them last in your schedule so that you reduce the risk of transferring illnesses to other animals. Then, when you go home, change your clothes before handling your own pets.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
We have poop scoopers around the shelters, so if you see poop anywhere, be sure to scoop it up. Poop happens, but for the health and wellbeing of the animals and the appearance and smell of the shelters, it’s up to all of us, no matter what our job title is, to pitch in and pick it up. For feces found inside kennels, check an animals’ kennel card first to see if a fecal sample is needed. If the feces looks unusual, or if you see vomit in a kennel, ask if it needs to be sampled before it’s cleaned up, then clean it up, and write a vet check.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
And of course, we go through all of this for these adorable animals. Proper care, sanitation and handling of these guys all works together to help them find their forever loving homes.
Shapes Codes for Ease of Handling and Friendliness Rev. 12-29-15 ~ Kellie Snider
In this section you’ll get an overview of our Shapes system which will help you learn how to identify which animals you can handle.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
At the SPCA of Texas we use a code system of four different shapes, circle, triangle, square and diamond, to help us identify animals that are easy to handle and friendly, and those that are more difficult. By doing this we also provide a way for handlers to know which animals they are qualified to handle. Even people with a lot of animal handling experience need to go through the required trainings and receive approval to handle some of the animals in our care.
CCAP Canine Complete Assessment for Placement
To assign shapes for dogs we use an intake procedure we call CCAP, which stands for Canine Complete Assessment for Placement. This assessment was designed by Kellie Snider, the Manager of Animal Behavior Programs, and combines a brief medical and behavioral assessment that can be performed at intake or in the days after intake to identify how easy or difficult it is for an animal to be handled while also getting a baseline view of their health.
BEHAVIOR EVALUATION (BVAL) v3.1 Animal Name: _______________________ Animal Number: ____________________ Date: _________________ Species: Dog Cat Other Breed: ________________ Color: _______________ Age: _________ Sex: M F Property where behavior occurred: Rees Jones ACC - Perry ACC - Perry Clinic - Village Fair - Martin Clinic - Private home - Other: ______________________ Area where the animal is currently housed: ______________ Animal’s current Shape:  Describe what happened: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Staff/Volunteer: ___________________ Date: ________Time: ___ am/pm ACC Supervisor Approval:______________ ANIMAL BEHAVIOR PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT OBSERVATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS: See Socialization Questions in Shelter Buddy. Entered in Shelter Buddy by: _____________________________ Date: _________________Time: ____:____ am pm Xena 123234 2-27-16 Chow Mix Cinnamon 5 Purple Pod Xena used to let me leash her up easily, but now she goes to the back and stares at me when I go inside her kennel. I’m concerned about cornering her back there while leashing her up. I suggest changing her shape to triangle. She may need another behavior assessment. Betty M. 2-27
Because it is very common for an animal’s behavior to change during its time in the shelter, its shape may need to be updated from time to time as well. If you notice a change in an animal’s behavior, be sure to write a BVAL.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
You can find out what shape has been assigned to an animal by checking the kennel card hanging from the animal’s kennel. You’ll find the shape written next to the words, SPCA Tag.
FELINE INTAKE MEDICAL EXAM
We assign the shapes for cats during their medical intake exam. (This is not an official name for the assessment.) We base the assignment on how easy the cat is to handle and how friendly it is with people.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Animals that are assigned a circle are friendly and easy to handle. They like people and they are cooperative during handling. These animals are good for new animal handlers as you get used to the way things work at the shelter and become familiar with handling lots of different animals. Some staff members will need to jump right into handling all of the shapes, but be sure to ask for help from your supervisor or the Behavior Department if you find any of the animals difficult to handle.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Triangle animals are a little more challenging than circles, but can still be handled by most trained animal handlers. Triangle dogs may pull more on the leash or be more active, or they may be somewhat fearful. All of our shelter animals require your full attention while you’re handling them, but a Triangle animal will need even more engagement from you than a Circle.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Squares are animals that are difficult to handle for one reason or another. Some square dogs have a whole lot of energy. Some may really struggle hard while getting their intake evaluation or just while being leashed up. They may jump on people really hard, nip at clothing or pull like a steam engine. Square cats may only want you to pet them once or twice before swatting at you, or they may be super active. Alternatively square dogs or cats may be quite fearful and huddle in their beds, making it hard to tell how they would behave if you touched them. These animals should only be handled by experienced staff, or by volunteer animal handlers who have been approved by a Behavior Specialist to handle Square animals.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Diamond is the designation we’ve assigned to animals that cannot be made available for adoption at this time due to a serious behavior concern. The SPCA of Texas, through it’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Department, rescues many, many animals from bad living situations, and they make up a lot of our Diamond dogs and cats. Often these animals have serious health problems as well. In order to become ready for adoption these animals will need extensive behavior modification, and, sadly, some of them will not be able to recover from the abuse or neglect they suffered before they came to us, and will be humanely euthanized.
No one may handle Diamond animals without instructions and guidance from an animal care supervisor or the Animal Behavior Programs Department. Volunteers that help with rescue animals must be specifically invited to participate in this work. Certain Shelter employees will be assigned to do this work, and will start out by working with more experienced staff before they will be permitted to do it on their own.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
After finishing this class Volunteers can handle Circle and Triangle animals but need to schedule a meeting with a Behavior Specialist before handling Square animals. The Behavior Specialist will let the volunteer department know when he or she has approved you to handle Square animals.
Staff members that work in the shelters will handle all of our animals but the Behavior Specialists are available for you to consult with on techniques.
Kennel Cards Working information about shelter animals Rev. 12-30-15 ~ Kellie Snider
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The kennel card is an important document that follows an animal during its time in the shelter.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The information that appears on the kennel card is entered and stored in Shelter Buddy, our shelter software. Staff members that need access to Shelter Buddy as part of their jobs will be shown how to use it by their supervisor or someone assigned to do that.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The kennel card will be printed out, and hung from the kennel door in a plastic sleeve or slipped into a slot on the kennel door.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
You can get most or all of the identifying information you need to know about an animal right here. You can find the animal’s name in large letters at the top. And you can find a photo to the right of the page. If there isn’t a picture on the kennel card it means the Communications Department hasn’t taken the animal’s picture yet. It will be added soon.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The Animal ID number is the most important information on the kennel card. We have had dozens of animals named Molly over the years and we may even have more than one with that name right now, so if you do a search in Shelter Buddy, this particular Molly will be hard to find. The Animal ID number refers to one, and only one animal. If you’re filling out a BVAL, a vet check or another shelter document using the kennel card as a guide, remember to double check the animal ID number you write down. Incorrectly writing it can mean an animal doesn’t get the care he needs to receive.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The adoption fee is located under the Animal ID. We have variable pricing for our animals, and at times we may change our prices, but the kennel card will let you know the current price. If we’re running a special this price may still show on the kennel card, but adopters will be informed of the correct cost by an adoption counsellor. Adoption counsellors will learn more details about that process in the Adoption Counsellor Training class.
Triangle
If the animal has been assigned a shape, it will be printed in the space next to the words Shelter Tag. If there is no shape written in this space it means either that the animal hasn’t been assessed yet or the animal was first adopted before we had the shapes system in place. There is a slideshow that will explain how that system works. If we have an animal in our care that was adopted before the shapes system was in place, it’s likely that he or she was returned, and will receive an assessment this time around.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
An animal’s status will tell us where she is in the system. Animals that have just come into the shelter will be marked Awaiting Sort. After they’ve been sorted their status will indicate what is happening with them now. You may see “Awaiting Vet Check”, or “Awaiting Behavior Check”. The card may read “Unavailable while under BMod (which stands for Behavior Modification) or it may read Available. This dog, Molly, was adopted!
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
An animal’s source indicates where the animal came from before it was here. Molly was an owner surrender, which means that a person or family owned her and decided to relinquish her to the shelter. Some animals’ source says Transfer. This means we brought it here from another shelter or rescue. It might read, “Humane Office Seized”, which means that it was part of a rescue conducted with law enforcement to remove animals from unhealthy or abusive conditions. It could also read, “Compliance”, which means our Animal Cruelty Investigators worked with the owner who agreed to turn the animals over to us for their own wellbeing.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Surrender reason is next on the list. There are many reasons animals are surrendered to shelters. Molly was surrendered because her owners were moving. It’s easy to be angry at owners that moved away and didn’t take their pet, but we have to understand that there are many situations that could cause an animal to move and not take their pet. One family adopted two animals from us, and when their house burned down and they had to move in with relatives in another state they knew we would find loving homes for their much loved pets, so they entrusted us with their care. On many occasions military personnel have been deployed and have turned to us when they were unable to find homes for their pets. So you see, it’s not a black-and- white issue. Other surrender reasons include that he doesn’t like other pets in the family, that he’s too active, or that the owner has died. We have a long list of reasons an animal might be surrendered. Our goal is to provide them with exceptional care and a loving home.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The animal’s current location will be our common descriptions for spaces within our shelters. Molly’s kennel card doesn’t show a location because she has been adopted. Animals in our Perry Shelter may read: Cat Holding, Dog Holding, Cat Adoptions 1, 2 or 3 or Dog Adoptions, among other locations. Jan Rees Jones shelter locations include Blue Holding, Cat Hold 1, Orange Pod and Yellow Condo.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Then we see the species of the animal …
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The date it entered the shelter…
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The date it became available…
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Its microchip number … all of our cats and dogs and certain other species are microchipped.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
We’ve got her sex. In this case, Molly is a female dog that has been spayed.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
The age of the animal…
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Its weight …
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Whether it has appeared on TV, been featured on radio, or has been part of some other media campaign...
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
We may list some distinctive features.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Then there’s an adoption summary. This space will contain a paragraph or two introducing the pet to adopters. It is usually something cute, like, “Hi, My name is Molly and I’m a cute little dachshund mix that is looking for a lap to sit in!” The paragraph will talk about things we know about the animal, either from a previous owner or from our own experiences with the animal.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Over on this side of the page you’ll see the animal’s breed. If it’s a mixed breed like Molly, you’ll only see her predominant breed and the word Mix. Molly was listed as a Dachshund Chihuahua mix… or what we call a Chiweenie! Unfortunately there’s no place in the software to select Chiweenie, so we’ll stick with the official breeds!
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
Under the breed you’ll see the dog’s primary color… and its secondary color if it has one.
SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2
If there is missing information from the card the usual reasons are that the animal just entered the shelter and is waiting for things to happen, or that things have happened with him that have not been entered into Shelter Buddy yet. The delay between actions and entering them into Shelter Buddy is usually very short. In the meantime, check Shelter Buddy online or ask your supervisor.
Click through to Part 3. http://www.slideshare.net/secret/oG3a1sLeY1ramB

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SPCA of Texas Animal Handling 2

  • 2. Handling for Health Preventing Illness While Handling Shelter Animals Rev. 12-29-15 ~ Kellie Snider http://www.slideshare.net/secret/v5mEkjk7hy AHhG
  • 3. Disease outbreaks are a concern for every animal shelter. The good news is that with proper disease control protocols , we can keep outbreaks to a minimum and protect our animals and our personnel. Infection control is essential because we’re constantly bringing in new animals that may bring illnesses with them. The picture on the next screen is a microscopic view of ringworm spores.
  • 5. Ringworm is just one of many diseases that crop up in our shelters. Zoonotic diseases are those that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Some examples are ringworm, salmonella, herpes B, rabies, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. If you see an animal that seems sick, fill out a vet check form right away. Your supervisor will tell you where to find one.
  • 7. All of the animals at the SPCA of Texas are vaccinated as soon as possible after intake. This reduces the risk of them contracting new diseases after they arrive and sharing diseases they may be carrying with other animals. We also test them for a variety of conditions including heartworms, intestinal parasites, and feline leukemia so that we can immediately start making the best decisions for their care and the wellbeing of all our shelter animals and personnel.
  • 8. TAKE PICTURE OF CLEANING KENNELS
  • 9. We follow strict, daily cleaning protocols in the shelters to ensure a clean, healthful environment for our animals. One of the reasons we don’t open until noon is because of the amount of cleaning and disinfecting that has to be done. But it’s not optional. Our shelters are dedicated to ensuring a healthful living situation for the animals and a healthful work environment for staff and volunteers.
  • 10. Animals must be removed from their kennels for proper cleaning to take place, so dogs are taken outside for a bit of fresh air and cats are moved to other locations while their kennels are cleaned. This all takes time and skill. Volunteers are our primary dog walkers each day, and the animals depend on them to get this much-needed outside time.
  • 12. Hand washing is a big deal when working with animals. Wash your hands frequently, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and running water. Wash them every time you change work areas, any time you notice that they’re soiled, after using the bathroom, and before you eat. There may be times when you need to wash your face, arms and other exposed skin also.
  • 14. Be extra sure to wash any wounds with soap and water as soon as possible after the injury happens, and notify your supervisor.
  • 16. We encourage you to wear protective gloves when performing cleaning and medical tasks with the animals. These are available in all of the shelters. Sometimes other protective wear such as surgical gowns, masks, foot and hair coverings may be required. Your supervisor will instruct you about these situations.
  • 18. When we handle animals, germs from their bodies can rub off on our clothing, and that means it’s possible to hand them off to the next animal we handle. Puppies and kittens are especially vulnerable. Wash your hands before you handle puppies and kittens. Then, when holding them, place a towel between them and your clothing to reduce the risk of your clothes and hands transferring illnesses to them. If you will be handling animals that are sick, talk to your supervisor about handling them last in your schedule so that you reduce the risk of transferring illnesses to other animals. Then, when you go home, change your clothes before handling your own pets.
  • 20. We have poop scoopers around the shelters, so if you see poop anywhere, be sure to scoop it up. Poop happens, but for the health and wellbeing of the animals and the appearance and smell of the shelters, it’s up to all of us, no matter what our job title is, to pitch in and pick it up. For feces found inside kennels, check an animals’ kennel card first to see if a fecal sample is needed. If the feces looks unusual, or if you see vomit in a kennel, ask if it needs to be sampled before it’s cleaned up, then clean it up, and write a vet check.
  • 22. And of course, we go through all of this for these adorable animals. Proper care, sanitation and handling of these guys all works together to help them find their forever loving homes.
  • 23. Shapes Codes for Ease of Handling and Friendliness Rev. 12-29-15 ~ Kellie Snider
  • 24. In this section you’ll get an overview of our Shapes system which will help you learn how to identify which animals you can handle.
  • 26. At the SPCA of Texas we use a code system of four different shapes, circle, triangle, square and diamond, to help us identify animals that are easy to handle and friendly, and those that are more difficult. By doing this we also provide a way for handlers to know which animals they are qualified to handle. Even people with a lot of animal handling experience need to go through the required trainings and receive approval to handle some of the animals in our care.
  • 28. To assign shapes for dogs we use an intake procedure we call CCAP, which stands for Canine Complete Assessment for Placement. This assessment was designed by Kellie Snider, the Manager of Animal Behavior Programs, and combines a brief medical and behavioral assessment that can be performed at intake or in the days after intake to identify how easy or difficult it is for an animal to be handled while also getting a baseline view of their health.
  • 29. BEHAVIOR EVALUATION (BVAL) v3.1 Animal Name: _______________________ Animal Number: ____________________ Date: _________________ Species: Dog Cat Other Breed: ________________ Color: _______________ Age: _________ Sex: M F Property where behavior occurred: Rees Jones ACC - Perry ACC - Perry Clinic - Village Fair - Martin Clinic - Private home - Other: ______________________ Area where the animal is currently housed: ______________ Animal’s current Shape:  Describe what happened: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Staff/Volunteer: ___________________ Date: ________Time: ___ am/pm ACC Supervisor Approval:______________ ANIMAL BEHAVIOR PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT OBSERVATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS: See Socialization Questions in Shelter Buddy. Entered in Shelter Buddy by: _____________________________ Date: _________________Time: ____:____ am pm Xena 123234 2-27-16 Chow Mix Cinnamon 5 Purple Pod Xena used to let me leash her up easily, but now she goes to the back and stares at me when I go inside her kennel. I’m concerned about cornering her back there while leashing her up. I suggest changing her shape to triangle. She may need another behavior assessment. Betty M. 2-27
  • 30. Because it is very common for an animal’s behavior to change during its time in the shelter, its shape may need to be updated from time to time as well. If you notice a change in an animal’s behavior, be sure to write a BVAL.
  • 32. You can find out what shape has been assigned to an animal by checking the kennel card hanging from the animal’s kennel. You’ll find the shape written next to the words, SPCA Tag.
  • 34. We assign the shapes for cats during their medical intake exam. (This is not an official name for the assessment.) We base the assignment on how easy the cat is to handle and how friendly it is with people.
  • 36. Animals that are assigned a circle are friendly and easy to handle. They like people and they are cooperative during handling. These animals are good for new animal handlers as you get used to the way things work at the shelter and become familiar with handling lots of different animals. Some staff members will need to jump right into handling all of the shapes, but be sure to ask for help from your supervisor or the Behavior Department if you find any of the animals difficult to handle.
  • 38. Triangle animals are a little more challenging than circles, but can still be handled by most trained animal handlers. Triangle dogs may pull more on the leash or be more active, or they may be somewhat fearful. All of our shelter animals require your full attention while you’re handling them, but a Triangle animal will need even more engagement from you than a Circle.
  • 40. Squares are animals that are difficult to handle for one reason or another. Some square dogs have a whole lot of energy. Some may really struggle hard while getting their intake evaluation or just while being leashed up. They may jump on people really hard, nip at clothing or pull like a steam engine. Square cats may only want you to pet them once or twice before swatting at you, or they may be super active. Alternatively square dogs or cats may be quite fearful and huddle in their beds, making it hard to tell how they would behave if you touched them. These animals should only be handled by experienced staff, or by volunteer animal handlers who have been approved by a Behavior Specialist to handle Square animals.
  • 42. Diamond is the designation we’ve assigned to animals that cannot be made available for adoption at this time due to a serious behavior concern. The SPCA of Texas, through it’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Department, rescues many, many animals from bad living situations, and they make up a lot of our Diamond dogs and cats. Often these animals have serious health problems as well. In order to become ready for adoption these animals will need extensive behavior modification, and, sadly, some of them will not be able to recover from the abuse or neglect they suffered before they came to us, and will be humanely euthanized.
  • 43. No one may handle Diamond animals without instructions and guidance from an animal care supervisor or the Animal Behavior Programs Department. Volunteers that help with rescue animals must be specifically invited to participate in this work. Certain Shelter employees will be assigned to do this work, and will start out by working with more experienced staff before they will be permitted to do it on their own.
  • 45. After finishing this class Volunteers can handle Circle and Triangle animals but need to schedule a meeting with a Behavior Specialist before handling Square animals. The Behavior Specialist will let the volunteer department know when he or she has approved you to handle Square animals.
  • 46. Staff members that work in the shelters will handle all of our animals but the Behavior Specialists are available for you to consult with on techniques.
  • 47. Kennel Cards Working information about shelter animals Rev. 12-30-15 ~ Kellie Snider
  • 49. The kennel card is an important document that follows an animal during its time in the shelter.
  • 51. The information that appears on the kennel card is entered and stored in Shelter Buddy, our shelter software. Staff members that need access to Shelter Buddy as part of their jobs will be shown how to use it by their supervisor or someone assigned to do that.
  • 53. The kennel card will be printed out, and hung from the kennel door in a plastic sleeve or slipped into a slot on the kennel door.
  • 55. You can get most or all of the identifying information you need to know about an animal right here. You can find the animal’s name in large letters at the top. And you can find a photo to the right of the page. If there isn’t a picture on the kennel card it means the Communications Department hasn’t taken the animal’s picture yet. It will be added soon.
  • 57. The Animal ID number is the most important information on the kennel card. We have had dozens of animals named Molly over the years and we may even have more than one with that name right now, so if you do a search in Shelter Buddy, this particular Molly will be hard to find. The Animal ID number refers to one, and only one animal. If you’re filling out a BVAL, a vet check or another shelter document using the kennel card as a guide, remember to double check the animal ID number you write down. Incorrectly writing it can mean an animal doesn’t get the care he needs to receive.
  • 59. The adoption fee is located under the Animal ID. We have variable pricing for our animals, and at times we may change our prices, but the kennel card will let you know the current price. If we’re running a special this price may still show on the kennel card, but adopters will be informed of the correct cost by an adoption counsellor. Adoption counsellors will learn more details about that process in the Adoption Counsellor Training class.
  • 61. If the animal has been assigned a shape, it will be printed in the space next to the words Shelter Tag. If there is no shape written in this space it means either that the animal hasn’t been assessed yet or the animal was first adopted before we had the shapes system in place. There is a slideshow that will explain how that system works. If we have an animal in our care that was adopted before the shapes system was in place, it’s likely that he or she was returned, and will receive an assessment this time around.
  • 63. An animal’s status will tell us where she is in the system. Animals that have just come into the shelter will be marked Awaiting Sort. After they’ve been sorted their status will indicate what is happening with them now. You may see “Awaiting Vet Check”, or “Awaiting Behavior Check”. The card may read “Unavailable while under BMod (which stands for Behavior Modification) or it may read Available. This dog, Molly, was adopted!
  • 65. An animal’s source indicates where the animal came from before it was here. Molly was an owner surrender, which means that a person or family owned her and decided to relinquish her to the shelter. Some animals’ source says Transfer. This means we brought it here from another shelter or rescue. It might read, “Humane Office Seized”, which means that it was part of a rescue conducted with law enforcement to remove animals from unhealthy or abusive conditions. It could also read, “Compliance”, which means our Animal Cruelty Investigators worked with the owner who agreed to turn the animals over to us for their own wellbeing.
  • 67. Surrender reason is next on the list. There are many reasons animals are surrendered to shelters. Molly was surrendered because her owners were moving. It’s easy to be angry at owners that moved away and didn’t take their pet, but we have to understand that there are many situations that could cause an animal to move and not take their pet. One family adopted two animals from us, and when their house burned down and they had to move in with relatives in another state they knew we would find loving homes for their much loved pets, so they entrusted us with their care. On many occasions military personnel have been deployed and have turned to us when they were unable to find homes for their pets. So you see, it’s not a black-and- white issue. Other surrender reasons include that he doesn’t like other pets in the family, that he’s too active, or that the owner has died. We have a long list of reasons an animal might be surrendered. Our goal is to provide them with exceptional care and a loving home.
  • 69. The animal’s current location will be our common descriptions for spaces within our shelters. Molly’s kennel card doesn’t show a location because she has been adopted. Animals in our Perry Shelter may read: Cat Holding, Dog Holding, Cat Adoptions 1, 2 or 3 or Dog Adoptions, among other locations. Jan Rees Jones shelter locations include Blue Holding, Cat Hold 1, Orange Pod and Yellow Condo.
  • 71. Then we see the species of the animal …
  • 73. The date it entered the shelter…
  • 75. The date it became available…
  • 77. Its microchip number … all of our cats and dogs and certain other species are microchipped.
  • 79. We’ve got her sex. In this case, Molly is a female dog that has been spayed.
  • 81. The age of the animal…
  • 85. Whether it has appeared on TV, been featured on radio, or has been part of some other media campaign...
  • 87. We may list some distinctive features.
  • 89. Then there’s an adoption summary. This space will contain a paragraph or two introducing the pet to adopters. It is usually something cute, like, “Hi, My name is Molly and I’m a cute little dachshund mix that is looking for a lap to sit in!” The paragraph will talk about things we know about the animal, either from a previous owner or from our own experiences with the animal.
  • 91. Over on this side of the page you’ll see the animal’s breed. If it’s a mixed breed like Molly, you’ll only see her predominant breed and the word Mix. Molly was listed as a Dachshund Chihuahua mix… or what we call a Chiweenie! Unfortunately there’s no place in the software to select Chiweenie, so we’ll stick with the official breeds!
  • 93. Under the breed you’ll see the dog’s primary color… and its secondary color if it has one.
  • 95. If there is missing information from the card the usual reasons are that the animal just entered the shelter and is waiting for things to happen, or that things have happened with him that have not been entered into Shelter Buddy yet. The delay between actions and entering them into Shelter Buddy is usually very short. In the meantime, check Shelter Buddy online or ask your supervisor.
  • 96. Click through to Part 3. http://www.slideshare.net/secret/oG3a1sLeY1ramB

Editor's Notes

  • #3: Handling for Health: Preventing Illness While Handling Shelter Animals. In this section we will cover basic shelter health practices and concerns.
  • #5: Disease outbreaks are a concern for every animal shelter. The good news is that with proper disease control protocols , we can keep outbreaks to a minimum and protect our animals and our personnel. Infection control is essential because we’re constantly bringing in new animals that may bring illnesses with them. The picture on your screen is a microscopic view of ringworm spores. Ringworm is just one of many diseases that crop up in our shelters. Zoonotic diseases are those that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Some examples are ringworm, salmonella, herpes B, rabies, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. If you see an animal that looks sick, fill out a vet check form right away. Your supervisor will tell you where to find one.
  • #7: All of the animals at the SPCA of Texas are vaccinated as soon as possible after intake. This reduces the risk of them contracting new diseases after they arrive. We also test them for a variety of conditions including heartworms, intestinal parasites, feline leukemia and others so that we can immediately start making the best decisions for their care and the wellbeing of all our shelter animals and personnel.
  • #9: We follow strict, daily cleaning protocols in the shelters to ensure a clean, healthful environment for our animals. One of the reasons we don’t open until noon is because of the amount of cleaning and disinfecting that has to be done. But it’s not optional. Our shelters are dedicated to ensuring a healthful living situation for the animals and a healthful work environment for staff and volunteers. Animals must be removed from their kennels for proper cleaning to take place, so dogs are taken outside for a bit of fresh air and cats are moved to other locations while their kennels are cleaned. This all takes time and skill.
  • #12: Hand washing is a big deal when working with animals. Wash your hands frequently, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and running water. Wash them every time you change work areas, any time you notice that they’re soiled, after using the bathroom, and before you eat. There may be times when you need to wash your face, arms and other exposed skin also.
  • #14: Be extra sure to wash any wounds with soap and water as soon as possible after the injury happens, and notify your supervisor.
  • #16: We encourage you to wear latex gloves when performing cleaning and medical tasks with the animals. These are available in the shelters. Sometimes other protective wear such as surgical gowns, masks, foot and hair coverings may be required. Your supervisor will instruct you about these situations.
  • #18: When we handle animals, germs from their bodies can rub off on our clothing, and that means it’s possible to hand them off to the next animal we handle. Puppies and kittens are especially vulnerable. Wash your hands before you handle puppies and kittens. Then, when holding them, place a towel between them and your clothing to reduce the risk of your clothes and hands transferring illnesses to them. If you will be handling animals that are sick, talk to your supervisor about handling them last in your schedule so that you reduce the risk of transferring illnesses to other animals. Then, when you go home, change your clothes before handling your own pets.
  • #20: We have poop scoopers around the shelters, so if you see poop anywhere, be sure to scoop it up. Poop happens, but for the health and wellbeing of the animals and the appearance and smell of the shelters, it’s up to all of us to pitch in and pick it up. For poop found inside kennels, check an animals’ kennel card first to see if a fecal sample is needed. If the feces looks unusual, or if you see vomit, ask if it needs to be sampled before it’s cleaned up, then clean it up, and write a vet check.
  • #22: And of course, we go through all of this for these adorable animals. Proper care, sanitation and handling of these guys all works together to help them find their forever loving homes.
  • #24: In this section you’ll get an overview of our Shapes system which will help you learn how to identify which animals you can handle.
  • #26: At the SPCA of Texas we use a code system of four different shapes, circle, triangle, square and diamond, to help us identify animals that are easy to handle and friendly, and those that are more difficult. By doing this we also provide a way for handlers to know which animals they are qualified to handle. Even people with a lot of animal handling experience before coming to the SPCA of Texas need to go through the required trainings and receive approval to handle some of the animals in our care.
  • #28: To assign shapes for dogs we use an intake procedure we call CCAP, which stands for Canine Complete Assessment for Placement, to assign shapes to animals. This assessment was designed by Kellie Snider, the Manager of Animal Behavior Programs, and combines a brief medical and behavioral assessment that can be performed at intake or in the days after intake to identify how easy or difficult it is for an animal to be handled while also getting a baseline view of their health.
  • #30: Because it is very common for an animal’s behavior to change during its time in the shelter, its shape may need to be updated from time to time as well. If you notice a change in an animal’s behavior, be sure to write a BVAL.
  • #32: You can find out what shape has been assigned to an animal by checking the kennel card hanging from the animal’s kennel. You’ll find the shape written next to the words, SPCA Tag.
  • #34: We assign the shapes for cats during their medical intake exam. (This is not an official name for the assessment.) We base the assignment on how easy the cat is to handle and how friendly it is with people.
  • #36: Animals that are assigned a circle are friendly and easy to handle. They like people and they are cooperative during handling. These animals are good for new animal handlers as you get used to the way things work at the shelter and become familiar with handling lots of different animals. Some staff members will need to jump right into handling all of the shapes, but be sure to ask for help from your supervisor or the Behavior Department if you find any of the animals too difficult or tricky to handle.
  • #38: Triangle animals are a little more challenging than circles, but can still be handled by most trained animal handlers. Triangle dogs may pull more on the leash or be more active, or they may be somewhat fearful. All of our shelter animals require your full attention while you’re handling them, but a Triangle animal will need even more engagement from you than a Circle. Molly was assigned a triangle because she pulls on the leash and jumps up…
  • #40: Squares are animals that are difficult to handle for one reason or another. Some square dogs have a whole lot of energy. Some may really struggle hard while getting their intake evaluation or just while being leashed up. They may jump on people really hard, nip at clothing or pull like a steam engine. Square cats may only want you to pet them once or twice before swatting at you, or they may be super active. Alternatively square dogs or cats may be quite fearful and huddle in their beds, making it hard to tell how they would behave if you touched them. These animals should only be handled by experienced staff, or by volunteer animal handlers who have been approved by a Behavior Specialist to handle Square animals.
  • #42: Diamond is the designation we’ve assigned to animals that cannot be made available for adoption at this time due to a serious behavior concern. The SPCA of Texas, through it’s Animal Cruelty Investigations Department, rescues many, many animals from bad living situations, and they make up a lot of our Diamond dogs and cats. Often these animals have serious health problems as well. In order to become ready for adoption these animals will need extensive behavior modification, and, sadly, some of them will not be able to recover from the abuse or neglect they suffered before they came to us, and will be humanely euthanized. No one may handle Diamond animals without instructions and guidance from an animal care supervisor or the Animal Behavior Programs Department. Volunteers that help with rescue animals must be specifically invited to participate in this work. Certain Shelter employees will be assigned to do this work, and will start out by working with more experienced staff before they will be permitted to do it on their own.
  • #45: After finishing this class Volunteers can handle Circle and Triangle animals but need to schedule a meeting with a Behavior Specialist before handling Square animals. The Behavior Specialist will let the volunteer department know when he or she has approved you to handle Square animals.
  • #46: After finishing this class Volunteers can handle Circle and Triangle animals but need to schedule a meeting with a Behavior Specialist before handling Square animals. The Behavior Specialist will let the volunteer department know when he or she has approved you to handle Square animals.
  • #48: Kennel Cards – Working information for shelter animals
  • #49: The kennel card is an important document that follows an animal during its time in the shelter.
  • #51: The information that appears on the kennel card is entered and stored in Shelter Buddy, our shelter software. Staff members that need access to Shelter Buddy as part of their jobs will be shown how to use it by their supervisor or someone assigned to do that.
  • #53: The kennel card will be printed out, and hung from the kennel door in a plastic sleeve or slipped into a slot on the kennel door.
  • #55: You can get most or all of the identifying information you need to know about an animal right here. You can find the animal’s name in large letters at the top. And you can find a photo to the right of the page. If there isn’t a picture on the kennel card it means the Communications Department hasn’t taken the animal’s picture yet. It will be added soon.
  • #57: The Animal ID number is the most important information on the form. We have had dozens of animals named Molly over the years and we may even have more than one with that name right now, so if you do a search in Shelter Buddy, this particular Molly will be hard to find. The Animal ID number refers to one, and only one animal. If you’re filling out a BVAL, a vet check or another shelter document using the kennel card as a guide, remember to double check the animal ID number you write down. Incorrectly writing it can mean an animal doesn’t get the care he needs to receive.
  • #59: The adoption fee is located under the Animal ID. We have variable pricing for our animals, and at times we may change our prices, but the kennel card will let you know the current price. If we’re running a special this price may still show on the kennel card, but adopters will be informed of the correct cost by an adoption counsellor. Adoption counsellors will learn more details about that process in the Adoption Counsellor Training class.
  • #61: If the animal has been assigned a shape, it will be printed in the space next to the words Shelter Tag. If there is no shape written in this space it means either that the animal hasn’t been assessed yet or the animal was first adopted before we had the shapes system in place. There is a slideshow that will explain how that system works. If we have an animal in our care that was adopted before the shapes system was in place, it’s likely that he or she was returned, and will receive an assessment this time around.
  • #63: An animal’s status will tell us where she is in the system. Animals that have just come into the shelter will be marked Awaiting Sort. After they’ve been sorted their status will indicate what is happening with them now. You may see “Awaiting Vet Check”, or “Awaiting Behavior Check”. The card may read “Unavailable while under BMod (which stands for Behavior Modification) or it may read Available. This dog, Molly, was adopted!
  • #65: An animal’s source indicates where the animal came from before it was here. Molly was an owner surrender, which means that a person or family owned her and decided to relinquish her to the shelter. Some animals’ source says Transfer. This means we brought it here from another shelter or rescue. It might read, “Humane Office Seized”, which means that it was part of a rescue conducted with law enforcement to remove animals from unhealthy or abusive conditions. It could also read, “Compliance”, which means our Animal Cruelty Investigators worked with the owner who agreed to turn the animals over to us for their own wellbeing.
  • #67: Surrender reason is next on the list. There are many reasons animals are surrendered to shelters. Molly was surrendered because her owners were moving. It’s easy to be angry at owners that moved away and didn’t take their pet, but we have to understand that there are many situations that could cause an animal to move and not take their pet. One family adopted two animals from us, and when their house burned down and they had to move in with relatives in another state they knew we would find loving homes for their much loved pets, so they entrusted us with their care. On many occasions military personnel have been deployed and have turned to us when they were unable to find homes for their pets. So you see, it’s not a black-and-white issue. Other surrender reasons include that he doesn’t like other pets in the family, that he’s too active, or that the owner has died. We have a long list of reasons an animal might be surrendered. Our goal is to provide them with exceptional care and a loving home.
  • #69: The animal’s current location will be our common descriptions for spaces within our shelters. Molly’s kennel card doesn’t show a location because she has been adopted. Animals in our Perry Shelter may read: Cat Holding, Dog Holding, Cat Adoptions 1, 2 or 3 or Dog Adoptions, among other locations. Jan Rees Jones shelter locations include Blue Holding, Cat Hold 1, Orange Pod and Yellow Condo.
  • #71: Then we see the species of the animal …
  • #73: The date it entered the shelter…
  • #75: The date it became available…
  • #77: Its microchip number … all of our cats and dogs and certain other species are microchipped.
  • #79: We’ve got her sex. In this case, Molly is a female dog that has been spayed.
  • #81: The age of the animals…
  • #83: Its weight …
  • #85: Whether it has appeared on TV, been featured on radio, or has been part of some other media campaign...
  • #87: We may list some distinctive features.
  • #89: Then there’s an adoption summary. This space will contain a paragraph or two introducing the pet to adopters. It is usually something cute, like, “Hi, My name is Molly and I’m a cute little dachshund mix that is looking for a lap to sit in!” The paragraph will talk about things we know about the animal, either from a previous owner or from our own experiences with the animal.
  • #91: Over on this side of the page you’ll see the animal’s breed. If it’s a mixed breed like Molly, you’ll only see her predominant breed and the word Mix. Molly was listed as a Dachshund Chihuahua mix… or what we call a Chiweenie! Unfortunately there’s no place in the software to select Chiweenie, so we’ll stick with the official breeds!
  • #92: Over on this side of the page you’ll see the animal’s breed. If it’s a mixed breed like Molly, you’ll only see her predominant breed and the word Mix. Molly was listed as a Dachshund Chihuahua mix… or what we call a Chiweenie! Unfortunately there’s no place in the software to select Chiweenie, so we’ll stick with the official breeds!
  • #93: Under the breed you’ll see the dog’s primary color… and its secondary color if it has one.
  • #95: If there is missing information from the card the usual reasons are that the animal just entered the shelter and is waiting for things to happen, or that things have happened with him that have not been entered into Shelter Buddy yet. The delay between actions and entering them into Shelter Buddy is usually very short. In the meantime, check Shelter Buddy online or ask your supervisor.