Happy Woof Wednesday! We hope you’re having a lovely summer. It’s been a while since any rain clouds have appeared in the skies over California, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all enjoy a little Thunder. Thunder the dog, that is. This little pup, formerly known as TJ, has set more than a few hearts a-rumbling in his new home. Thunder’s adopter, Kathi, sent us this note: “Two years coming up and what an affectionate love bug Thunder (formally TJ) is. He's made friends with other neighborhood dogs - especially the ladies, has a loving pack home & extended family!”
Happy anniversary to you, Kathi and Thunder, and thank you so much for the update! We are so happy to hear Thunder has brought such love and joy into your home!
If you are thinking about adopting a dog or cat, we are here to help.
You can check out our newest arrivals on our website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Please come visit us if you’d like to meet the animals face to face.
We are open for adoptions throughout the weekend - 11 am to 5 pm on Friday-Sunday.
A few years ago, my life changed. The impact of separating from my partner took me by surprise. For the first time in 12 years, I had to put on my ‘big girl pants’ and do things for myself and by myself.
I worked hard. I partied hard. I cried hard. Sometimes at the same time.
In the mornings, I would lay in bed waiting for a reason to get out of it. I had moved to the country to be closer to my horses, but I lost all motivation to ride.
I became obsessed with my appearance. Checking it, judging it, trying to improve it, searching for photographic proof that I was OK. I gained a reputation for being a ‘selfie queen’, but the photos were more like doomed ‘self-helpsies’. Each selfie posted to my Facebook page represented another 30 or so that I had discarded, too horrible for anyone to see, let alone myself. I hurriedly untagged myself from photos posted by friends without authorisation.
I was exhausted from being stuck in my own head, worrying about myself and why I was like this. My GP wrote a mental health plan and I saw a few different therapists. They introduced me to mindfulness techniques.
Like a curious scientist, I was encouraged to observe my feelings and thereby create some distance between them and myself. Instead of feeling sad, anxious, depressed, scared etc. and trying desperately to rid myself of those feelings, I was encouraged to ‘make space’ for them. This was done by examining them as if they were separate from me: what colour is my anxiety? Is sadness hot or cold... Instead of running from or fighting that emotion, I sat with it. Mindfulness.
I soon adapted mindfulness to suit my own visual preferences and affinity for animals. I turned my feelings into dogs. Even though I hadn't lived with a dog since my childhood, I would imagine which breed best represented my feelings and how I would treat it. If I was feeling scared, I would imagine a timid whippet sitting on my lap whilst I reassured it with pats. If I was feeling really angry, I would imagine a growling Doberman. I gave it space in the passenger seat.
A couple of Novembers ago, I was at a birthday celebration I had arranged for myself, all by my big self. Unbeknownst to me, a litter of Tenterfield Terriers were born on the same day. One of them was named ‘Angel Eyes’, but the breeders called her “Big Girl”.
I had no idea I would meet her a month or so later. That tiny four-legged scientist fell into my lap, sat down and stared at me. I chose her because she was mindful of me. We made space for one another. I brought Angel home on Christmas Eve. She became my therapist. I spent so much time wondering what was going on in her head that I got out of mine. I had a little thing that needed me to get out of bed each morning. She made me smile and laugh. If I slept in, it was to take photos of her sleeping on my bed. If my make-up-free face was in the photo, I didn’t care. Whilst I would never have made it through my ‘black dog’ patch without love and support from my colleagues, friends and family, we all agree that Angel changed my life forever. She also changed my Facebook page.
Kirrilly is a Senior Researcher at CQUni's Appleton Institute. She is a trained anthropologists who uses ethnographic methods to research the cultural dimensions of risk-perception and safety. Kirrilly has particular interests in human-animal interactions, high risk interspecies activities and equestrianism. She has proposed the 'Pets as Protective Factor' principle, based on a DECRA project identifying how animal attachment can be re-considered as a protective factor for human survival of natural disasters. She is also a co-investigator on a sister project: 'MAiD Managing Animals in Disasters' with Dr Mel Taylor. This project aims to improve the interface of animal owners and first responders during all hazards.
On the human desire to connect: Baumeister, Roy F, and Mark R Leary. 1995. "The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation." Psychological bulletin no. 117 (3):497.
On dogs reducing depression:
Clark Cline, Krista Marie. 2010. "Psychological effects of dog ownership: Role strain, role enhancement, and depression." The Journal of social psychology no. 150 (2):117-131.
On unhealthy preoccupation with appearance:
Veale, David, and Susan Riley. 2001. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the ugliest of them all? The psychopathology of mirror gazing in body dysmorphic disorder." Behaviour Research and Therapy no. 39 (12):1381-1393. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(00)00102-9.
On the benefits of mindfulness for treating depression:
Hofmann, Stefan G, Alice T Sawyer, Ashley A Witt, and Diana Oh. 2010. "The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review." Journal of consulting and clinical psychology no. 78 (2):169.
The idea of self-representation is not new in the social sciences. It is most notably associated with:
Goffman, Erving. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. London: Penguin Books.
Butler, Judith. 1999. "Performativity's Social Magic." In Bourdieu: A Critical Reader, edited by R Shusterman, 113 -128. Great Britain: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
But more recently, research has focussed on self-presentation in and through social media:
Gonzales, Amy L, and Jeffrey T Hancock. 2011. "Mirror, mirror on my Facebook wall: Effects of exposure to Facebook on self-esteem." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking no. 14 (1-2):79-83. http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2009.0411
The ‘selfie phenomenon’ is widely discussed in the popular and academic media, often in pejorative terms of narcissism or vanity.
There is a clear need for research on the tension between, on one hand, the selfie as a liberating tool that provides women with control over their self-presentation and positions them as producers of their own image; eg.
and on the other hand, a disciplining technology that obliges people to produce the best version of themselves against limitless and dynamic criteria. The latter is reinforced by a developing market for selfie enhancing tools.
Van House, Nancy, Marc Davis, Morgan Ames, Megan Finn, and Vijay Viswanathan. 2005. The uses of personal networked digital imaging: an empirical study of cameraphone photos and sharing. Paper read at CHI'05 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1057039
There is even research on the best selfie angle:
Yeh, Mei-Chen, and Hsiao-Wei Lin. 2014. Virtual portraitist: aesthetic evaluation of selfies based on angle. Paper read at Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Multimedia. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2656401
Bark (& Meow) Around the Block is Berkeley Humane's annual street fair and adopt-a-thon – and it's just around the (calendar) block!
This fun summer event gets people and their pets outdoors with live entertainment, food and drink, kids' games, raffle prizes – and of course the chance to meet your potential new family member. This year we're partnering with over a dozen rescue organizations to hopefully top last year's 45 (!) Bark Around the Block adoptions! To make this year a barking (& meowing) success, we need 100 volunteers to help with setup, raffle activity sales, activity booths, and more:
When: Saturday, August 15
Requirements: Able to stand for 3+ hours with short breaks, friendly and outgoing demeanor
Check out last year's photo album to see what's in store! Contact Volunteer Manager Jenn Suzuki with your availability for August 15th (e.g. "Available 12-4 pm") at jsuzuki@berkeleyhumane.org to get involved.
Adopting that many cats and dogs in one day doesn't happen on its own, so many thanks goes to Berkeley Humane's volunteer crew in advance. Almost as popular as the loving animals the Berkeley Humane Society places is our highly coveted series of volunteer orientations! Volunteer orientations introduce you not only to Berkeley Humane's practices, but also our history and philosophies. With so many kindhearted members in Berkeley Humane's community, our volunteer orientations are often booked months in advance, but Bark (& Meow) Around the Block is a rare opportunity to lend your time in-person without necessarily waiting for an orientation opening.
At the very least, we hope to see you there on August 15th – mark your calendars and invite your friends!
90% of Australians report they need to stress less. That's an alarming statistic! Lifeline Australia set up Stress Down Day this July 24 to help people find ways to reduce the stress in their life.
Rudy and my friend Jenny, to all appearances, sharing a laugh
I have been helping share info about the benefits pets can offer our mental and physical health by speaking with some media ahead of Stress Down Day this week.
Findings from a growing body of research show that when our animal companions fit our lifestyle, and meet our needs, we can enjoy:
increased self esteem
decreased loneliness
increased happiness
better able to cope with social rejection compared to non-pet owners
more physically active
This meaningful social support we get from our animal companions can vary between animals and also between people (ie.I don't feel the way about your cat that I feel about my dog, and how I feel about my cat might be different again), but when things are optimal, the attachment and benefits to people can be as significant for us as a best friend or close family member. That's AMAZING!
I decided to take Rudy for a special walk along the river this morning to actively take time out to stress down - partly because it's Stress Down Day today and partly because I would have anyway. It was a quiet morning, we only saw one other person. We saw loads of birds, a small mob of kangaroos, and we stopped several times just to watch the river and share the moment. I spent a lot of the walk thinking about a family member who left us earlier this year, in the saddest of circumstances. I felt sad.
Then, my 11 month old puppy would go full goose, zooming around the shallow waters and button grasses and despite the significance of the loss I feel, I laughed at him.
It felt good.
We both enjoyed the walk. I returned home feeling more relaxed. Rudy's currently asleep next to me, so I reckon he did too.
I hope you find a way to stress less today too. We'd love to hear about how the animals in your life help - feel free to comment below. If you'd like to share some of my walk - it went a bit like this:
If you know someone (maybe you!) thinking of getting an animal companion for the first time, be sure to encourage them to do their research properly. Find an animal that will fit their lifestyle and meet their needs, so they too can reap the benefits of a positive relationship. Once you know what you're looking for, consider offering a home to an animal currently in a pound, shelter or rescue group. PetRescue are a wonderful hub resource for Australians, listing animals from many shelters and rescue groups nationally.
If you'd like to support the excellent work that Lifeline do, you can donate here
If you or someone you know is depressed, anxious, or may be at risk of suicide, you can get help and support. Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue1300 22 46 36
Happy Woof Wednesday! Today we've got an update from Argy IP about Rosalinda, formerly known as Roselavon.
Since moving in with Argy two years ago, Rosalinda's been welcoming to new family members, and even found herself a new habit...
"Here's an update on Rosalinda (aka Roselavon) adopted July 2013. She's healthy and enjoying a new little sister who was rescued by a friend."
"A few more. She loves her sister Luna and cuddling inside large t-shirts."
Thanks for sharing Rosalinda's updates with Berkeley Humane's Facebook Page, Argy! If you've got your own news to share about your Berkeley Humane adoption, let us know on Facebook.
Looking for a fulfilling way to spend the end of summer? Berkeley Humane needs volunteers for next month's Bark Around the Block on August 15th! This is a huge event dependent on support from Berkeley Humane's human community members. If you've been waiting for an opening in our popular Volunteer Orientations, this may be a great opportunity to get involved early. Contact us for more info: information@berkeleyhumane.org or 510.845.7735 (extension 228).
When Aileen Alfandary’s beloved 14-year-old dog Sonia (who’d been adopted from Berkeley Humane) died a few months ago, the time felt right to open her home to other dogs.
“We'd had her nearly 12 years and I missed the doggie presence in the house," explains Aileen. “Fostering works well as we're not able to adopt a dog at this point.”
Since then, the doggie presence in Aileen’s house hasn’t let up as adoptable pets like Miss Rose, Mushi, Sugar, Elsa, Manhattan, and others have come to stay a while before moving on to new homes with their adopters.
Mushi
In addition to helping Berkeley Humane save more animals, fostering reduces stress, improves human-animal bonding, and helps shy animals learn how to be house pets. For example, Aileen helped guide one nervous pup toward confidence. “The first dog I fostered was little Mushi who had undergone surgery and was at first hesitant that anyone touching him was going to hurt him," she says. “After we got past that barrier he was super excited every morning when I came down to feed him and take him for a walk.”
Sugar
Foster care providers like Aileen provide physical assistance as well as emotional nourishment. One five-month-old puppy required medicine and love to address respiratory troubles. “She worried me when she didn't want to eat or drink much before Berkeley Humane got her started on antibiotics,” Aileen says. “She wanted to be picked up and held pretty constantly. It was like having a newborn baby or toddler all over again.” The puppy healed quickly and went on to a happy adoption.
"It's fun to suss out each dog's very distinct personality but what they've all had in common is how much they want to give and receive affection." - Aileen Alfandary, foster care provider
Miss Rose
When it’s time to send her charges to Berkeley Humane for adoption weekends, Aileen says goodbye with an upbeat attitude. “I've grown very fond of every dog I've fostered and am hopeful they'll be adopted by a loving human or humans," she says. “I hope I'm giving them a good experience along the road to a permanent home.”
Fostering dogs continues to be one way Aileen honors her departed pet Sonia. “There's a doggie sized hole in my heart following the death of our dog and fostering goes a long way towards filling it.”
Aileen, we thank you for the time and love you’ve given to fostering adoptable dogs for Berkeley Humane. Here’s to many more happy dog stories in your life!
If you’re interested in opening your home and heart to adoptable pets, Berkeley Humane would love to hear from you. We provide food, bedding, toys, any medications needed, personality notes and history on each animal, and endless support. Learn more on our Foster Care page.
Feline Friday kicks off with a heartwarming tale of rough starts, second chances, and years of love.
As you can probably imagine, Berkeley Humane staff and volunteers meet many adoptable pets. Quite a few in particular catch our attention. Some even capture our hearts. Even though we know that our adoption process helps to match up the right pets and adopters, on occasion we can't bring ourselves to say goodbye.
Years ago, Emily Ziebell answered the call to help a tiny kitten in need. Here's Emily to tell the rest of the story herself:
I can't believe my "baby" Bobby is 10 years old tomorrow. When I worked at Berkeley Humane a good Samaritan brought him in. He had been thrown out of a moving car at only 5 weeks old."
Bobby ten years ago
He was my first foster kitten and like many other people, I ended up being a "failed foster" because I fell in love and just had to keep him."
Bobby today
"Here's to another 10 years with The Bobcat!"
Thank you for sharing Bobby's rags-to-riches story, Emily, and congratulations on ten happy years together! We join you in wishing for many more.
If you're looking for a companion this weekend, visit Berkeley Humane at 9th and Carlson from Friday through Sunday to meet your new best friend.
We're also spreading the word about adoptable pets in Oakland this weekend. Berkeley Humane's Mobile Adoption Center or MAC (driven by some excellent volunteers) will be at the SPCA's Adopt-a-Thon at Jack London Square this Saturday from 10-3. Come meet some great animals!
Happy Woof Wednesday! We love hearing about our furry friends that find homes where they can truly be themselves!
As you can see from Luna's photos, she has made herself quite comfortable.
Luna's adopter, Gabriel Nunez, sent us an update …
“We adopted Luna about 18 months ago and we are so happy to have her. We love her so much."
Thank you so much for keeping us updated on Luna. We are always thrilled to hear how our animals are loved once they are adopted!
If you are thinking about adopting a dog or cat, we are here to help. You can check out our newest arrivals on our website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Please come visit us if you’d like to meet them in person.
We are open for adoptions throughout the weekend from 11 am to 5 pm Friday through Sunday.
Rumbling past you on the roads or parked and invitingly open at events — have you seen our amazing Mobile Adoption Center or MAC?
After a Berkeley Humane executive and a volunteer drove it home to Berkeley from Ohio, we formally opened it with a ribbon-cutting ceremony overseen by none other than Grumpy Cat herself. (Check out our pictures from that star-struck day here.) The MAC travels around the Bay Area carrying adoptable pets and Berkeley Humane volunteers to far-flung events.
The MAC at its ribbon-cutting ceremony, January 24, 2015. Photo by JennyDee Photography.
In addition to increasing pet adoptions, the MAC opens up new volunteer opportunities and boosts Berkeley Humane’s presence in the community.
Our volunteer MAC drivers see the Bay, connect with the public, and help adoptable pets find their new homes. It’s rewarding work -- take it from Monty Lee and Ming Wang, two Berkeley Humane volunteers who count MAC driving among their skills.
Both volunteers have been driving the MAC since it arrived in Berkeley in August 2014. MAC training broadened their volunteer horizons: in addition to helping out at the shelter they can drive the MAC to an event, connect with community members, counsel potential adopters, and facilitate adoptions on the spot.
What drew you to working with the MAC?
Ming: “The potential of bringing Berkeley Humane animals to wider range of adopters.”
Monty: “The chance to experience all facets of Berkeley Humane operations: animal handling, adoption counseling, meeting and discussing Berkeley Humane with interested parties, and adoption processing.”
Training to drive the MAC, Ming says, was a whirlwind of information. “But the animal behavior section of the training is really helpful because we can monitor how the animals are during the car ride and also during the event.” She practiced on the streets around Berkeley Humane to get comfortable with the vehicle.
Monty, who already had some experience driving RVs and large vehicles, agrees with Ming’s assessment. Training, he says, “was a great experience learning about the history of Berkeley Humane, its operating philosophy, and an overview of how animals come to the facility, get adopted, and are followed up on after adoption.”
What’s the coolest part of MAC driving?
Ming: “Working with cute doggies and kitties!”
Monty: “The most satisfying thing is to see a happy adoption — especially with children involved. Also, working with Berkeley Humane staff. They have been very supportive and exhibit genuine care and empathy for the animals.”
Ming Wang and fellow volunteer Denis Yurchikov collecting donations for Berkeley Humane at Pride.
Not only does the MAC house adoptable dogs and cats — it’s also an effective mobile billboard for Berkeley Humane. “A lot of people are curious about MAC, especially the inside, so they always want a tour,” says Ming. “Some kids gets excited when they see the MAC driving on the street because of the animal pictures on the side.”
While people clearly love the MAC, how do the animals inside react? “In most cases the animals are calm, cool, and collected, probably because staff is careful about the animals selected to travel based on knowing the animals' behavior,” says Monty. “Cats are mostly OK with it,” says Ming. “Some dogs require more petting.”
What advice would you give to potential MAC volunteers?
Ming: “Be open to talk to all kinds of people and kids.”
Monty: “Enjoy engaging with the public and getting the message out about adoptions generally and Berkeley Humane in particular.”
Berkeley Humane is grateful to Monty and Ming for their time and dedication. Volunteers like these two don’t only help the shelter, they also help adoptable animals of the Bay Area and our general community. Thank you, Ming and Monty!
It's time to raise the curtain on Pyramid Alehouse’s summer-long movie night series benefiting Berkeley Humane. This Sunday, Pyramid Alehouse at 901 Gilman Street kicks off its Summer Movie Series with Jumanji. The series continues August 9 with Ghostbusters and finishes up on September 13 with Jurassic Park.
The shows start at 6, with doors opening around 5:15 PM. Tickets are $5 (which helps out Berkeley Humane). Bring the little ones — these are kid-friendly events. Children 6 and under even get in free! (No room for non-service animals, though, so leave the furry little ones at home.) Pyramid will have food, beverages, and popcorn for sale. BYOF (Bring Your Own Furniture)!
Editor's note: As of July 21, Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley has closed. There will be no August or September movie nights. We're grateful to Pyramid for its fundraising and collaborative events over the years.
Guest post by: Jamie Fratkin, PhD First off, I just wanted to say that I love reading your blog! ('THANK You!' say Mia and Julie). I think it’s such a great platform to deliver the latest in dog research for both researchers and dog lovers, and I am excited to be able to contribute.
Dog being dog. Copyright Steve DeBono.
Just as a bit of background on me. I just finished my PhD in Social/Personality Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, working with Sam Gosling. My research focus has been examining personality in dogs as well as examining relationships between dogs and people. The project I’ll be talking about is one that I started in my first year of grad school.
The idea for the project was prompted by a practical question in the context of working dogs. Numbers vary a bit depending on the organization, but only about 50% of the dogs trained and bred for working-dog roles end up succeeding or actually working in the roles they were bred for. Lots of money and time is spent raising and training these dogs and with so few dogs succeeding, it is important to determine the factors that might influence success. If we can find these factors we may be able to train more successful dogs or at least figure out at an early age which puppies are most likely to succeed.
Many studies have begun to explore the role of personality in working-dog success (e.g., Duffy & Serpell, 2012; Goddard & Beilharz, 1982, Sinn, Gosling, & Hilliard, 2010). Just as not every person is suitable for every job, not every dog is suitable for every working role. For example, you don’t want a dog that is afraid of traffic to lead a visually impaired person. You also don’t want a dog that is easily distracted to be in charge of detecting explosive devices.
Research suggests that some traits seem to be particularly relevant to a dog’s working success. For example, in the 80s, Goddard & Beilharz conducted a series of studies examining guide dogs in Australia and found low fearfulness was a significant predictor of success.
These other studies are promising but there is practical obstacle to doing them. That is, most experts from working dog organizations are already pressed for time by all of the responsibilities they have to oversee. So they usually don’t have time to undertake the behavioral observations that are key to systematically assessing dogs’ personalities.
So for this study, we wanted to find out whether we could save the experts’ time by having non-experts rate the dog’s assessments instead of the experts. We examined this question in two assessment contexts. One context consisted of Belgian Malinois puppies undertaking a short, very standardized test; dogs were placed in a room and the assessors went through a series of standardized steps to examine the dog’s reactions to various stimuli such as a vacuum cleaner being turned on. The second context consisted of Labrador Retrievers undertaking a longer and less standardized test in which the dogs were walked through different environments and their reactions to the environment were observed and translated into traits like confidence and concentration.
Experts from working-dog organizations had already rated these assessments. So we recruited non-experts (some of whom had never even owned a dog before) to rate the videos of the behavioral assessments that had already been rated by the experts. We gave the non-experts about an hour of training. These non-experts then watched videos at their own pace and made ratings based on how the dog performed in the assessments.
In general, we found strong evidence that non-experts could match expert ratings for many traits in both assessments. However, non-experts did not match experts for about 25% of the traits (e.g., dog’s focus on a reward object). The reason for the discrepancies between experts and non-experts could be that some traits are more difficult to observe via video recordings (vs. watching the behavior live), but it also could be that some traits are more difficult for non-experts to observe than experts. Overall, our results suggest that for many traits non-experts can match expert ratings of dog assessments. Given that non-experts are far more abundant than experts, this finding has has wide ranging practical implications for organizations hoping to assess personality in dogs.
Jamie and Quasia
~ ~ ~ Jamie's study is available via free promotional access until January 2016. This means you can download now and view whenever. For more about the research in the Special Issue of 'Behavioural Processes,' see 'Really, Canine Science is Open Access.'
Learn more about Jamie and her research on her website.
