Stephanie Cruz
Jessica Hutchman
LANG 120
2 October 2012
Research
Paper
Emotions,
physical connections, and the support of both play a huge role in the well-
being of an abandoned animal. When being protected
in a shelter, animals become more
defensive towards other animals, or the people who
intend to help them. Through the use of
distraction,
rehabilitation, and constant attention, the animals can become more stable in
their
previously poisoned environment. Not only will the
animal become more affectionate, but they
may increase their chances of being adopted through
systems such as temporary adoption. The
behavior of the animal may change so drastically
that they are a desirable companion, and
therefore the issue of feeling insecure with the
world around them dissipates. In result
of these
varied outcomes, there is a direct inference that
humans are psychologically influential in
animals’ lives and can be the driving force in
contributing to the health of many more animals.
Humans
are oftentimes seen as being the superior race simply because of the ability to
communicate in complex way and are more inclined to
think before they act. A gap between the
communication of animals and humans can be filled
due to the fact that they are similar
in the way that their brain functions and how they
reciprocate emotions. In the article “What
Tashi Taught Me: “Petagogy” And The Education Of
Emotions” by Seonaigh MacPherson, he
analyzes the research of Panskepp and writes:
Panksepp
(1998, 2005) uses neurological data from animals and humans to posit seven
“core emotional
feelings”
that constitute a shared primary affective consciousness. Four of the seven
derive from the
deepest
layer of the forebrain, the basal ganglia, a region of the brain common
to all vertebrates: seeking
(desire),
fear, rage (anger), and lust. The three remaining core affective states are
associated with the limbic
system,
or
emotional centres and functions of mammal brains (much smaller in reptiles):
care (maternal and
social
bonding), panic (separation distress), and playfulness. Panksepp (2005)
acknowledges the value of
this
research, not only because it contributes to an understanding of human
consciousness and pathology,
but
also because ‘an understanding of affect in the lives of other animals may be
critical for making
informed
choices on how we ethically treat other creatures’ (p. 37). (4).
Not only does
Panskepp note that the psychological structures of mammals are all the same;
but
he also states
that through the understanding of this knowledge, humans will observe the well-
being of animals
in a different way. The obligation to comfort animals in shelters will increase
because just as
humans require attention and support, so do the abandoned animals. Therefore,
more shelters
should be inclined to change their habits of lacking in emotional care as
opposed to
only being
focused on only getting rid of the animals.
The attention which is
provided to the animals is one form of extremely effective care;
but the actual environment in which they temporarily
live must also adjust to comfort them.
When first arriving at a shelter, animals feel as
though they must protect themselves and this may
not translate into an appealing attitude in response
to their surroundings. In the article “Some
Factors Influencing Adoption Of Sheltered Dogs” by
Bono Gabriele, solutions which coincide
with the ideals of appropriate living conditions are
discussed:
Some
forms of environmental enrichment, such as toys in the cage, were found to have
a positive effect,
even
if the dog did not interact with them (Wells and Hepper 1992). Among the
different forms of
environmental
enrichment (Hetts et al. 1992, Hubrecht 1993, 2002; Hubrecht, Serpell and Poole
1992;
Wells
2004a, b; Graham, Wells and Hepper 2005) found increased human interaction
(Wells and Hepper
2000a;
Hennessy et al. 2002; Coppola, Grandin and Enns 2006) helped kenneled dogs cope
with stress. (
2).
Though the animals may not
saliently be comfortable in their living space, there is still a
psychological registration which
occurs. The animal is put to ease for the simple fact that there is
a resemblance of a home, as
opposed to being lonely in a cage in the shelter. Along with the
environmental security, the human
interaction is still required above all other methods. The love
and care which occurs in a
relationship between a human and an animal is much more valuable
than the objects. At the same
time there is only so much attention which can be placed upon one
animal in a shelter. In the place
of absence of the volunteers, whether they are feeding other
animals or cleaning their cages,
the toys and blankets serve to perform a temporary job.
Even
though the animals are comforted with objects and attention from humans, the
factor of aggression and fear which already exists
within them must be controlled in order to
comply with various home situations. Much of the
time, animals arrive at the shelters aggressive,
which is directed either towards certain types of people
or other animals, and are therefore not
adopted or
are euthanized. In the excerpt “A Survey
Of The Management Of Inter-Dog
Aggression By Animal Shelters In Canada”, the
management of the aggression in varying
shelters is analyzed through a questionnaire:
Finally,
participants were given a list of various treatment approaches for reducing
inter-dog
aggression
(Table 1). The techniques were based on a number of commonly recommended
treatments
(Voith 1980; Hart and Hart 1985; Blackshaw 1991; Mugford 1992; Overall 1997),
including
positive
reinforcement, desensitization, counter-conditioning, correction of aggressive
behavior, and
distraction. Two
additional practises that may influence aggression where included: obedience
training,
which is often
used as a preventative measure for canine aggression or in combination with
treatment based
on behavior
modification (Blackshaw 1991; Reisner, Erb and Houpt 1994; Cameron 1997;
Overall 1997),
and increased
exercise and/or play, which is sometimes included in shelter enrichment
programs as it may
affect the
psychological well-being of dogs (Reid, Goldman and Zawistowski 2004).
Participants were
asked to rate
the degree to which they believed the treatment would be effective (how
successful it would
be at reducing
inter-dog aggression), practical (its ease of use, and the availability of
qualified staff and
space) and
affordable (financially possible) within the shelter ( 5).
As opposed to simply resorting to
the worst possible means of management for the animal, there
are clear methods which can work
around finances, difficulty connecting to the animal, and
possibility of progress to be
made. In the survey, about 69.8% of the shelters did use
rehabilitation programs and
adjusted the environment to accompany the animal. They also noted
that there was no correlation
between how many aggressive dogs were brought in to how many
where brought back as a whole.
Due to their work with the aggression, there was not an increase
in the behavior and not many
animals were returned in response to that issue frequently.
Though the rehabilitation did not
necessarily improve the aggression, there was no worsening of
it either.
There
are many methods of therapy for the animals, but the most important is positive
reinforcement from humans, which
demonstrates the idea that humans play the biggest role in
animals being comforted. Animals
may have their own capabilities of being emotionally self-
sufficient but when they are
handled in a certain manner, their security can be lost in a matter of
seconds. Through the process of
working with the aggression, humans must be conscientious of
the fact that their actions can
change the confidence of the animal. The article “The View From
All Fours: A Look At An
Animal-Assisted Activity Program From the Animals’ Perspective”
evaluates the affect
Animal-Assisted Activity Programs has on shelter animals specifically:
Many
times the human volunteers began to get a sense of the temperament and energy
level of the dog or
cat immediately after leaving the shelter. Not
all shelter animals have had much previous experience, or
much positive
experience, with automobiles. Therefore, getting in to the car or carrier
and riding in the car
is a troublesome
experience for some, but not all, of the visiting animals. Dogs and cats can
and do
associate
certain experiences (like riding in the car), or certain people (like the vet),
with negative or
positive
reactions and feelings.13 Moreover, if a handler finds that the animal,
especially a dog, is afraid of
the car it
actually provides a good opportunity to engage in some training. By using
positive reinforcement,
and perhaps
treats, the volunteer can coax the dog into the car, and thus begin to help the
dog overcome
their fear. Many
volunteers used such reinforcement to get dogs into the car, but few had the
time, patience,
or knowledge to
engage in much training. Some volunteers mentioned picking the fearful dog up
and
placing him or
her in the backseat. From the standpoint of using AAA as a way to also
socialize shelter
animals, this
method may not be helpful in the long run ( 6).
Dogs create an association, just
as humans do, which connects to the psychological ideal of
classical conditioning. The animal will feel
threatened, even if it is coaxed into the car, and
furthermore, if they are placed
into a car by force the feelings they were already experiencing
increase. The animals may help
people to feel better, but it is at the cost of the discomfort in the
animal. The nervousness of an
animal can increase in the ill experience with a human, in which
case the article also states:
However,
sometimes the reactions toward the animals are not positive, and could even be
dangerous. For
instance,
Claudia recalled when a staff member jumped in front of a dog to scare it (and
it worked!).
Perhaps
the most troubling of all experiences is the one Brian had with a small dog:
I had a dog in
my arms, and I brought it closer to this one person who I thought seemed to
want to see the
dog, and that
person just swatted the dog in the nose! And the dog just reeled back a little,
looked at me,
looked at the
person, looked at me like ‘what the hell?’ Obviously, the experience of being
hit by a human
is not good for
any dog, but arguably it is even more problematic for a shelter dog ( 7).
Being physically abused by humans
causes the same correlation of fear that the car evokes in the
animal. Since the humans are
forcing the animal into the situation, there is no escape and
therefore the animals respond by
becoming very unhappy or aggressive. These reactions thus
determine the well-being of the
dog in the eyes of the shelter owners, and they may end up not
being as desirable to be handled
or adopted. If calmness can be obtained
from anyone putting
the animals through therapy, then
there is less likely of a chance of falling back into unhealthy
behavior. This also reinforces
the fact that the animals have a source for why they behave in
certain ways towards humans
throughout their lives. There must be recognition that animals feel
emotions and evaluate situations
to protect themselves from, just as humans do.
The
behavior of the animals is to be somewhat predicted, based upon proper care and
therapy; but this information is
only affective and possible if the human caregiver is aware of it.
In the article “Relationship
Effects In Psychological Explanations Of Nonhuman Behavior” three
experiments are used to assess
the relationship between owners and their animals. One of these
experiments included the
ownership of a fish during a two week period and an evaluation of their
involvement with the pet:
Participants
varied in how diligently they cared for their fish, although only one participant
treated his fish
poorly; he left his fish in a dormitory
bathroom, from which it was immediately rescued. By contrast, most
participants
developed a considerate relationship with their fish. One participant described
taking her fish
outside to ‘enjoy
the sun.’ Still another took her fish home for a holiday weekend, secreting the
fish in her
backpack after airport security personnel
refused to let her carry the fish through the scanner. Twenty-two
percent purchased additional supplies or bowl
decorations during the two weeks of the experiment. Sixty-
nine percent
said they would not sell the fish if asked to do so. At the end of the two-week
study, all
participants
were asked to reaffirm their intention to own a fish; 84% of the participants
adopted their fish
permanently (
12).
At first, the participants are
not overly enthralled by the idea of owning a fish, but over time they
come to appreciate the
companionship which they have developed. Since the fish belongs to the
participants, they invest more of their time
and effort into maintaining the relationship instead of
losing something they believe to
be theirs now. When humans own a pet, they are more devoted
to it because the animal belongs
to them. However, the journey to get to that point of attachment
takes more than a day. When
connections are made over longer periods of time, then
relationships can flourish and be
sustained through the devotion of both the animal and the
owner.
Animals
are seen as articles in the eyes of humans; and whether they are worthy objects
of affection are not defines how
healthy they will become. When living in the shelter, the
animals are left to their own
defenses, even with many people around them. They need to be
comforted and psychologically
tended to in order to gain some form of security. In response to
the fact that they have been
abandoned, the animals are defensive against the world and
be the source of attention from
humans because it is what they desire. Humans are influential
enough to make such a filling of
attention and responsibility for the animal, yet they still need to
know how to do so. With the
special belonging between the two beings, there is a very powerful
force which cannot only heal the
animal, but also heal the humans. They are one in the same
because of the growth of
emotional understanding which can be achieved.
Work
Cited
Gabriele Bono; et al. “Some Factors Influencing
Adoption Of Sheltered Dogs.” Anthrozoos19.3
(2006):
211-224. Environment Complete. Web.
30 Oct. 2012
Hatch, Alison. “The View From All Fours: A Look At
An Animal-Assisted Activity Program
From the Animals’ Perspective.” Anthrozoos20.1 (2007): 37-50. Environment Complete.
Web. 30 Oct. 2012.
Kiesler, Sara, Lee Sau-Iai, and
Adam D. I. Kramer. "Relationship Effects In Psychological
Explanations
Of Nonhuman Behavior." Anthrozoos 19.4 (2006): 335-352. Environment
Complete. Web. 30 Oct.
2012
MacPherson, Seonaigh. “What Tashi Taught Me:
“Petagogy” And The Education Of Emotions.”
Canadian Journal Of Environmental Education16.(2011):
76-92. Environment Complete.
Web.
30 Oct. 2012.
Orihel, Jane S., Rebecca Ledger, and David Fraser.
“A Survey Of The Management Of Inter-
Dog
Aggression By Animal Shelters In Canada.” Anthrozoos18.3
(2005): 273-287.
Environment
Complete. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.
