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Sanctuary for the Fallen Companions

When I was in kindergarten, I had a class pet. His name was Rainbow Sprinkles and he

was a guinea pig. Every weekend, a student was able to take home the fluffy, little creature.

When my turn came, I was ecstatic to bring him home and play the role as a pet owner for the

weekend. The simplest actions such as feeding him lettuce or letting him explore his new

environment felt extremely satisfying. My attention was directed to the tiny, four-legged creature

the entire weekend. This was my first experience taking care of a real animal, and the role of pet

owner gave a sense of responsibility.

Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation facility is located in a relatively quiet area

of Walnut Creek, CA. The main doors of the facility separates the shelter’s cool breeze created

by the facility’s air conditioning system, and the balmy rays of the California sun. There is an

unusual scent that only pet owners would be familiar with. The forum adjacent to the entrance is

decorated with glass window that shows a small, furry animal in its play area. A compact

courtyard is located at the center of the facility where sheltered animals can receive their daily

dose of vitamin D. The narrow halls leads to the area where miracles are made. On the right side

of the hallway, rooms are firmly kept sealed with puppies or kittens that are under quarantine.

Warm, innocent eyes look at the visitors through the windows. These ill animals are kept in cozy

kennels with vibrant blankets. The end of the hallway reveals double doors that opens into a

veterinary clinic. The clinic is clean and spotless. Next to the platform is a table with sharp

surgical tools. The clinic exits to a compact room surrounded by large wooden doors. Barking

and scratches are heard from beyond the doors. A small table is attached to a wall, covered with

pieces of paper. The clinic exits to the large room that connects to the building’s entrance.

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In third grade, instructors from Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut

Creek visited my elementary school and presented to the third grade classes the basic care

domestic pets need. As a part of their visit, they created a simulation where the students were

assigned to take care of stuffed animals as if they were real pets. The stuffed animals were

placed in a cardboard kennel which was distributed to the students. When I opened my box, there

was a cat with mottled fur in three colors: brown, black, and white. I watched films and went on

walks with the toy animal. I pretended to feed and give water to the stuffed animal. This

experience inspired my interest in animal science.

My interest with animals began when I started attending school, and I have wanted to

pursue this interest by helping animal shelters and animal rescue centers. In addition to this, I

have also been interested in psychology. I am fascinated by behaviors and brain function. I

wanted to incorporate these interests into my research topic. The positive psychological effects

of simulating a pet owner and fostering a stuffed animal led me to create my research question:

what are the behavioral traits of animals that have been abused, and how do animal shelters and

animal rescue centers treat these traits?

Humans feel the same pain as other animals experience. Similarly, animals tend to

remember the extent of pain and its causes. As a result, animals may react conservatively to pain

as to avoid punishment. Typically, the animal will express guilt or anxiety because of their

feeling of incoming punishment. These instances are seen as misunderstandings. In the case of a

pet and its owner, actions may be misunderstood by owners such as “an animal would exhibit a

particular behavior as revenge for something his owner did” (Beaver). Beaver continues this

explanation by providing an example where a dog may refuse to defecate outside under rainy or

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harsh weather and proceed to defecate inside. The owner may take offense to the animal’s

disobedience and punish the animal. The owner is misunderstanding the dog’s discomfort of

defecating outside during harsh weather and continue to take the dog outside to allow the dog to

defecate despite the weather. The animal will remember that when it defecated inside, it received

punishment and will feel guilty because it would feel that it has done something wrong. This act

of the owner putting the animal under an uncomfortable situation is an act of omission, where a

pet receives neglect by being put in stressful or dangerous situations.

There are two main types of animal abuse that are done by pet owners: acts of omission

and acts of commission. Acts of omission are physical harm to an animal when the owner is

unaware the animal is being harmed. Acts of commission is purposeful instances of physical

harm to an animal (Gullone). Both acts of abuse or neglect are neither beneficial nor healthy for

animals. Acts of omission are seen more commonly than acts of commission because pet owners

may not realize that their actions are causing continuous harm to an animal. Most acts of

omission are as a result of neglect of proper animal safety and care. Examples of neglect of

proper animal care are unsanitary living conditions, improper or weak diet, lack of exercise, and

confinement to small spaces such as confinement to a kennel. Acts of omission can be

detrimental to the relationship between the animal and owner and the animal’s mental health. As

previously mentioned, humans may interpret the actions of animals, animals can also

misinterpret the actions of their owners. Since acts of omission can be harmful and dangerous to

an animal, the animal may connect these acts to negative experiences or memories. When an

animal is not receiving proper living conditions, the animal believes that it is not being taken

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care of and may form aggressive behaviors because the animal views the acts of omission as acts

of commission.

Acts of commission occur when owners deliberately harm an animal for any reason.

These actions by owners are a negative influence on animal because the animal is surrounded by

negative activity and has history with negative experiences. As a result, the negativity

surrounding the animal causes the animal to develop negative behaviors such as fear or

aggression. Lack of proper training will eventually lead to abnormal social behaviors,

“...unacceptable canine behaviors that result from poor training, such as jumping, can negatively

impact this bond and lead to human injury, legal problems, and an overwhelmed owner possibly

giving up a dog to a shelter” (Alpi and Sherman). Owners that deliberately harm their animal

develop negative symptoms that has a detrimental impact on an animal’s behavior to the extent

that the animal may be abandoned on the streets or dropped at an animal shelter. These animals

may develop abnormal behaviors such as aggression, fear, or anxiety.

There are several abnormal behaviors an abused animal may develop with fear aggression

being one of the most common. In addition, this abnormal behavior may be one of the more

difficult behaviors to treat. The reason fear aggression may be difficult to treat is because of the

different factors that may cause the fear aggression, “...the fearful behavior may be primarily

related to specific characteristics of a person, such as unfamiliar people who are wearing or

doing something unusual” (“Fear of People”). These animals may associate certain behaviors or

actions that may be linked with the animal’s experience with pain, anxiety, or stress. These

animals may lash out because they are afraid of feeling discomfort. These animals may not be

safe for the public depending on the animal’s associations for its fear aggression because the

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characteristics that the animals link with their fear aggression may include a large amount of

people in the general public. For example, the animal may have had an owner that neglected the

animal and the owner was a man that always wore bright clothing. The animal may link its fear

aggression with bright clothing and men. As a result, animal shelters and animal rescue

organizations have to assess the animal before allowing the animal near other animals or people

in the facility.

There is a distinct difference between the functionality of animal shelters and animal

rescue groups. Animal shelters are run by the government and are required to shelter any animal

brought to the shelter. Unfortunately, animal shelters euthanize animals that are unable to be

adopted and are not moved to animal rescue groups. On the contrary, animal rescue groups are

selective in the animals they shelter, but they are usually non-profit organizations that do not

euthanize the animals they shelter. Although, just like animal rescue groups, animal shelters

“...must provide dogs with food, water, and shelter, it is also important to provide them with

social interaction, mental stimulation, and the exercise that they need” (“Enrichment”). Animal

shelters provide animals with basic care, but due to being required to accept any animal to the

shelter, the resources that they have such as housing, medication, or staff, may overwhelm the

shelter’s functionality and require animals to be euthanized. Animals that express severe

abnormal behavior are not eligible to be adopted and in some cases, these animals are put on a

list to be euthanized. Although animal shelters may be unable to help certain animals, animal

rescue groups specialize in taking animals with minor or severe complications and help these

animals be able to be put up for adoption.

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There is no definite treatment for behaviors created from abuse or neglect, but animal

rescue groups test for behavioral signs or social interactions of animals to properly diagnose

animals with problems and identify possible treatments. When animals rescue groups receive

animals that have history of abuse or neglect, they are not given information about the animal’s

traumatic experiences. Susanna Paul is a Humane Education Supervisor at Tony La Russa’s

Animal Rescue Foundation Center (A.R.F.) in Walnut Creek, CA. She explains the

complications of identifying behavioral signs in abused animals:

ARF’s animals come from public shelters around the Bay Area and neighboring

counties, in order to help relieve overcrowding and provide the animals with more

opportunity to be adopted. As a result, we often do not know the history of the animals or

how they ended up in the shelter, so we may not know for sure whether an animal has

experienced abuse or neglect. While some behavioral signs such as fear, aggression, or

sensitivity to handling may be indicators of past negative interactions with humans there

could also be other causes as well.

Since the animals that animal rescue groups receive come from animal shelters, the causes of the

behavioral changes are unknown since the animal is not initially taken by the rescue group.

Although animal rescue groups are unable to identify the causes of the negative behavioral

changes, animal rescue groups have behavioral specialists that are able to identify the behavioral

signs and social abnormalities that the animals with history of abuse are suffering from. During

this period, these animals are unable to be fostered, and must be closely monitored for any

behavioral signs that may not have been present before the evaluation. From then, animals are

given a specific treatment based on their problems and needs. Most animals begin in a room

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isolated from other animals where only specialists are able to enter. The isolation gives the

animals space from anything that may pose a threat to them. A volunteer at a local animal rescue

organization expresses her support for this process.

Sue Klingler is a volunteer at the Contra Costa Animal Humane Society Center in

Pleasant Hill, CA. She helps the organization with adoptions and care for the cats at the facility.

She explains the vital steps that need to be taken to help animals with abnormal behaviors,

“...with a cat like that, you have to give them space. You have to constantly talk to them and

socialize with them…” (Klingler). While these animals may feel uncomfortable with their

situation, the space from being isolated from other animals will, over time, allow them to feel

safe. Once aggression or other severe behavioral abnormality becomes less severe, the animal

will be placed temporarily with another animal to observe how the animal will socialize or

behave with other animals. If the animal reacts positively with the partnered animal, the animal

that was in isolation can be moved to a room with other animals. The most important key to the

animal’s treatment is patience because animals with severe negative behaviors require time to be

able to fully overcome their traumatic experiences that are causing the abrupt behaviors. Once

the animal is showing positive behaviors for a prolonged period of time, then a behavioral

specialist will analyze the animal again to confirm if the animal is able to be put up for adoption

or be able to be fostered.

Animals may develop a variety of abnormal behaviors as a response to abuse or neglect.

They may develop behaviors such as fear, aggression, anxiety, or a combination of the abnormal

behaviors. Animal shelters and animal rescue organizations will have to assess the animal and

determine what needs to be done with the animal and how to help the animal reduce its abnormal

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behaviors it has developed and allow it to be put up for adoption. The animal shelters have

various treatments they can use depending on the animal’s abnormal behaviors. Overall, the

combinations of animal shelters and animal rescue organizations allow animals to have a

successful percentage of animals being adopted or keeping the animal in a safe area. I will be

volunteering at various animal shelters and animal rescue organization to show my support for

the work these facilities do and I will help support animal care by teaching a class of students

about proper animal care. I care about animals because they deserve to have a safe and

comfortable life similar to the lives that we would want to live in.

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Works Cited

Alpi, Kristine M., and Barbara L. Sherman. "The well behaved dog." ​Library Journal​, 1 Nov.

2008, p. 38+. ​Student Resources In Context​, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/

A188898221/GPS?u=wal55317&sid=GPS&xid=9e81584b. Accessed 12 Mar. 2018.

“Animal Cruelty.” ​Animal Care Services.​ http://www.longbeach.gov/acs/pet-laws-and-licensing/

animal-cruelty/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2018.

Beaver, Bonnie V. "Animal behavior: misunderstandings between pets and pet owners."

Newsweek, 4 May 1998. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/

apps/doc/A20537780/GPS?u=wal55317&sid=GPS&xid=0a401c53. Accessed 28 Feb.

2018.

“Enrichment.” ​Center for Sheltered Dogs.​ http://centerforshelterdogs.tufts.edu/dog-welfare/

enrichment/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2018.

“Fear of People.” ​Center for Shelter Dogs.​ http://centerforshelterdogs.tufts.edu/dog-behavior/

problems-and-management/fear-of-people/. Accessed 22 April 2018.

Gullone, Eleonora. “Conceptualising Animal Abuse with an Antisocial Behaviour Framework.”

PMC.​ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4552201/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.

Klingler, Sue. Personal Interview. 22 April 2018.

Paul, Susanna. Personal Interview. 28 February 2018.

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Works Consulted

Scott, Melanie. “Animal Behaviors.” 10 April 2018, Northgate High School, Walnut Creek, CA.

Lecture.

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