fomites. Overcrowding also increases the magnitude of many stressors in the shelter environment including noise, air contaminants and infectious agents, and compromises animal husbandry, inflating the risk for serious outbreaks of disease in the population. With too many animals to care for, shelter staffs' ability to provide proper care to animals and good customer service to the public becomes overwhelmed. In turn, this can negatively affect adoption rates since potential adopters often find an overcrowded and dirty shelter to be an overwhelming and uninviting environment, further compounding the shelter's crowding problem.
For all these reasons, shelters must limit the number of animals they house to the number for which they can provide reasonable care. A shelter's capacity for care is not simply a matter of space available for animals, but also of the shelter's ability to provide proper care to meet their physical and emotional needs. Though there is no single, simple formula available to determine the number of animals that a given facility should house, an assessment of housing capacity in relation to an organization's staffing, resources and population statistics can be used to estimate its capacity for care. At times, unexpected intake may result in temporary conditions of overcrowding, but a good wellness program dictates that protocols must be in place to alleviate overcrowding and maintain a modestly populated environment for the health and protection of the animals and staff within the organization's capacity for care. The ASV Guidelines for Standards of Care caution that “Every sheltering organization has a maximum capacity for care, and the population in their care must not exceed that level” (ASV 2010).
First and foremost, employing sound population management strategies and operating within the organization's capacity for care are crucial to prevent crowding, reduce euthanasia, and optimize positive outcomes. As a part of daily walk‐through rounds for routine animal surveillance, thoughtful consideration should always be given as to why each individual animal remains in the shelter and what could be done to optimize or hasten a successful outcome for that animal (Hurley 2004). Ideally, overcrowding is prevented or reduced by decreasing the average length of time animals remain in the shelter, combined with limiting or diverting intake. Programs to increase and speed up adoption, redemption, transfer (to rescue or foster care) as well as return to field programs for neuter‐return of community cats help to minimize euthanasia for space in open‐admission shelters and maximize intake in limited admission shelters.
In some instances, when all other options have been exhausted, euthanasia may need to be performed in consideration of the population in order to alleviate overcrowding or prevent disease outbreaks from spreading out of control. Fortunately, as managed admissions have been embraced by many municipal or public shelters, this has become increasingly less common. However, when necessary, thoughtful euthanasia decisions, though always difficult, are a crucial part of the responsibility of every shelter. Euthanasia may be necessary at times for individual animals that are suffering from irremediable physical or behavioral disease or that pose a risk to public health or safety. Once a carefully thought‐out decision is made to euthanize an animal, the procedure should be performed without delay. For example, aggressive dogs that cannot be safely rehabilitated within the resources of the organization or safely rehomed should not be held beyond their legal holding periods. Instead, they should be humanely euthanized as soon as possible to prevent undue stress and anxiety on the dog and risk for the shelter staff, public, and other animals. No matter what the underlying circumstances are surrounding the euthanasia of an animal, these decisions are always challenging. Delays in action, however, often prolong the suffering of sick or emotionally troubled animals, contribute negatively to population health and prolong the stress of individual animals in the shelter.
2.9.2.2 Segregation of Animals and Traffic Patterns
The segregation of animals entering shelters is essential for proper welfare, infectious disease control, staff safety, and compliance with animal control procedures. Different species should be housed separately from one another. Depending on a particular shelter's mission and functions, animals should be segregated into wards according to their physical, behavioral, adoption availability and legal holding status. For example, common ward designations include one or more areas for “healthy holding,” adoption, and isolation. Proper traffic patterns throughout the shelter that direct people and animals from areas housing healthy and vulnerable animals first to areas housing sick animals last are important to minimize disease transmission and maintain health. Other considerations for animal segregation include the following:
Kittens and puppies younger than four to five months are particularly susceptible to infectious disease, and extra care must be taken to limit their exposure – these holding areas should be easy to disinfect and have extra attention paid to close monitoring and appropriate biosecurity. However, biosecurity should not be emphasized to the extent that it becomes a barrier to socialization or adoption, as minimizing the LOS is particularly key to ensuring the proper social and emotional development of very young animals.
Geriatric animals require comfortable, quiet quarters with secure footing and extra careful attention to stress reduction.
Separate, quiet and low‐stress housing areas are essential for fearful and reactive cats and dogs.
A variety of separate flexible areas or wards can be used to meet the needs of those animals with special needs such as nursing mothers, neonatal orphans, animals awaiting foster care, those with non‐infectious illness, etc.
Isolation areas are used to segregate sick animals from the general population. Immediate isolation of sick animals is critical for effective disease control. Isolation should be targeted by species, age, and disease.
Quarantine areas are used to segregate animals that appear healthy for observation for signs of disease. The routine use of conventional quarantines is more detrimental than beneficial in most animal shelters, but they can be of considerable value in specific instances, for example, observing animals involved in transport programs or during disease outbreaks, A plan should be in place for establishing quarantine areas if the need arises.
Thus, a variety of holding, adoption, and isolation areas is necessary for proper segregation of the population. Please see the Introduction in Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 on Outbreak Management for more information about population management, isolation and quarantine protocols.
2.9.2.3 Sanitation (Cleaning and Disinfection)
For wellness programs to be effective, a clean and sanitary environment must be maintained. Not only does this promote animal health, but it also promotes staff pride and public support. In addition to protocols for routine sanitation procedures, protocols should be in place for periodic deep cleaning and disinfection as well as procedures to be used in the event of disease outbreaks. Care should always be taken to avoid facilitating disease transmission during the sanitation process. Chapter 8 on Sanitation and Chapter 6 on Outbreak Management provide detailed information about cleaning and sanitation practices.
2.9.2.4 Other Facility Operations
The success or failure of virtually every aspect of a wellness program depends on facility operations. The adoption of clearly defined and well‐designed management protocols, thorough training, and supervision of personnel with oversight by a knowledgeable professional are required for success. In addition to proper housing design, animal segregation, and sanitation procedures, there are several other very important aspects of facility operations to consider when designing a wellness program for the shelter environment.
Animal health can be compromised by inadequate ventilation or by ill‐considered air pressure gradients that recirculate or cause the exchange of air between rooms. Poor ventilation and high humidity contribute to disease by promoting the accumulation of infectious agents as well as dust and fumes that may be irritating to the respiratory tract.