Rutherford County PAWS Becomes a ‘Fear-Free’ Shelter, Advancing Lifesaving Efforts
Pet Adoption & Welfare Services (PAWS) of Rutherford County, TN is committing to being a “fear free” shelter in an effort to continue to advance methods to help save the lives of more pets, by reducing fear, stress and anxiety of pets in their care.
All PAWS shelter employees that primarily work with or around animals are now certified through the Fear Free Education Program and are actively using new skills daily. New employees as well as volunteers who seek to work with pets with advanced needs, will complete courses to become certified as they join the shelter.
“As soon as we learned about this program, we knew it was the right step to advancing our skills to create the safest and most comfortable experience for all animals, employees and volunteers,” says Director, Michael Gregory. “We jumped on it quickly and within a month and a half, all employees received their ‘fear free’ certification.”
The Fear Free Program includes courses about emotional health, recognizing how animals are feeling in the shelter, how animals learn, “fear free” animal handling and best practices for effective shelter communication. Shelter employees also completed “Intake and Admission” and “Housing and Environment” bonus courses. Many employees are already seeing the benefits to implementing the new skills.
“This program opened my eyes to the small signs that can easily be missed when identifying which pets are extremely stressed and in fear,” says Emily Burke, Animal Care Specialist. “I now focus on going slower with each pet, taking my time to try to make them more comfortable and approachable.”
Meredith Tarkington, Kennel Attendant, says, “The Fear Free Program has encouraged me to be actively observant of each pet and provide them a more comfortable journey throughout the shelter.”
Shelter employees also say that since the program, they have had better experiences handling all types of dogs and cats, especially feral and fearful kittens.
“The Fear Free Program has given me helpful tools to use when approaching and handling pets, both in the shelter and out in the field,” says Hunter Hemontolor, Animal Services Officer.
Additionally, PAWS has implemented new techniques such as placing treat buckets on doors of very fearful pets, using special signs and color systems to identify pets with fear, anxiety or stress, enhancing communication methods between the shelter team, introducing new cat condos and kennel barriers to make pets more comfortable and more.
The PAWS Vet Team is using simple items like peanut butter, spray cheese and pheromone sprays to encourage cats and dogs during activities that can cause distress, like transporting from one area to another or getting on a scale to be weighed.
PAWS is excited to put this knowledge to use, committing to continuing fear free practices at the shelter. PAWS encourages the community to join them in this initiative by considering taking the Fear Free Pet Owner courses, as well as donating items from the PAWS wish list that support the shelter’s “fear free” cause.
To learn more, visit fearfreepets.com or contact the shelter at 615-898-7740. Special updates on the steps PAWS is taking to be a “fear free” shelter, can also be found on the Rutherford County PAWS Facebook page.
