A prospective study of mental wellbeing, quality of life, human-animal attachment, and grief among foster caregivers at animal shelters.

Foster care programs at animal shelters have emerged as an important tool for promoting animal welfare and supporting shelter life-saving efforts. Preliminary evidence suggests that foster caregiving may also be health-promoting for humans. The goals of this study were to investigate the experiences of foster caregivers at animal shelters based on measures of positive and negative affect, quality of life, and grief, and to describe human-animal attachment among foster populations. Between March 2022 and 2023, 131 foster caregivers from five shelters in the United States completed three online surveys before, during and after providing foster care to a shelter animal. Positive affect decreased significantly from baseline to post-foster (F = 5.71, p<0.01), particularly among dog caregivers (F = 6.17, p<0.01). Negative affect remained unchanged (F = 0.47, p = 0.63). Foster caregivers perceived their foster animal provided companionship, affection and emotional support, although dog foster caregivers reported significantly higher emotional (U = 313.50, p<0.01) and social/physical quality of life (t = 4.42, p<0.01) than cat foster caregivers. Caregivers reported low mean avoidant and anxious attachment, suggesting they were able to develop secure bonds with their foster animals. Retention of fosters was also strong, with 86% of caregivers reporting they were likely to provide foster care in the future. Our findings suggest that fostering at animal shelters may serve as a One Health intervention to offer companionship, affection and emotional support to human caregivers while promoting animal welfare. However, these benefits did not translate to improvements in caregiver mental wellbeing, so caution should be applied when considering foster caregiving as a potential mental health promotion tool.

An artificial intelligence approach to predicting personality types in dogs.

Canine personality and behavioural characteristics have a significant influence on relationships between domestic dogs and humans as well as determining the suitability of dogs for specific working roles. As a result, many researchers have attempted to develop reliable personality assessment tools for dogs. Most previous work has analysed dogs' behavioural patterns collected via questionnaires using traditional statistical analytic approaches. Artificial Intelligence has been widely and successfully used for predicting human personality types. However, similar approaches have not been applied to data on canine personality. In this research, machine learning techniques were applied to the classification of canine personality types using behavioural data derived from the C-BARQ project. As the dataset was not labelled, in the first step, an unsupervised learning approach was adopted and K-Means algorithm was used to perform clustering and labelling of the data. Five distinct categories of dogs emerged from the K-Means clustering analysis of behavioural data, corresponding to five different personality types. Feature importance analysis was then conducted to identify the relative importance of each behavioural variable's contribution to each cluster and descriptive labels were generated for each of the personality traits based on these associations. The five personality types identified in this paper were labelled: "Excitable/Hyperattached", "Anxious/Fearful", "Aloof/Predatory", "Reactive/Assertive", and "Calm/Agreeable". Four machine learning models including Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Naïve Bayes, and Decision Tree were implemented to predict the personality traits of dogs based on the labelled data. The performance of the models was evaluated using fivefold cross validation method and the results demonstrated that the Decision Tree model provided the best performance with a substantial accuracy of 99%. The novel AI-based methodology in this research may be useful in the future to enhance the selection and training of dogs for specific working and non-working roles.

Understanding the Motivations of Foster Caregivers at Animal Shelters.

Foster care programs in animal shelters have been shown to benefit animals and shelters, but little is known about what motivates foster caregivers to volunteer. This cross-sectional study explored the motivations and expectations of 131 foster caregivers from five shelters within the United States who completed a pre-foster survey between March 2022 and March 2023. The most common motivations were animal- or community-based, such as the desire to provide an animal with love or do something positive for the community. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between caregivers' motivations and their prior foster experience, pet ownership history, age, gender, and foster animal species. The 18- to 29-year-old caregivers were most likely to expect companionship (OR 5.18, 95% CI 1.79-15.04), emotional support (OR 4.25, 95% CI 1.40-12.89), and to meet other community members through fostering (OR 5.04, 95% CI 1.85-13.74). Male caregivers were less likely to foster for emotional support than females (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.03-0.48), while dog caregivers (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.04-4.76) and non-pet-owners (OR 2.66, 95% CI 1.17-6.05) had greater odds of expecting companionship. This study highlights the importance of animal- and community-related benefits for foster caregivers and provides useful direction for shelters wanting to increase recruitment to expand their foster care programs.

Machine learning prediction and classification of behavioral selection in a canine olfactory detection program.

There is growing interest in canine behavioral research specifically for working dogs. Here we take advantage of a dataset of a Transportation Safety Administration olfactory detection cohort of 628 Labrador Retrievers to perform Machine Learning (ML) prediction and classification studies of behavioral traits and environmental effects. Data were available for four time points over a 12 month foster period after which dogs were accepted into a training program or eliminated. Three supervised ML algorithms had robust performance in correctly predicting which dogs would be accepted into the training program, but poor performance in distinguishing those that were eliminated (~ 25% of the cohort). The 12 month testing time point yielded the best ability to distinguish accepted and eliminated dogs (AUC = 0.68). Classification studies using Principal Components Analysis and Recursive Feature Elimination using Cross-Validation revealed the importance of olfaction and possession-related traits for an airport terminal search and retrieve test, and possession, confidence, and initiative traits for an environmental test. Our findings suggest which tests, environments, behavioral traits, and time course are most important for olfactory detection dog selection. We discuss how this approach can guide further research that encompasses cognitive and emotional, and social and environmental effects.

Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation.

The aim of this study is to develop an Italian translation of the 100-item Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) version and to validate its psychometric properties, in order to facilitate systematic, large-scale studies on dog behavior for Italian-speaking dog owners. A total number of 803 responses by dog owners were collected online. Using the Principal Axis Method and Common Factor Analysis with Quartimin oblique rotation (p < 0.05), a factorial structure was found including 13 factors composed of 62 items and explaining 53.5% of the total variance. Eight factors showed high reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.70), namely: stranger-directed aggression/fear, dog-directed fear, owner-directed aggression, separation-related behavior, chasing, dog-directed aggression, attachment/attention seeking, and elimination problems. Three factors were slightly under the threshold and two had only modest reliability (non-social fear, energy level, touch sensitivity, excitability and trainability). A potential explanation for factors with low reliability is that the composing items do not describe behaviors resulting from homogeneous stimuli or situations. Although our factorial structure resembled in most respects that of the most recently published Canadian version, some important exceptions are present regarding dog rivalry, intraspecific aggression, fear/aggression towards strangers, touch sensitivity and chewing inappropriate objects. Such differences may be due to demographic and/or cultural differences between the sampled populations. Overall, the results suggest that a 62-item Italian C-BARQ can be reliably used in studies on dog behavior.

Management and behavioral factors associated with rehoming outcomes of dogs retired from commercial breeding kennels.

Rehoming is a potentially stressful process for dogs retired from commercial breeding (CB) kennels, as they may struggle to cope with the myriad novel factors associated with transitioning to a home environment. Failure to adapt may increase the risk of an unsuccessful adoption, jeopardizing dog welfare and the benefits of rehoming programs. Little is known about relationships between welfare in the kennel of origin and a dog's ability to transition to a family home. This study aimed at investigating the welfare states of dogs retiring from CB kennels in relation to varying management practices across kennels, and understanding how behavioral and management factors might be associated with rehoming outcomes. A total of 590 adult dogs from 30 US CB kennels were included in the study. Dog behavioral and physical health metrics were collected through direct observation, while management information was obtained through a questionnaire. One month after adoption, 32 dog owners completed a follow-up questionnaire (CBARQ). A principal component analysis extracted four behavioral components (PCs) which included food interest, sociability, boldness, and responsiveness. Factors such as sex, housing, breed, and the number of dogs per caretaker were reported as significant sources of variation for some of those PC scores (p<0.05). For instance, lower dog to caretaker ratio was linked to better health, sociability, and food interest scores. Significant relationships were also found between in-kennel PC scores and CBARQ scores (p<0.05). Most interestingly, higher levels of sociability in the kennel were associated with lower levels of social and non-social fear, and higher trainability after rehoming. Overall, dogs were found to be physically healthy, and a moderate proportion showed fearful responses toward either social or non-social stimuli. Results suggest that a comprehensive behavioral assessment of rehoming candidates while in the kennel may help identify dogs that may have more difficulty coping during rehoming. The implications for developing management strategies and necessary interventions that support positive dog welfare outcomes within the kennel and when rehomed are discussed.

A Survey of Veterinary Student and Veterinarian Perceptions of Shelter Medicine Employment.

Shelter medicine appears to be popular among prospective veterinarians, but there is a shortage of veterinarians entering the field to fill available positions. The reasons for this discordance are not well understand. This study describes veterinary students' interest in shelter medicine, their perceptions of common duties, and their perceptions of employment attributes in shelter medicine, compared with those of current veterinarians. The sample included 146 first-year students, 155 final-year students, and 221 veterinarians who self-completed an online survey between September 2020 and March 2021. We found high levels of interest in shelter medicine, with 40% of first- and 43% of final-year students indicating they were likely to consider working in shelter medicine. Outreach clinics (84% of first-year students, 86% of final-year students), access-to-care clinics (82%, 83%), and loan forgiveness programs (75%, 64%) encouraged many veterinary students to consider working in shelter medicine. The risk of compassion fatigue, burnout, and stress (70%, 68%); weekend work (51%, 59%); euthanasia decision making (49%, 47%); euthanasia (43%, 41%); and expected salaries of shelter veterinarians (39%, 37%) acted as deterrents. Kruskal-Wallis H tests revealed students reported more positive ratings than veterinarians for most shelter medicine duties and employment characteristics, with moderate to strong consensus within groups. Little difference appeared between first- and final-year students. This study highlights target areas for animal shelters to boost recruitment of newly graduated veterinarians. Increasing veterinary students' exposure to shelter medicine throughout their veterinary training may also help address their concerns regarding euthanasia, salary, and quality of care.

Domestic dog lineages reveal genetic drivers of behavioral diversification.

Selective breeding of domestic dogs has generated diverse breeds often optimized for performing specialized tasks. Despite the heritability of breed-typical behavioral traits, identification of causal loci has proven challenging due to the complexity of canine population structure. We overcome longstanding difficulties in identifying genetic drivers of canine behavior by developing a framework for understanding relationships between breeds and the behaviors that define them, utilizing genetic data for over 4,000 domestic, semi-feral, and wild canids and behavioral survey data for over 46,000 dogs. We identify ten major canine genetic lineages and their behavioral correlates and show that breed diversification is predominantly driven by non-coding regulatory variation. We determine that lineage-associated genes converge in neurodevelopmental co-expression networks, identifying a sheepdog-associated enrichment for interrelated axon guidance functions. This work presents a scaffold for canine diversification that positions the domestic dog as an unparalleled system for revealing the genetic origins of behavioral diversity.

Latent class analysis of behavior across dog breeds reveal underlying temperament profiles.

Latent class analysis (LCA) is a type of modeling analysis approach that has been used to identify unobserved groups or subgroups within multivariate categorical data. LCA has been used for a wide array of psychological evaluations in humans, including the identification of depression subtypes or PTSD comorbidity patterns. However, it has never been used for the assessment of animal behavior. Our objective here is to identify behavioral profile-types of dogs using LCA. The LCA was performed on a C-BARQ behavioral questionnaire dataset from 57,454 participants representing over 350 pure breeds and mixed breed dogs. Two, three, and four class LCA models were developed using C-BARQ trait scores and environmental covariates. In our study, LCA is shown as an effective and flexible tool to classify behavioral assessments. By evaluating the traits that carry the strongest relevance, it was possible to define the basis of these grouping differences. Groupings can be ranked and used as levels for simplified comparisons of complex constructs, such as temperament, that could be further exploited in downstream applications such as genomic association analyses. We propose this approach will facilitate dissection of physiological and environmental factors associated with psychopathology in dogs, humans, and mammals in general.

Genome scanning of behavioral selection in a canine olfactory detection breeding cohort.

Research on working dogs is growing rapidly due to increasing global demand. Here we report genome scanning of the risk of puppies being eliminated for behavioral reasons prior to entering the training phase of the US Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) canine olfactory detection breeding and training program through 2013. Elimination of dogs for behavioral rather than medical reasons was based on evaluations at three, six, nine and twelve months after birth. Throughout that period, the fostered dogs underwent standardized behavioral tests at TSA facilities, and, for a subset of tests, dogs were tested in four different environments. Using methods developed for family studies, we performed a case-control genome wide association study (GWAS) of elimination due to behavioral observation and testing results in a cohort of 528 Labrador Retrievers (2002-2013). We accounted for relatedness by including the pedigree as a covariate and maximized power by including individuals with phenotype, but not genotype, data (approximately half of this cohort). We determined genome wide significance based on Bonferroni adjustment of two quasi-likelihood score tests optimized for either small or nearly-fully penetrant effect sizes. Six loci were significant and five suggestive, with approximately equal numbers of loci for the two tests and frequencies of loci with single versus multiple mapped markers. Several loci implicate a single gene, including CHD2, NRG3 and PDE1A which have strong relevance to behavior in humans and other species. We briefly discuss how expanded studies of canine breeding programs could advance understanding of learning and performance in the mammalian life course. Although human interactions and other environmental conditions will remain critical, our findings suggest genomic breeding selection could help improve working dog populations.

The Long-Term Influence of Puppy Acquisition on Physical Activity: Results of a 3-Year, Longitudinal, Pilot Study.

Dog ownership has been associated with increased levels of physical activity (PA), including increases in total PA and walking time in some but not in all studies. These earlier studies did not consider puppy acquisition, in particular, and were limited to a maximum of 10 months duration. The purpose of the current pilot study was, therefore, to analyze long-term changes in participants' PA behavior after puppy acquisition. Participants who acquired a puppy from one of nine preselected breeds differing in size and energy level were included. PA was assessed at baseline and 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after puppy acquisition using an online questionnaire. Participants, who were initially included, did not differ in their PA at baseline (n = 38). In the group that completed the trial (n = 11) total PA, leisure time walking, total dog-related PA, and total dog walking increased within the first two years and decreased while remaining above baseline values during the last year, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-dog-related PA did not change over time. We conclude that the acquisition of a puppy increases PA and thus, could have a long-lasting positive effect on physical health.

Associations Between Atopic Dermatitis and Anxiety, Aggression, and Fear-Based Behaviors in Dogs.

The goal of this study was to determine if anxiety, aggression, and fear-related behaviors are more common in pruritic dogs with atopic dermatitis than nonpruritic, healthy dogs. One hundred forty-one pruritic dogs >1 yr of age with a clinical diagnosis of atopic dermatitis and a >3 mo history of pruritus were recruited. Dog owners completed a behavioral survey (canine behavioral assessment and research questionnaire) and a pruritus scale (pruritus visual analog scale). Pruritic, atopic dogs showed significant increases in fear- and anxiety-related behaviors as well as aggression compared with a large control group of healthy dogs. Stranger-directed aggression, owner-directed aggression, familiar-dog aggression, dog-directed fear, nonsocial fear, touch sensitivity, excitability, and attention-seeking behaviors were all increased in the study group. Trainability was decreased in the study group. Chronically pruritic dogs experience fear and anxiety and are more likely to display aggression. This is an important welfare issue for these animals. Early recognition of the behavioral derangements that can be associated with chronic pruritic skin disease could allow early intervention with a multidisciplinary approach for these patients, thus improving patient and owner quality of life and long-term treatment outcomes.

Impact of Dog's Age and Breed on Dog Owner's Physical Activity: A German Longitudinal Study.

Dog ownership contributes positively to physical activity (PA). The impact of different dog breeds and age on PA is less investigated in longitudinal studies. This study aimed to evaluate PA changes in dog owners as their dogs' ages increased and to explore whether there are differences in PA between owners of different breeds over a three-year period. Owners of different dog breeds were categorized into nine groups according to the perceived energy level and size of the breed. PA was monitored using an online questionnaire for three consecutive years. Linear mixed models (LMM) showed a small, but significant decrease in total PA, leisure time walking, dog-related PA and dog walking over three years. No decreases were found if only participants who attended at all time points were included. In all LMM analyses, a significant relationship between the dog breed and the outcomes of PA were shown. At baseline, dog owners performed different types of activities depending on their dog breed. In conclusion, owners of different dog breeds differ in their types of PA. The study emphasizes that age, size and energy level of the dog does not per se have an impact on dog owners PA.

Returning a Shelter Dog: The Role of Owner Expectations and Dog Behavior.

Millions of animals are adopted from animal shelters in the United States each year, although some are returned post-adoption, which can decrease both the animals' chances of future adoptions and the owners' willingness to adopt again. In this study, we investigated the impact of adopter expectations for ownership and animal behavioral problems on post-adoptive dog returns at a large animal shelter in South Carolina. Between June-September 2021, 132 dog adopters completed a survey about their expectations for ownership through Qualtrics. Twenty-nine adopters returned their dogs to the shelter within three months of adoption, with a median length of ownership of eight days. Owners completed follow-up questionnaires about their perceptions of adoption and dog behavior at two days, two weeks, and four months post-adoption. Categorical principal component analysis revealed three factors pertaining to adopters' expectations for ownership. Independent t-tests showed returning owners had significantly higher expectations for dog behavior and health (t = -2.32, p = 0.02) and the human-dog bond compared with non-returning owners (t = -2.36, p = 0.02). Expectations for ownership responsibilities did not differ between the groups. Two-thirds of adopters experienced dog behavioral problems post-adoption, although training difficulty decreased significantly between two days and four months (F = 5.22, p = 0.01) and nonsocial fear decreased between two weeks and four months post-adoption (X2 = 10.17, p = 0.01). Shelters may benefit from utilizing adoption counselling to ensure adopters understand the potential for dog behavioral problems in the early stages of ownership and develop appropriate expectations for the human-dog relationship. Post-adoption behavioral support may also help some owners to overcome behavioral difficulties as their dogs adapt to the new environment.

The Importance of Evaluating Positive Welfare Characteristics and Temperament in Working Therapy Dogs.

To date, investigations of the welfare of therapy dogs have focused largely on examining physiological and behavioral measures that could indicate if the animal is experiencing stress or distress. However, this approach does not fully address the definition of welfare which is often described as existing on a continuum from negative (or stressful) to positive. With therapy dogs, it would be worth addressing if they experience positive emotional affect while working since the quality and efficacy of animal-assisted interventions for the human recipient is likely to be influenced by the animal's emotional state during the interaction. The purpose of this review is to articulate how objective measurements of the HPA axis and measurements of behavioral observations and standardized questions can be used to evaluate positive welfare in therapy dogs. A potentially relevant indicator of positive welfare is the peripheral concentration of the neurohormone oxytocin, which has been found to increase in systemic circulation within a variety of species during positive social and affiliative contexts, including during human-dog interaction. Oxytocin is also a negative-feedback regulator of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, which culminates with the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is widely used as a physiological indicator to assess negative welfare states in animals, including therapy dogs. Observable behavior during interactions with humans that may convey enjoyment could provide indicators of positive welfare in dogs such as engagement in play, or human-directed affiliative behaviors including leaning against, nudging, or licking the patient. However, in assessing positive welfare, it is also critical to consider that all animal behavioral displays and physiological responses are dependent on the dog's individual (and breed) temperament. Temperament directly drives how the animal copes and responds to its current physical and social environment, including during stressful situations such as when therapy dogs interact with unfamiliar humans in novel healthcare settings. Coupled with both positive and negative physiological and behavioral welfare indicators, questionnaire data can provide further context to, and enhance interpretations of, therapy dog welfare assessment results. Overall, to date, no studies have measured all of these factors to assess therapy dog welfare.

Genetic testing of dogs predicts problem behaviors in clinical and nonclinical samples.

BACKGROUND: Very little is known about the etiology of personality and psychiatric disorders. Because the core neurobiology of many such traits is evolutionarily conserved, dogs present a powerful model. We previously reported genome scans of breed averages of ten traits related to fear, anxiety, aggression and social behavior in multiple cohorts of pedigree dogs. As a second phase of that discovery, here we tested the ability of markers at 13 of those loci to predict canine behavior in a community sample of 397 pedigree and mixed-breed dogs with individual-level genotype and phenotype data. RESULTS: We found support for all markers and loci. By including 122 dogs with veterinary behavioral diagnoses in our cohort, we were able to identify eight loci associated with those diagnoses. Logistic regression models showed subsets of those loci could predict behavioral diagnoses. We corroborated our previous findings that small body size is associated with many problem behaviors and large body size is associated with increased trainability. Children in the home were associated with anxiety traits; illness and other animals in the home with coprophagia; working-dog status with increased energy and separation-related problems; and competitive dogs with increased aggression directed at familiar dogs, but reduced fear directed at humans and unfamiliar dogs. Compared to other dogs, Pit Bull-type dogs were not defined by a set of our markers and were not more aggressive; but they were strongly associated with pulling on the leash. Using severity-threshold models, Pit Bull-type dogs showed reduced risk of owner-directed aggression (75th quantile) and increased risk of dog-directed fear (95th quantile). CONCLUSIONS: Our association analysis in a community sample of pedigree and mixed-breed dogs supports the interbreed mapping. The modeling shows some markers are predictive of behavioral diagnoses. Our findings have broad utility, including for clinical and breeding purposes, but we caution that thorough understanding is necessary for their interpretation and use.

The impact of returning a pet to the shelter on future animal adoptions.

Unsuccessful animal adoptions are stressful for many owners and may reduce their willingness to adopt again. The goal of this study was to determine the proportion of return owners who adopted post-return and investigate return characteristics that affected the likelihood of post-return adoption. We analyzed adoption records from a South Carolina animal shelter between 2015 and 2019 (n = 1999) using a logistic regression model including post-return adoption (binary) and return reason, species, animal sex and age. We found one in 10 individuals adopted from the shelter within 12 months of return, and post-return adoption was associated with return reason and species. Returns due to owner-related reasons, such as the owner's health (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.07, 0.57) or unrealistic expectations (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.19, 0.94) were associated with significantly lower odds of post-return adoption. Owners who returned due to the animal's health exhibited four times greater odds of post-return adoption compared with behavioral returns (OR 4.20, 95% CI 2.37, 7.45). Our findings highlight the value of ensuring adopters' expectations are aligned with the reality of ownership and minimizing adopter-animal behavioral incompatibility as unsuccessful animal adoptions can reduce the owner's willingness to adopt again and may affect the adopter's relationship with the shelter.

Relinquishing Owners Underestimate Their Dog's Behavioral Problems: Deception or Lack of Knowledge?

Undesirable behavior is a leading cause of canine relinquishment. Relinquishing owners could provide valuable information about their dog's behavior, although the reliability of their reports has been questioned by the sheltering community. This study aimed to investigate (a) whether relinquishing owners' reports of dog behavior differed based on the behavioral screening method; (b) whether relinquishing owners' reports were impacted by the confidentiality of their responses; and (c) whether relinquishing and non-relinquishing owners perceived the behavior of their dogs differently. The sample included 427 relinquished dogs from three animal shelters and 427 pet dogs, matched for sex and breed. Owners responded to a direct question about whether they were experiencing problems with their dog's behavior and completed the mini C-BARQ which includes 42 questions about the frequency and severity of specific canine behaviors in various circumstances. More than two-thirds (69.3%) of relinquishing owners indicated they were not experiencing problems with their dog's behavior when asked directly, compared with only 34.5% of pet owners. Yet, relinquished dogs had significantly higher (less desirable) scores than pet dogs across most C-BARQ scales. The disparity between C-BARQ scores and the single, direct question does not appear to be the result of deliberately biased reporting by relinquishing owners as the perceived confidentiality (or lack thereof) did not affect their responses (X 2 = 1.44, p = 0.97). It is possible that relinquishing owners had less understanding of dog behavior and did not recognize behavior problems as a problem. Our findings support the use of standardized behavioral questionnaires, such as the mini C-BARQ, to collect behavioral information from owners at the time of relinquishment and highlight opportunities for animal shelters to reduce relinquishment by assisting owners to recognize and manage behavioral problems.

Workplace Relations and Opportunities for Career Development Impact the Retention of Veterinarians in Shelter Medicine.

Shelter medicine has grown considerably over recent years with many shelters hiring veterinarians for the first time or expanding their veterinary teams. As a result, there is a dearth of shelter veterinarians and retention has become a key concern for the field. The goal of this study was to describe veterinarians' perceptions of shelter medicine, and their feelings of job satisfaction, loneliness, and professional fulfillment. The sample included 52 shelter veterinarians, 39 previous shelter veterinarians and 130 non-shelter veterinarians (n = 221) who each completed an online survey. Current and previous shelter veterinarians had comparable perceptions regarding the appeal of most shelter medicine duties, although there were differences in the duties they performed within their job. More current shelter veterinarians participated in population management, policy development, administrative duties, and decision-making for individual patients (euthanasia, treatment, and adoptability). Considering other employment attributes, we found previous shelter veterinarians had lower mean rankings than current and non-shelter veterinarians regarding their interactions with administrative staff, ability to be part of a multiple veterinarian team and the availability of mentorship. Loneliness and professional fulfillment were mostly comparable between the groups, although previous shelter veterinarians were more likely to report they felt unhappy (X 2 = 16.60, p = 0.02) and left out at work (X 2 = 12.43, p = 0.02). Our findings suggest veterinarians who participate in decision-making for patients and shelter management procedures may be more willing to continue working in shelter medicine. Animal shelters should also employ strategies to improve workplace relationships and offer career development opportunities to improve job satisfaction and retention of veterinarians within the field.

Commensalism or Cross-Species Adoption? A Critical Review of Theories of Wolf Domestication.

The work of archaeozoologists and molecular geneticists suggests that the domestication of the wolf (Canis lupus)-the ancestor of the domestic dog (C. familiaris)-probably occurred somewhere between 40,000 and 15,000 years ago somewhere on the Eurasian continent, perhaps in more than one location. Wolf domestication was therefore underway many millennia before the origins of agriculture and the domestication of food animals, such as sheep and goats. Currently, there are two predominant "origin stories" concerning the domestication of the wolf. The dominant narrative in recent literature is the commensal scavenger hypothesis which posits that wolves essentially domesticated themselves by invading ancient human settlements in search of animal remains and other edible waste discarded by hunter-gatherers. Over time, tolerance by humans gave a selective advantage to the bolder, less fearful wolves, which then diverged from the ancestral population as they adapted to the new scavenging niche. At some point in the process, humans also began to recognize the benefits of living with resident, semi-domestic wolves, either as guards or as hunting partners, thereby cementing the relationship. The alternative account of wolf domestication is very different. Sometimes known as the pet keeping or cross-species adoption hypothesis, this narrative draws heavily on anthropological observations of pet keeping among recent hunter-gatherers, and postulates that Paleolithic peoples were similarly inclined to capture, adopt and rear infant mammals, such as wolf pups, and that this habitual human nurturing behavior ultimately provided the basis for the evolution of a cooperative social system involving both species. This review critically examines and analyzes these two distinct domestication narratives and explores the underlying and sometimes erroneous assumptions they make about wolves, Pleistocene humans, and the original relationships that existed between the two species. The paper concludes that the commensal scavenger hypothesis is untenable based on what is known about recent and ancient hunter-gatherer societies, and that wolf domestication was predicated on the establishment of cooperative social relations between humans and wolves based on the early socialization of wolf pups.