Calgary Animal Shelters at Full Capacity

Vacationing owners and the recession result in kennels being filled to capacity CALGARY, August 12, 2009 ~ A story published in today's Calgary Herald revealed that Calgary's two largest animal shelters are in crisis. The City's shelter is getting close to capacity, with 70 cats and 44 dogs waiting to be claimed by their owners or be adopted into new homes. Similarly, the Calgary Humane Society is overrun with 484 cats and 95 dogs.

"We always get a bit of a spike in our numbers in August," said Bill Bruce, The City's director of Animal & Bylaw Services. "But it's our return-to-owner statistics that really slump out on us because of [the fact that people are on] vacations. We have trouble reaching the owners to let them know their pet is here. At some point--after 10 to 14 days of trying to reach them and getting no response to our calls -- we have to act in the animal's best interests, which is not to keep it languishing in a shelter forever and it gets adopted."

"[Capacity] is usually high this time of year," said Calgary Humane Society spokeswoman Pamela Amos, noting it is kitten season so some owners are surrendering the mother cat and her entire litter. The shelter has also noticed an increasing number of owners turning over their pets due to the recession.

Local Service Providers: City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services, Calgary Humane Society

Evaluating K-9 IQ

How smart is the average dog? Smarter than you might think!

Using adapted tests designed for human children, psychologists have learned that average dogs can count, reason and recognize words and gestures on par with a human two -year-old.

"They may not be Einsteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought," said Dr. Stanley Coren, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and leading researcher on dog behavior.

The average dog can:

* Understand about 165 words, including signs, signals and gestures.

* Count to about five.

Included in the number of "words" dogs are believed to know are hand gestures, like pointing, and nonverbal sounds, like the whistles used to direct sheep dogs and retrievers.

Counting ability is tested in drills such as one in which treats are dropped, one at a time, behind a screen. When the researcher either sneaks away one of the treats or stealthily adds an extra before raising the screen, the dog will wait longer -- appearing to puzzle over the bad math -- before eating the treats.

That's the same way toddlers respond when faced with a similar switch, said Coren.

Dr. Aubrey Fine, a psychologist and faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, said research like Coren's could help dog owners better relate to their animals.

"Too often, many people look at dogs as four-legged people," said Fine, who specializes in the use of dogs in treating patients with developmental disorders and other mental-health conditions. "We need to recognize what dogs cue in to. Once you understand better how to interact, it causes a better coexistence with your pet companion."

Coren said the findings on dog intelligence showed they have more sense than some scientists may have thought, but that some in the general public may be surprised for different reasons that span a wide range of thought.