Tag: Melanie Rushforth

April 10 is National Hug Your Dog Day!

By: Melanie Rushforth, Vice President, Veterinary Services SPCA Serving Erie County

Some clever dog lover has deemed April 10th to be National Hug Your Dog Day. In case you needed a reason to hug your dog (besides the obvious), we have come up with several!

In both humans and dogs, oxytocin is released when you hug your dog. Oxytocin is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone,” because levels of oxytocin increase during hugging. Oxytocin also has social functions. It impacts bonding behavior, the creation of group memories, social recognition, and other social functions. Basically, hugging your dog is way better than any prescription!

Hugging your dog also gives both of you a sense of unconditional love and connection. Unconditional love, simply put, is love without strings attached. It’s love you offer freely. You don’t base it on what someone does for you in return. You simply love them and want nothing more than their happiness.  I think that sounds just like a dog.

Hugging your dog calms and relieves stress no matter how bad of a day you had. Stress and anxiety are common experiences for most people. In fact, more than 50% of adults in the United States say they feel stress or anxiety daily. Adopting a dog (and hugging that dog…once the dog is properly introduced to a new environment) could certainly help lower that number!

The many health benefits of companionship are priceless. Dogs can decrease our stress, help relieve our anxiety, and can aid in the treatment of depression. They keep us active, lower our blood pressure, and make us feel safe. I can’t think of any one thing, other than a dog, that can do all of that. That alone deserves a hug.

Do you hug your dog?

The SPCA’s Lipsey Veterinary Clinic offers veterinary services for cats and dogs! To see all available services, please visit LipseyClinic.com. To make an appointment, please call 716-531-4700.

Have a Heart and Get Ahead of Heartworm! 

By: Melanie Rushforth, Vice President, Veterinary Services SPCA Serving Erie County

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets in the United States and many other parts of the world. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body. Sounds awful, right? There are preventive measures that all pet owners should be aware of. Read on!

Heartworm disease is far more prevalent in dogs, since the dog is a natural host for heartworms, which means that heartworms that live inside the dog mature into adults, mate, and produce offspring. If untreated, their numbers can increase, and dogs have been known to harbor several hundred worms in their bodies. Heartworm disease causes lasting damage to the heart, lungs, and arteries, and can affect the dog’s health and quality of life long after the parasites are gone. For this reason, prevention is by far the best option, and treatment—when needed—should be administered as early in the course of the disease as possible.

The mosquito plays the main role in the heartworm life cycle. Adult female heartworms living in an infected dog, fox, coyote, or wolf produce microscopic baby worms called microfilaria that circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites and takes a blood meal from an infected animal, it picks up these baby worms, which develop and mature into “infective stage” larvae over a period of 10 to 14 days. Then, when the infected mosquito bites another dog, cat, or susceptible wild animal, the infective larvae are deposited onto the surface of the animal’s skin and enter the new host through the mosquito’s bite wound. Once inside a new host, it takes approximately six months for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. Once mature, heartworms can live for five to seven years in dogs and up to two to three years in cats. Because of the longevity of these worms, each mosquito season can lead to an increasing number of worms in an infected pet. For something as small as a mosquito, those little insects can really wreak havoc.

In the early stages of the disease, most dogs show few symptoms or no symptoms at all, which is why it is particularly important to take preventative precautions. The longer the infection persists, the more likely symptoms will develop. Active dogs, dogs heavily infected with heartworms, or those with other health problems often show pronounced clinical signs which may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss. As heartworm disease progresses, pets may develop heart failure and the appearance of a swollen belly due to excess fluid in the abdomen. Dogs with large numbers of heartworms can develop a sudden blockages of blood flow within the heart leading to a life-threatening form of cardiovascular collapse. This is called caval syndrome and is marked by a sudden onset of labored breathing, pale gums, and dark bloody or coffee-colored urine. Without prompt surgical removal of the heartworm blockage, few dogs survive.

The American Heartworm Society recommends that you “think 12:” (1) get your pet tested every 12 months for heartworm and (2) give your pet heartworm preventative 12 months a year. Some states do have a higher disease risk than others, but heartworm has been reported in all 50 U.S. states and dogs and some cats did test positive for heartworm disease in New York State last year. The mosquito population is determined by climate, mosquito species, and local wildlife. As more animals travel nationally and internationally, the risk of heartworm disease is increasing in each state.

Heartworm disease is easily preventable. There are several excellent products that when given monthly year-round prevent and control common intestinal parasites as well as heartworm disease. If your dog is not currently on heartworm prevention, please contact your veterinarian immediately to establish a preventative treatment schedule or contact the Lipsey Clinic!

The SPCA’s Lipsey Veterinary Clinic offers veterinary services for cats and dogs! To see all available services, please visit LipseyClinic.com. To make an appointment, please call 716-531-4700.

   

The Synergy of Animal Welfare

By: Melanie Rushforth, Vice President, Veterinary Services SPCA Serving Erie County

“Synergy – the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously.” – Mark Twain

Last week, the SPCA Serving Erie County adopted out a perfectly handsome and charming orange kitty named Nugget. Aside from his dashing looks and social personality (can you tell the author has a thing for these orange guys?!), Nugget’s adoption was the culmination of efforts across county lines, with the goal of serving animals in need, strengthening relationships, and building bonds to help pets live long and healthy lives in life-long happy homes.

Like any other business, nonprofit organizations like the SPCA Serving Erie County and other animal welfare organizations spend strategic time thinking about how to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. How are we as individual organizations meeting the needs of our community? How are we adapting to the changing societal climate? What makes what we do unique and worthy of support? And of course, how can we be better?

Inward thinking is critical in developing impactful marketing and fundraising solicitations. However, when our shared goal is making real, lasting change, it is just as important to look outside of each individual organization. Animal welfare is looking more and more like a social justice movement, and we are gradually getting better and more intentional about honoring the role of the humans in all this work.

As much as we’d like to think any of our individual nonprofit organizations are uniquely equipped to change the world, we can’t always do it on our own. If we’re to have a true and lasting impact on our missions, regardless of our intended audiences, partnerships are an essential part of our existence. It takes everybody rowing in the same direction, tackling resource deserts and inequity hand-in-hand, and focusing more on reaching our common goals than on who gets credit for the effort.

The challenge for many nonprofits is not just admitting this reality but learning how to find those essential partners. Perhaps even more important, though, is identifying partners who are the right fit for both organizations and our beneficiaries. The bigger the goal, the greater the challenge and the more resources required to reach it. No one organization can single-handedly tackle these challenges alone and be successful.

Neighboring Wyoming County is home to the Wyoming County SPCA, a much smaller animal welfare organization than the SPCA Serving Erie County in size, but certainly not in heart. While the SPCA Serving Erie County has nearly 100 employees and more than 1,000 volunteers (not yet all reactivated due to COVID), Wyoming County SPCA has one employee and far fewer volunteers. They’re served the community with love and compassion since 1905, and access medical care and treatment for every animal in their care with the intent of placing a healthy, fully vetted pet in his or her forever home.  It’s with an intentional collaborative relationship that the SPCA Serving Erie County got to meet and help Nugget and Abbey in their journeys to their forever homes. (Even though Abbey is a fantastic cat, I’m going to tell you Nugget’s story.)

Nugget had been in the care of Wyoming County SPCA for several months. He had an incredibly comfortable room, with a window seat and a sunny view to the outdoors. He received love, attention, and all the wet food his adorable orange heart desired. He had pretty severe medical needs and would not be eligible for adoption before those were addressed. Wyoming County SPCA does not have an in-house veterinary team (not terribly uncommon) and relied on a local veterinary hospital to help with the shelter population when needs arose. This is a perfectly normal arrangement for many rural shelters throughout the country. The board of directors at Wyoming County SPCA is very hands-on, and while satisfied with what they could provide to their community, knew they would like to do more, and were open to the idea of doing what they were doing better, all in an effort to provide the safest and most compassionate service to pets in need.

Wyoming County SPCA reached out to the SPCA Serving Erie County and arranged for a visit to the shelter in late 2020. The ideas began brewing, and each organization looked forward to future conversations and the endless opportunities ahead to collaborate on how to place healthy pets in loving homes. COVID created new challenges with access to veterinary care, especially in areas that were already limited. SPCA Serving Erie County wanted to help.

Nugget’s initial veterinary exam indicated that he had some serious dental concerns, and that he also had an unidentified mass in his mouth that was causing severe swelling and discomfort. Dental procedures are costly in a best-case scenario; and Nugget had several concerns that would require specialized care and attention. The SPCA Serving Erie County was able to coordinate a transfer from Wyoming County to Erie County so we could treat Nugget and monitor his extensive recovery in our in-house ICU. Nugget recovered beautifully, and the biopsy of his mass came back benign. Nugget was even more charming once he felt better, and we couldn’t have imagined that was even possible.

The cost of Nugget’s treatment and care was nearly $1,600, and this cost isn’t always as feasible for smaller organizations, especially as funding has been impacted heavily because of the effects of the pandemic. This effort on the part of the SPCA Serving Erie County, and the trust of the Wyoming County SPCA resulted in a healthy Nugget finding a perfectly loving owner shortly after being released from medical hold! Nugget didn’t know he was part of a larger effort, and neither did his adopter.

The result of any collaborative partnership is that ideally both organizations are stronger. The alliance effectively secures a sustainable future for both organizations and tangibly demonstrates trust, collaboration, and a unified message to the greater community. We look forward to more opportunities to help more pets in need and couldn’t do this work without the trust and backing of our supporters.

DOMESTIC MALE RATS ADDED TO NEUTER LIST AT SPCA SERVING ERIE COUNTY

August 24, 2020
By: SPCA Shelter Veterinarian Dr. Allison Kean; Vice President of Veterinary Services Melanie Rushforth; Director of Behavior and Research Miranda K. Workman 

The SPCA Serving Erie County is now neutering male rats prior to adoption. Neutering male rats can have several benefits that result in improved welfare for the rats, their cagemates, and their humans.

Males can be neutered as early as eight to 12 weeks of age. A neuter is a less- risky procedure than a spay (ovariohysterectomy) for females, which is why the SPCA is limiting sterilization surgeries to males.

Benefits of neutering male rats include the following:

-The risk for testicular cancer is eliminated after neutering. Reproductive cancers are very common in rats; neutering can potentially increase their lifespan. The greatest increase in average lifespan for male rats is associated with early neuter (eight to 12 weeks old).

-Neutered rats can be housed with female rats (spayed or intact) without the risk of impregnating the females. This increases their potential adoption opportunities as they are not restricted to housing with males only. (Research indicates that most males are sterile by one week post-neuter, although introductions to females may be safest after two weeks post-neuter to ensure the males have completely healed from the procedure and are no longer experiencing post-operative pain.)

-Neutered rats are significantly less likely to exhibit aggressive behavior toward their cage mates, behavior that may result in injury and/or death. At sexual maturity, due to increased testosterone, it is common for male rats to display increased aggressive behavior.

-It is also easier to introduce new rats to neutered rats than intact males who are more likely to attack “intruders” to their housing space. Introducing new rats to adult, intact males resulted in death for 21% of the introduced rats in one study* (Flannelly & Thor, 1978).

-Neutered males urine mark much less often than intact males. This can help keep their housing units cleaner than if they are urine marking more frequently.

-Neutered males are also more prosocial with humans and are easier to handle due to the decreased influence of hormones on their behavior. The risk of aggressive behavior toward humans is decreased with neutering.

With all the benefits above, there is one small downside:

-Neutered males are at a slightly higher risk of obesity, which is why we encourage a good quality diet and regular exercise and enrichment.

Given the evidence provided by research combined with the experience of the SPCA’s Director of Behavior and Research Miranda K. Workman and Shelter Veterinarian Dr. Allison Kean, we can confidently say that neutering male rats increases the welfare of each individual rat, their cage mates, and their human companions. Thus, in line with the SPCA Serving Erie County’s mission, we are now neutering all male rats prior to adoption. The adoption fee for domestic rats is $15.00, and this fee includes the males’ neuter surgeries.

Web references for information above include:

*http://www.ratbehavior.org/Neutering.htm

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/neutering-in-rats

https://ratcentral.com/should-i-neuter-my-male-rat/

SPCA SERVING ERIE COUNTY WELCOMES THREE NEW STAFF MEMBERS IN VETERINARY SERVICES AND ALL-NEW ANIMAL BEHAVIOR & RESEARCH DEPARTMENTS

August 10, 2020
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca

The SPCA Serving Erie County is pleased to announce the hiring of three new staff members, two in its Veterinary Services Department and one in its redesigned Animal Behavior & Research Department.

MELANIE RUSHFORTH (holding Sophie) is the SPCA’s Vice President of Veterinary Services. After working in the human services industry, Rushforth became the Executive Director of Northwest Spay & Neuter Center in Tacoma, WA in 2014. During her tenure, Rushforth stabilized the clinic’s income stream while maintaining a focus on cost-management. More than 70,000 animals were altered, the organization’s animal transport program expanded from three to 16 counties served, and registered partner relationships with other animal welfare organizations grew from one to 83. Rushforth has presented at national animal welfare conferences and symposiums.

Together with her staff in the SPCA’s infirmary and in the public Stanford & Judith C. Lipsey Veterinary Clinic at the SPCA, Rushforth will help the SPCA design and deliver compassionate, efficient medical services to the animals in its care. Rushforth is committed to increasing efforts to keep pets in loving homes by making the SPCA a resource for affordable care and by providing educational resources surrounding prevention and ongoing wellness.

“I’m excited to be at the SPCA Serving Erie County because it is such a cornerstone of Western New York,” says Rushforth. “It is rich with history and deep roots that demonstrate compassionate service and the ability to evolve over time to meet the needs of the community. I’m looking forward to being part of the work that meets the whole family, human and animal, where they are in an effort to preserve and maintain a healthy bond for life.”

Rushforth shares her home and heart with four cats and “…one perfect, senior dog.”

DR. ALLISON KEAN is returning to the SPCA Serving Erie County, this time as Shelter Veterinarian. Her duties will include performing surgery and managing medical cases for the SPCA’s shelter population alongside those who she calls, “…a  very dedicated group of technicians, assistants, and volunteers.”

Originally from Western New York, Dr. Kean volunteered at the SPCA prior to attending veterinary school. She completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University after attending Canisius College, where she majored in psychology with a concentration in animal behavior.

After veterinary school, Dr. Kean, Fear Free-certified and certified in veterinary acupuncture, worked in small animal non-profit and shelter medicine in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Kean volunteers with multiple organizations and performs surgeries around the world; she has most recently been involved with “Spayathon” for Puerto Rico.

Excited to bring her experience and enthusiasm for shelter medicine to the SPCA, and to be able to continue helping the animals in our community, Dr. Kean is happy to be closer to her family, and enjoys hiking and spending time with her own pets. “I volunteered at the SPCA before veterinary school,” Dr. Kean says, “and I was always impressed with the various programs and the people. I knew that if I moved back to the area, this is where I wanted to be.”

MIRANDA K. WORKMAN, anthrozoologist and former owner of Purrfect Paws Animal Behavior Center, LLC, also returns to the SPCA Serving Erie County as the Director of the all-new Animal Behavior & Research Department. Workman has spent the last decade as a professor at Canisius College and is lead trainer/mentor and program developer for the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive programs at GreaterGood.org; she is also a current PhD candidate in Sociology at the University at Buffalo, focusing on exploring the intersection of humans, other animals, family, and the environment. Workman currently serves as a council member for the American Sociological Association’s Animals & Society section council. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, Inc. and as the Chair of the Cat Division for the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.

Workman is looking forward to developing a new, top-notch Behavior & Research Department focused on the behavioral welfare of the animals in the care of the SPCA. “I’m excited to return to the SPCA, this time as the Director of Animal Behavior and Research,” she says. “It’s a position that allows me to combine my academic and applied experiences in animal behavior, anthrozoology, and sociology. I look forward to using my unique skill set, knowledge, and experience to maximize the behavioral welfare of sheltered animals, and endeavor to create a rich research program aimed at improving the human-animal relationship through evidence-based programs and networking with research scientists.”

Workman and her husband share their home with three dogs, four cats, four rats, and one mouse.

All three professionals have started their work at the SPCA Serving Erie County, and the organization’s Board of Directors and staff members are excited over the collective level of experience added to both the Veterinary Services and Animal Behavior & Research Departments.

Information and news from both departments will continue to be shared at YourSPCA.org.

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