Policy Guidelines
The Green County Humane Society board last week adopted guidelines to allow the adoption of cats and dogs to be kept as outdoor pets.
For cats, the requirements include:
• Only fully-clawed cats will be considered for outdoor home adoptions.
• Cats must not be younger than 1 year old.
• Shy or traumatized cats are not eligible.
• All outdoor homes must provide access to shelter above freezing in cold weather, clean water and food at least twice a day, adequate bedding such as hay, straw or a heated pad and a routine check to make sure the cats are healthy and safe.
• Shelter must be far enough from roads and potentially hazardous equipment to provide reasonable safety.
• Outdoor homes with aggressive dogs or other aggressive animals will not be considered.
• All cats must be contained in a securely-enclosed area with food, water and bedding for the first three weeks to allow for cats to acclimate to their new home.
The requirements for dogs include:
• All outdoor dog applicants will have to go through a site visit by GCHS personnel.
• The home location must be far enough off the road to avoid a dog being hit or have a fenced-in yard or area secured in such a way to prohibit free roaming.
• Owners must provide suitable shelter such as a workshop, insulated dog house, warm barn or garage with water and food.
• Owners must provide vet care and health care.
• All pets must have social time and be part of the family.
The humane society board on Jan. 23 established regulations for people who want dogs or cats but plan to put them outside rather than keep them inside most of the time.
It was not an issue the board looked at lightly, nor was it without controversy, board President Yvonne Schutte said.
"Some people think that we're just shoving the animals outside, but that's not the case at all," Schutte said. "We want to make sure they go to good homes."
Former board member Marci Hensel said the outdoor adoption issue was one of the reasons she resigned from the board last week. Hensel said she thinks animals kept outside will not receive the same health care as animals kept inside. Hensel and Marsha Stanek, both longtime GCHS board members, resigned last week. Former board member Gunhild Marcher says in a letter to the editor today to the Times that both resigned as a protest of the new policy.
The board came up with a list of requirements for people who want to adopt dogs and cats.
Requirements for dogs include prohibiting free roaming, providing shelter, vet and health care and having social time with humans.
Cat requirements include access to a shelter with temperatures above freezing, adequate water, food and bedding and routine checks of health.
The shelter also has a half dozen things it looks at when personnel visit a potential home. Where the animal will stay, condition of the property and condition of other animals on the property are considered before a final decision to adopt the animal is made.
Previous boards have looked at the issue for a couple years but nothing was done to allow for outdoor adoptions. Schutte said people have questioned the board about why the humane society was reluctant to place dogs with people who plan to keep them outside.
"We had a few vets who asked us why we didn't adopt dogs to outdoor homes. They told us there were farmers who wanted dogs but didn't want indoor dogs," Schutte said.
GCHS isn't alone in its thinking that dogs can be happy outside.
The Rock County Humane Society (RCHS) adopts dogs to outside homes, operations manager Linda Maze said.
"We look at it on a case-by-case basis," she said.
In order for a person who plans to keep a dog outside there must already be a dog outside, Maze said. She said a dog already outside could have a "buddy," but the shelter wouldn't adopt to someone who was only planning to keep the one dog they adopted outside.
RCHS employees also do a visit to make sure the dog goes to a good home with adequate shelter.
Maze said she's not entirely in favor of keeping animals outside but understands why some people do.
"I'd rather see the dogs inside," she said.
Gayle Viney, public relations director at the Dane County Humane Society, said dogs surrendered to the shelter that have been outside their whole lives are adopted out to people who want outside dogs. DCHS looks at each potential adoption to outside homes on a case-by-case basis, as well.
Whether a dog is kept outside or inside, the most important thing is responsible ownership, said Lisa Peterson of the American Kennel Club.
"We object to people putting the dog outside 24/7 and not having any interaction with them," she said.