Current Italian legislation does not permit euthanasia of dogs, unless they are ill or dangerous. Despite good intentions and ethical benefits, this 'no-kill policy' has caused a progressive overpopulation of dogs in shelters, due to abandonment rates being higher than adoption rates. Shelter overcrowding has negative implications for dog welfare and increases public costs. The aim of this pape...

BACKGROUND Homeless people suffer from high levels of morbidity and mortality, but there is surprisingly little empiric evidence that homelessness has a direct adverse effect on health. METHODS This study examined the relationship between shelter use and risk of death using longitudinal data in a cohort of 8,769 homeless men in Toronto, Ontario. Shelter use was modelled as a time-dependent co...

Current guidelines for the location and design of bus stops do not take into account air quality or exposure considerations for waiting passengers. This paper compares the exposure of transit riders waiting at three-sided bus stop shelters that either: 1) face roadway traffic, or 2) face away from roadway traffic. Shelters were instrumented with devices to monitor particulate matter concentrati...

BACKGROUND H3N8 canine influenza virus (CIV) infection might contribute to increased duration of shelter stay for dogs. Greater understanding of factors contributing to CIV within shelters could help veterinarians identify control measures for CIV. OBJECTIVES To assess community to shelter dog CIV transmission, estimate true prevalence of CIV, and determine risk factors associated with CIV in...

OBJECTIVE To measure the impact of shelter intervention and protection orders on the mental health functioning, resiliency, and further abuse of documented and undocumented immigrant women and their children in Houston, Texas, United States. METHODS A prospective cohort study initiated in 2011 examined a subsample of 106 immigrant mothers, primarily from Mexico and Central America, and evalua...

Recent invasions by non-native gobiid fish species that are ongoing in the Western European rivers Rhine and Meuse, will lead to interactions with native benthic fish species. Since both non-native gobiids and native benthic species are bottom dwelling species with a preference for shelter during at least part of their life cycle, it is likely that competition for shelter will occur between the...

CONTEXT Evacuation and shelter-in-place decision making for hospitals is complex, and existing literature contains little information about how these decisions are made in practice. OBJECTIVE To describe decision-making processes and identify determinants of acute care hospital evacuation and shelter-in-place during Hurricane Sandy. DESIGN Semistructured interviews were conducted from March...

Cat impoundments were increasing at the municipal San Jose animal shelter in 2009, despite long-term successful low cost sterilization programs and attempts to lower the euthanasia rate of treatable-rehabilitatable impounds beginning in 2008. San Jose Animal Care and Services implemented a new strategy designed to control overall feral cat reproduction by altering and returning feral cats enter...

This qualitative research aims to explore the daily life experiences of Malaysian unwed teenage mothers in shelter homes. The research is based on the thematic analysis of interviews with seventeen respondents aged from 12 to 18 years. Eight sub-themes described the experience of the unwed teenage mothers in the shelter home and led to three overall themes: rules and regulations, relationship w...

INTRODUCTION During 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the US Gulf Coast, displacing approximately two million people. With >250,000 evacuees in shelters, volunteers from the American Red Cross (ARC) and other nongovernmental and faith-based organizations provided services. The objective of this study was to evaluate the composition, pre-deployment training, and recognition of scenarios w...