A world of scents and sounds, hopefully a temporary haven, surrounded by barking neighbors, each with a story to tell.
A voice echoed down the hallway. Neighbors were coming and going.
It was the only environment Bambi had ever known.
Bambi, a medium-sized pit bull-type dog, was born at the Roanoke Regional Animal Control and Shelter Center and has lived there her entire life. Now just over a year old, she is starting a new chapter in her life as part of a course called Shelter Dog Training at the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Animal Science.
As part of the course, students will interact with, train, and work with 24 dogs throughout the semester to help adopt dogs from the Roanoke Center. Divided into three small groups. Students will be paired with a dog at Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus for about a month, training and caring for the dog in hopes of finding a home at the end of their stay. A total of 46 students in this course will work with her three dogs throughout the semester.
Eva Giguere, a junior animal and poultry science major from Greenville, South Carolina, is one of the students working with Bambi, a member of the first group of dogs.
“When we first started working together, Bambi was shy,” Giguère said. “Everything is new for her, the environment here, the constant attention. She has grown so much in just a week and a half since she has been here. Her training is progressing well and she is learning new tricks. These different experiences were great learning opportunities for her and working with animals in this environment was a great experience.”
When Giguere was in middle school, he heard about the hardships animals face and wanted to help save them from such situations.
“I want to help them overcome a lot of trauma,” she said. “I want to help improve their lives in any way I can, and this course will help me do that.”
Through this course, Assistant Professors Lisa Gunter and Erika Feuerbacher will equip students with knowledge of dog behavior, a deeper understanding of animal welfare, and mechanical skills in dog training.
Students create adoption profiles and take photos and videos while learning about dogs. Students attend adoption events with their dogs to help them meet potential adopters.
“Not only are our students learning about canine behavior, welfare and learning principles, but they're also being able to put them into practice,” Gunter said. “This is one of the most experiential courses we offer on companion animals, as it involves important experiments and hands-on activities outside of the classroom. Students train behaviors and develop their own dogs. We help dogs learn to behave around other dogs and provide them with quality time several times a week.”
The professors aim to demonstrate that while this is a relevant learning opportunity for students, it also improves the dogs' health and increases their chances of adoption.
“We not only hope that this level of behavioral care and support will be beneficial for the dog,” Gunter said. “We believe that when students understand that what they are doing has a hugely positive impact on animals, there are many benefits beyond building behavioral and training skills. Masu.”
The first adoption event is scheduled for Saturday, February 17th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.
Subsequent recruitment events will be added at a later date.
