Haven Homes

Problem

Homes are built around humans, not animals, which means almost all household pets live in a space that was not designed for their needs. This can cause anxiety and health problems in animals as well as property damage, all of which could be mitigated.

For wealthy owners of large homes, these problems usually only amount to inconveniences, but they affect lower-income households disproportionately. The problems are amplified in smaller homes and can severely limit housing options for renters or prevent them from having pets at all.

Ultimately, the lack of purposeful design results in fewer animals having homes and a lower quality of life for those who do have homes.

Theory

Many universal animal-related problems can be alleviated through architecture, and a few key pet-friendly features would make a big difference to millions of people.

This has been overlooked due to the lack of profit incentive: Products can relatively easily be patented and sold for profit, but architectural concepts cannot.

However, desirable animal-friendly features can be independently developed and proven to be cost-effective to those who could profit the most from them: real estate investors who own rental properties.

Large-scale developers can then profitably add these features to their new rental housing complexes, which will benefit the investors, the tenants, and their pets.

Goals & Metrics

• Goal: Normalize the concept of pet-friendly features. Increase recognition and usage of general terms for new animal-centric architectural concepts.
  Metrics: Search result volume, Wikipedia article activity, inclusion in major real estate search engine filters.
   
• Goal: Increase demand for pet-friendly features.
  Metrics: Keyword search trends, real estate market research.
   
• Goal: Increase the number of homes built with pet-friendly features.
  Metrics: Real estate market research.
   

Strategy

Tactics

Litter Closet

Problem

Litter box odor is one of the primary objections that keeps people from keeping more cats as pets.

Theory

If an effective, inexpensive method of eliminating litter box odor were to become commonly known, cat adoption rates would increase because a primary objection would be overcome.

Goals & Metrics

Success will be measured by:

• Increased adoption rate for cats
• Increased indoor vs. outdoor homing of cats
• Increased satisfaction among cat owners

Strategy

Popularize the term “litter closet” which describes a purpose-built space that effectively eliminates litter box odor. Normalize this as a common term rather than a brand name.

Tactics

Upstate Farm

Problem

Animal sanctuaries provide forever homes for hard-to-place animals, but most are unsustainable because they are costly to run and generate no significant revenue.

Theory

An animal sanctuary that also provides commercially valuable services can sustain itself indefinitely.

Goals & Metrics

Success will be measured by:

• Homes provided to animals that would otherwise be destroyed
• Revenue generated by commercial services to support the animal sanctuary and other Foster Love projects

Strategy

Create a multi-purpose facility in the greater East Bay area of California that provides commercial dog boarding and training services as well as an animal sanctuary.

Tactics

HomeShelters

Problem

Because of the staggering number of animals without homes, traditional kill shelters are a grim necessity, and no-kill shelters are perpetually full. Municipal shelters are expensive to build and maintain. At larger shelters, behavioral problems develop due to inadequate attention and communicable diseases spread quickly.

Home-based foster programs rely on volunteers who typically lack formal training or specialized animal facilities, At best, this means they cannot care for multiple animals efficiently. At worst, it means they are ill-equipped to handle problems that commonly arise when housing multiple animals. These factors increase the chances of volunteers having negative experiences while fostering, which in turn make them less likely to continue doing so in the future.

Theory

The proper tools make it easier for people to provide better care for more animals. Plus, just a few more home-based shelters can help a community as much as an entire municipal facility.

There are people with the time, resources, and inclination to build modest animal care facilities into their homes, but they have never even thought about doing so. If these people were able to realistically visualize every aspect of operating a home-based shelter, from building the facilities to caring for the animals, some would gain the confidence and motivation to establish them.

Goals & Metrics

Success will be measured by:

• Increased number of home-based shelters
• Increased capacity and quality of existing home-based shelter facilities

Strategy

Create tools that give animal welfare supporters the knowledge and confidence required to build and operate high-quality shelter facilities in their homes.

Tactics

Rationale

• Home-based shelters are a better choice for many people.

  Caring comes at a cost. People who work regularly with animals are subject to the same compassion fatigue as nurses, hospice care providers, and social workers. The same empathy that makes people want to help animals also makes witnessing their suffering particularly painful.

  The depressing, brutal realities of traditional shelters make them emotionally draining and turnover there is understandably high. In the long run, it would be better for most people to avoid those environments altogether and foster animals from home rather than volunteer at a large shelter and burn out quickly.

  Volunteering from home is also more efficient. Animals require frequent attention every day. Compared to traveling to an external facility, caring for animals from home is more convenient. Ultimately, the efficiency of home-based shelters makes them more sustainable. Providing care in a less demanding fashion will be more rewarding and enjoyable, attracting more volunteers as well as resulting in longer commitments and lower attrition rates.

  Finally, smaller shelter facilities can be better for animals, too. For all but the most extreme cases, animals fostered in smaller groups will receive more individual attention and develop fewer behavioral problems, which leads to a greater chance of becoming adopted.

• The right tools make a big difference.

  In practically every field, tool quality separates rookies from professionals, and such is the case in animal care. In professional shelters, people can safely isolate animals with behavioral or medical problems or who are merely having difficulty adjusting to their new environment. Proper enclosures are large enough for animals to be safe and comfortable for extended periods and can be cleaned quickly and easily without removing their inhabitants. Non-porous materials and adequate ventilation help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Light and sound controls help prevent behavioral problems. Dozens of elements like these make it easier to provide care and lead to better outcomes for the animals as well as the humans caring for them.

  Furthermore, building a home shelter will change people’s perceptions of themselves, promoting them beyond casual enthusiasts to serious advocates of animal welfare. Taking such bold steps will help them assimilate this role as a part of their identity, thus making them more likely to continue fostering in the future.

  The longer people work with professional tools, the more professional they will become. For example, in a typical home, there is no rigid capacity limit and volunteers may be tempted to take on too many animals. However, building formal shelter facilities creates a precise capacity. Over time, working with professional tools will raise volunteers’ standards of care to the point where they won’t want to take on another animal if they don’t have the facilities required to give it proper care – which is better in the long run for the other animals and for the volunteers themselves.

• Visualization and self-efficacy create a compulsion to act.

  Visualizing ourselves taking an action is crucial to actually following through. If we cannot imagine ourselves completing a goal, it is unlikely that we will take steps toward making it happen.

  Each tactic in this project is designed to help people visualize a different part of the process. Articles will introduce the concept of home shelters and show how people similar to themselves have successfully built them. The shelter management app tutorials will show what operating an organized home shelter would be like. And, of course, the design app will show users exactly what facilities would look like in their home.

  However, merely using the design app will also educate users by illustrating what goes into a shelter beyond just properly-sized enclosures, like HVAC, wash stations, and drainage. Such education is important because people who love animals want to take good care of them – and would feel bad if they fell short. Fear of failing to provide proper care for an animal is a significant barrier to taking action, and can be overcome with knowledge – which the various elements of this project will provide.

  Once people can see themselves building a shelter in their home – and running it well – they will develop a sense of self-efficacy that can lead to action. For example, when people walk past the space in their home where they’ve visualized putting the facilities, they may often imagine the shelter they know they could build and the animals they know they could be saving. At this stage, they face a crossroads: if they do not act, they risk part of their identity by admitting they are not as serious about animal welfare as they previously thought; however, if they do act, they can become a better version of themselves than they had previously imagined. When choosing between sacrificing one’s values and saving animals, many will choose the latter path.

• A few people can make a large impact.

  This project can make a significant impact even with a relatively low participation rate. Just a few home-based shelters in a community will have the same effect as an entire new shelter. For example, if just one in a million people in the greater Los Angeles area were to create a home shelter capable of housing four animals each, the net effect would be roughly equivalent to building a medium-sized municipal shelter. If one person in each 100,000 in the US were to do the same, it would be like building 250 such shelters – all without draining the resources of existing animal welfare organizations or requiring public funds.

Rescue Tails

Problem

Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized each year in the US alone, yet pet stores continue to sell animals, almost all of which come from large-scale commercial breeders (commonly known as “puppy mills” and “kitten mills”).

Theory

Demand for animals from pet stores can be reduced to the point of unprofitability within a generation if children learn early that the proper place to get an animal is from a shelter.

Goals & Metrics

Success will be measured by:

• Increased animal adoption rate
• Increased demand for animals from shelters
• Decreased demand for animals from pet stores

Strategy

Persuade teachers and youth activity leaders to engage children in memorable exercises that demonstrate the merits of animal adoption.

Tactics

waa.la

Problem

To animals, shelters are like prisons: there they are locked in cages, alone, away from their homes and families. In this unfamiliar environment, even well-adjusted animals start behaving differently.

Some get depressed while others act shy; still others become aggressive – and all of this interferes with the adoption process. A normally friendly, happy dog can miss an opportunity to be adopted into a perfect home if she seems sad and lethargic. On the other hand, if a dog is docile in a shelter, but then turns out to be rambunctious at home, he may cause problems with children or other pets and consequently get returned.

Theory

With the ubiquity of smartphones, videos of shelter animals acting normally in a home environment are often available from former owners or volunteer foster parents. If the people visiting shelters saw these animals acting like animals, rather than prisoners, they could make more informed decisions that lead to better outcomes.

Goals & Metrics

Success will be measured by:

• Increased animal adoption rate
• Increased demand for animals from shelters
• Reduced return rate of adopted animals

Strategy

Create an easy, consistent way to organize and share animal videos that is compatible with the unique demands of the shelter environment. Persuade foster care providers to share videos of their animals’ normal behavior. Make these videos easily accessible to prospective adopters while they are in the shelter environment with the animals.

Tactics

The Shelter Society

Problem

Making the most of current technology is a challenge for small organizations, especially non-profits. Even with a wide array of free and low-cost tools available, integrating them all effectively requires enormous amounts of time and technical expertise.

Without well-designed tools, organization and efficiency suffer. As a result, inaccurate information or slow communication can frustrate potential adopters and volunteers alike, and in the worst cases, can negatively impact animals’ outcomes.

Theory

Most rescue and shelter organizations have similar internet technology needs. A common technology platform would reduce development and maintenance costs while improving communication and information quality.

Goals & Metrics

Success will be measured by:

• Increased animal adoption rate
• Reduced time spent by animals in shelter/foster care before adoption
• Reduced time required from volunteers per animal placed
• Reduced overhead costs for rescue and shelter organizations

Strategy

Create a specialized website and collaboration platform for animal shelters and rescue operations. Persuade the leaders of these organizations to use the platform, and provide technical assistance to those migrating to it.

Tactics

Equilibrium

Problem

There are not enough loving homes for all the animals who need one. At the same time, many homes are not as loving as they could be.

Theory

If people in committed relationships were to resolve longstanding conflicts, not only would they be happier, but children and animals would also benefit from their happier households.

Goals & Metrics

Helping animals can mean working to change the largest factors that affect their lives, even those that are not directly animal-related.

While the ultimate goal of this project is to increase the quantity and quality of home environments available to animals, the project’s success must first be measured by its influence on people, then by the resulting impact on animals.

Among participants, success will be measured by:

• Increased subjective well-being
• Increased satisfaction with romantic partner
• Decreased conflict with romantic partner
• Elevated attitudes toward volunteering / charitable works

The consequent effects on animals will be measured by:

• Increased animal adoption and foster rates
• Reduced animal abandonment rate (due to divorce/breakups)
• Increased elective veterinary care
• Decreased rehoming due to behavioral problems

Strategy

Create a relationship program that induces couples in long-term romantic relationships to engage in activities that improve communication and increase satisfaction with their partners.

This program must...

• ...appeal to both men and women
• ...foster communication, appreciation, and cooperation
• ...not require therapy or excessive discussion
• ...identify and correct imbalances
• ...be easy to follow and not require deep understanding to produce results
• ...be derived from basic principles of economics and human motivation

Tactics

Rationale

Solving relationship problems may seem like a circuitous way to benefit animals, but it is only one step away:

BETTER RELATIONSHIPS = HAPPIER PEOPLE
HAPPIER PEOPLE = HAPPIER ANIMALS
 

• Happier people have more love to give.

  Charitable acts such as fostering children or animals are at the top of Maslow’s pyramid. People are much less open to taking on the responsibility for another’s needs when their own needs are not being met.

  

  Conversely, as people’s needs are met, they become happier and more inclined to act to benefit others.

  If successful, this project will have far-reaching impacts beyond animals. Improving animal welfare will be just one of a large number of byproducts of increasing subjective well-being and improving relationships, allowing people to focus more on self-actualization instead of constantly worrying about more basic needs that were not being met by their partners.

• Relationships have a profound effect on happiness.

  Romantic relationships regularly contribute to every level of our needs. Beyond just sharing meals and sex, partners can make us feel safe, loved, and confident, and if we’re lucky, they can help us achieve our full potential. In fact, satisfaction with one’s partner is typically the highest correlate to subjective well-being. (Generally only serious, immediate health problems affect our happiness more.)

  Yet as important as they are, most couples aren’t getting all they can out of their relationships. Many people in fundamentally good relationships have longstanding imbalances that go unresolved, sometimes for decades. These conflicts aren’t serious enough to drive people to counseling, but still keep them from being as happy as they could be with their partners.

  If these imbalances were to be identified and corrected, it stands to reason that both partners would be much happier with their lives.

• Animals benefit from better human relationships.

  Both children and animals benefit from harmonious home environments. After all, adults who spend less time quarreling with their partners have more patience and energy when it’s time to play with, discipline, or even just pay attention to their little ones.

  However, many of the benefits come down to the simple economics of single- vs. dual-parent households, and these factors affect animals even more than children. For example, dual-income households typically have more disposable income for proper veterinary care, which as opposed to human healthcare, is widely viewed as optional.

  The largest factor, however, is that people in longer-term, stable relationships are more likely to own a home, and this makes an enormous difference in pet ownership. Most rental housing has restrictions on animals, and for those who don’t own a home, housing issues are the number one reason for abandoning a pet. When cohabiting relationships end, living situations usually change, and not for the better. Children’s lives are disrupted, and animals are routinely abandoned altogether. While not every relationship can (or should) be saved, many nevertheless can be, and needless damage can be prevented by improving communication and resolving conflicts.