Music To Their Ears

AC&C’s Behavior Department recently introduced music to the Care Centers to help soothe our animals (pretty nice for the humans, too!).

Shelter environments are inevitably stressful for animals, who belong in loving homes. But there are many ways to help reduce stress and make animals more comfortable -- and therefore more likely to be adopted. Appealing to the auditory sense is one of them. Earlier this year, AC&C teamed up with The Rescue Animal Mp3 Project, founded by an Ohio-based veterinarian, Dr. Pamela Fisher, and thanks to this group, soothing music now plays daily for dogs and cats at our shelters. AC&C Behavior Supervisor Jen Abrams and others discussed the calming effects of music on dogs on an October episode of wNYC's Soundcheck.

"Studies have shown that certain types of music can calm animals and really help them in a stressful environment like this," Jen told Soundcheck's John Schaefer. "So I was on board from the minute I heard about the project." While dogs will still bark, she notes there is a difference when the music plays. And its benefits extend to cats and humans, too.

"This is a really great thing for our residents," Jen says. "For people and for animals. It's calming, it's soothing.... The cats have something that is a different stimulus from the dogs barking."

Check out the full Soundcheck interview for more.