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Today, we are proud to announce that a peer-reviewed scientific journal just <br /> published a study by our volunteer data scientist, Michael Mavrovouniotis! <br /> You can read the study HERE. <br /> The study is about the "'length of stay" in animal shelters, which affects <br /> animal welfare and shelter resources. <br /> We all know that animals are stressed if they spend too long a period in the <br /> shelter. If a shelter doesn't get animals adopted, or returned to the owner quickly <br /> enough, the shelter can get overcrowded, often leading to sub-standard animal <br /> care and euthanasia. <br /> Michael's inspiration to conduct this study was because many shelters are <br /> miscalculating their length of stay data. Sometimes, shelters do calculations that <br /> are grossly misleading, because they only look at animals that already left the <br /> shelter, and ignore long residents that are still in the shelter when the calculation <br /> is being done. Michael uses statistical tools to solve this problem. <br /> Using the study as a guide, shelters can finally do reliable, correct calculations on <br /> their length of stay, which can help shape better shelter policy and <br /> procedures. Animal shelter managers, policymakers, and researchers can benefit <br /> from a close look at this study. <br /> Michael's examples involve dogs in Orange County Animal Care (OCAC), a <br /> county-run shelter in California that Michael knows well from previous research <br /> studies. <br /> In late 2019, 10% of incoming dogs stayed more than 32 days in the shelter. In <br /> 2022, that grew to 42 days. That shows an accumulation of dogs with very long <br /> stays. An increase in length of stay translates proportionally to a change in shelter <br /> resident count, which in turn increases dog housing, staffing, and veterinary care. <br /> OCAC kept some COVID-19-era restrictions into 2022-2023, particularly in visitor <br /> access and hours. These led to fewer adoptions and longer stays. Michael also <br /> studied this and published another article we highlighted last year. His work <br /> played a role in a decision by the county Board of Supervisors to restore visitor- <br /> friendly access and adoption hours. <br /> 4 <br />