Word: weiss
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...animal shelters now successfully use what are called Canine-ality and Feline-ality assessments to match prospective pet owners with just the right dog or cat. The quizzes have been so successful that euthanasia rates have been cut by 40%. "It really all comes down to matching," says Emily Weiss, an animal behaviorist and the Senior Director of Shelter Behavior Programs for the ASPCA, who devised the assessments when she worked at the Kansas Humane Society. "If I'm looking for a partner, be it a dog or cat or human, there are certain things I'm attracted...
...Weiss developed the assessments by studying the behavior of dogs on loan from homes to the Kansas Humane Society for 72 hours. Her staff watched the animals and then asked owners which behaviors were typical of the pets at home. The behaviors considered atypical were eliminated, and only lists of behavior categories matching an animal's personality in both stressed and non-stressed situations were included...
...Weiss laughs when asked if the descriptors are part spin - "Free Spirit" as a euphemism for "Fence Jumper," for example. "They are positive," she admits, compared with kennel cards that in the past would stress the negative, saying things like "Runs away," "Hates cats," and the always-cheerful "Watch your hands...
...Sayres, President and CEO of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is a fan of Dr. Weiss's research. "It's the first profiling that I'm aware of that measures a guardian's temperament as well as the animal's personality. Many applications ask a potential adopter about their work hours and property or housing facilities. But this is the first that looks at other aspects of a guardian's expectations." Says Nancy Peterson, issues specialist for the U.S. Humane Society: "Personality and behavior are so important. Looks won't keep you in a home...
...Seattle Art Museum decided to put its sculpture park on an old industrial site crossed by a busy road and a railway line. Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi made the most of it with an intricate switchback pathway that draws nature, art and the city into a dynamic force field...