- Safety & Security
- Services
- Animal Services
- Evaluating a Dog or Cat's Adoptability
- Pet Evaluation Matrix
Pet Evaluation Matrix
The Pet Evaluation Matrix is used to help shelter staff identify healthy and behaviorally adoptable dogs and cats.
Healthy
The term “healthy” means and includes all dogs and cats eight weeks of age or older that, at or subsequent to the time the animal is taken into possession, have manifested no sign of a behavioral or temperamental characteristic that could pose a health or safety risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet, and have manifested no sign of disease, injury or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the animal or that is likely to adversely affect the animal’s health in the future.
Treatable Rehabilitatable
The term “rehabilitatable” means and includes all dogs and cats who are not “healthy,” but who are likely to become “healthy,” if given medical, foster, behavioral, or other care equivalent to the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community.
Conditions
Behavioral
- Dogs / cats with minor handling issues (i.e., during any of the handling tests - ears, tail, paws, teeth, stroke, or restraint - dog retracts or avoids handling)
- Inappropriate litter box use in cats (not yet addressed via medical or behavioral measures)
- Inappropriate urinary / bowel habits in dogs (not yet addressed via medical or behavioral measures)
- Mildly jumpy / mouthy dogs (i.e., energetically jumps on, applies front feet, or applies open mouth with no pressure a few times during test)
- Mildly shy dogs / cats (i.e., initially makes conscious calm attempts to avoid people instead of approaching them, then makes attempts to visit; no hiding or aggressive behavior)
Medical
- Acute Hepatic Lipidosis
- Broken bones
- Coccidia
- Corneal Ulcers
- Cystitis
- Demodex (localized, under six months of age)
- Ear infection
- Ear mites
- Entropion and Ectropion
- Fatty tumors
- General diarrhea without a diagnosis
- Heartworms
- Infants that are five to eight weeks of age
- Infants under five weeks of age (weaned orphans)
- Intestinal parasites
- Kennel cough
- Malnourishment
- Non-Diabetic Cataracts
- Non-life-threatening wounds or injuries
- Nonspecific Dermatitis
- Nonspecific Gastritis
- Obesity
- Parasites
- Parvo + (if not moribund)
- PDA
- Pneumonia
- Prolapsed Third Eyelid
- Pulmonic Stenosis (if mild)
- Ringworm
- Sarcoptic mange
- Secondary Sex Characteristics
- Subaortic Stenosis (if mild)
- Unweaned infants with a nursing mother (*see exception under Unhealthy and Untreatable related to failure to thrive)
- Unweaned infants without a nursing mother (*see exception under Unhealthy and Untreatable related to failure to thrive)
- Upper respiratory infection
- VSD (if small / restrictive)
Treatable Manageable
The term “manageable” means and includes all dogs and cats who are not “healthy” and who are not likely to become “healthy” regardless of the care provided; but who would likely maintain a satisfactory quality of life, if given medical, foster, behavioral, or other care, including long-term care, equivalent to the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community; provided, however, that the term “manageable” does not include any dog or cat who is determined to pose a significant risk to human health or safety or to the health or safety of other animals.
Conditions
Behavioral
- Dog-dog leash reactivity / aggression without a bite history
- Dogs with low sociability (i.e., show limited interest in humans or interactions with humans)
- Dogs with mild / moderate separation anxiety (i.e., whining, barking, scratching at doors, windows, etc. that lasts for a few minutes upon/after departure; no serious damage to belongings; no harm at all to dog)
- Dogs / cats with moderate handling issues (i.e., during any of the handling tests - ears, tail, paws, teeth, stroke, or restraint - dog freezes, applies muzzle or teeth to hand and / or gets over-stimulated [frantic pawing, jumping, pushing, etc.])
- Excessive and inappropriate vocalizations in dogs / cats (i.e., barking, whining, yowling, crying, etc. - not responsive to medical or behavioral measures)
- Inappropriate litter box use in cats (not responsive to medical or behavioral measures)
- Inappropriate urinary / bowel habits in dogs (not responsive to medical or behavioral measures)
- Level 3, 4, or 5 resource guarders with protracted warning and high sociability
- Moderately jumpy / mouthy dogs (i.e., energetically jumps on, applies front feet, or applies open mouth with no pressure regularly during test)
- Moderately shy dogs / cats (i.e., initially makes conscious attempts to avoid people instead of approaching them, does not visit unless encouraged to do so; some hiding; no aggressive behavior)
Medical
- Allergies
- Anxieties Secondary to Medical Conditions
- Bladder stones
- Blindness/deafness
- Bloat
- Canine hypothyroid
- Chemodectoma
- Chronic ear infections
- Chronic health conditions: kidney or liver disease, bladder stones, asthma, etc.
- Cognitive Dysfunction
- Congestive heart failure
- Controlled diabetes
- Controlled seizures
- Degenerative Valve Disease
- Demodex (localized, over six months of age or generalized under 6 months of age)
- Demodex - generalized over six months of age
- Diabetic Cataracts
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
- Feline hyperthyroidism
- Feline leukemia
- Feline urinary syndrome with blockage
- FIV+
- Heartworm disease (damage to the heart that does not improve with heartworm treatment)
- Hip and elbow dysplasia
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Irritable bowel disease
- Mild arthritis
- Missing limb
- Mitral or Tricuspid Dysplasia
- Osteoarthritis from old injuries or non-unions
- Pulmonic Stenosis (if moderate or serious)
- Restrictive/unclassified cardiomyopathy
- Subaortic Stenosis (if moderate)
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Treatable Blood Dyscrasias
- Urinary or Bowel Incontinence
- VSD (if large)
Unhealthy & Untreatable
The term “unhealthy and untreatable” means and includes dogs and cats who, at or subsequent to the time they are taken into possession:
- Are suffering from a disease, injury or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the animal’s health or is likely to adversely affect the animal’s health in the future, and are not likely to become “healthy” or “treatable” even if provided the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners / guardians in the community.
- Are under the age of eight weeks and are not likely to become “healthy” or “treatable,” even if provided the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners / guardians in the community.
- Have a behavioral or temperamental characteristic that poses a health or safety risk or otherwise makes the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet, and are not likely to become “healthy” or “treatable” even if provided the care typically provided to pets by reasonable and caring pet owners/guardians in the community.
Conditions
Behavioral
- Dogs or cats that bite people (i.e., has delivered injurious bites to adults or children)
- Dogs with serious dog or cat aggression (i.e., lunges, snaps, snarls or is otherwise difficult to control around a cat or a dog and/or history of repeated injury to other animals)
- Dogs with serious handling issues (i.e., during any of the handling tests - ears, tail, paws, teeth, stroke, or restraint - dog growls, air snaps, applies teeth with pressure or serious intent to hand and / or gets over-stimulated (frantic pawing, jumping, pushing, etc.))
- Dogs with serious separation anxiety (i.e., whines, barks, scratches / chews at doors, windows, etc. for an extended period upon/after human departure; causes serious damage to belongings; and / or chewing, digging, head-butting, etc. causes harm to dog or leads to life-threatening ingestion.)
- Dogs with serious stranger / barrier issues (i.e., growls at, lunges, snaps, snarls or bites at people when behind fence, kennel door, crate door, or other door)
- Dogs with very low or no sociability (i.e., show extremely limited or no interest in humans)
- Level 3, 4 or 5 resource guarders with low sociability
- Seriously jumpy / mouthy dogs (i.e., energetically jumps on, applies front feet, or applies mouth with pressure regularly during test causing pinching, bruising, scratching, or tearing of clothing)
- Seriously shy or feral dogs / cats (i.e., makes conscious attempts to avoid people instead of approaching them; frequent or constant hiding, freezing or shaking involved; may employ growling, snapping or snarling to maintain distance from people)
Medical
- Acute or end stage kidney failure
- Acute or end stage liver failure
- Blood dyscrasias not responsive to therapy
- Cardiac hemangiosarcoma
- Distemper
- Feline Leukemia (if moribund)
- FIP+
- FIV + (if moribund)
- Hepatic lipidosis with complications
- Hip dysplasia with osteoarthritis
- Incontinence (inability to control bladder or bowels) with advanced age
- Infectious diseases not responsive to initial treatment
- Kittens and puppies receiving proper medical care whose condition is not improving (failure to thrive)
- Life-threatening wound/injury
- Malignant, untreatable tumors
- Panleukopenia
- Parvo + (if moribund)
- Respiratory Distress not responding to treatment
- Spinal cord injury
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- Uncontrolled seizures