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It's a dog's life: Volunteers' experience at RSPCA

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The OR Society
The OR Society

1) Three operational researchers and an engineer from the Department of Energy and Climate Change worked with the RSPCA and DogED to develop a stock and flow model of the UK dog population to help propose meaningful welfare policies. 2) They pulled data from over 50 sources to build the model, which identified gaps in knowledge about the UK dog population and flows between owned, stray, and welfare dogs. 3) The project provided a useful experience for the team, deepening their understanding of system dynamics and its real-world applications to animal welfare issues.

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Its a dogs life: when OR meets canine welfare The breeding, ownership and welfare of dogs in the UK is a complex social policy area. Without an understanding of the dog population and how it is stratified, it is difficult to propose meaningful welfare policies. To help with this, three Operational Researchers and an engineer from DECC have worked with RSPCA and DogED to develop a stock and flow model of the UK dog population. Although there has been research into the size of the dog population, nobody has pulled all this together into a single model that everyone can use to help focus priority issues. As a consequence, different stakeholders have varying, and sometimes conflicting, views of how many dogs there are and their needs. Without a consensus understanding of the population and how it is stratified, it is difficult to propose meaningful welfare improvement policies. In order to collect the relevant data and develop a useful model the RSPCA - UKs leading animal welfare charity - and DogED - a social enterprise applying System Thinking to canine welfare - have started a project with a group of three Operational Research and one engineer from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), namely me and my team. We accepted the project with great enthusiasm: we liked the idea of applying OR techniques in a Pro Bono context and of working on something different to the daily energy-related projects at the department. Our work included building a model which evaluates the stocks and flows of dogs within the UK and predicts the population changes over time. Figure 1: Stock and flow diagram developed with Vensim Stray dogs Dogs in welfare Owned dogs Owned births Owned deaths Stray births Stray deaths Welfare births Welfare deaths Owned dogs to welfare Welfare dogs to owned Owned dogs to stray Stray dogs to owned Stray dogs to welfare Imported owned dogs Dogs imported to welfare Owned dog exports Number of dogs microchipped Owner education level re dogs Welfare life expectancy Owned dog life expectancy Stray dog life expectancy Space available in welfare Euthanasia policy Emmigration Number of dog breeders Number of puppy farms Funding for welfare Welfare capacity Demand for dogs in UK Number of owned dogs having puppies Demand for dogs - non-UK Disposable income Insurance rates Number of dogs lost Number of dogs abandoned Number of dogs neutered 9.4m (23) 2009 LB: 12,340 2010 LB:10,630 est 1,250 (300 to 2130) 111,000 per year (13) Strays back to owner - 53,280 per year (13) Rehomed - 9,990 per year (13) Put to sleep/die 8,880 per year (13) Working dogs 27,750 per year (13) Entering welfare: 129,743 per year (1) 0.5% of welfare in flows (27, scaled) 11.4% of outflow died (27) LB 7142 euthanised (1) Assume 0 Welfare dogs reunited with owner - 12.5% of those entering = 16,218 (1). 7.7% of those entering (27) Rehomed - 80.9% of outflows (27) 69.5% of welfare inflows (27, scaled) 30% of welfare inflows (27, scaled) - this includes LA and public straying dogs 11.4% of dogs per year? (36) 25% of dogs per year? (est from 24, 41) 12 years (34) 4% of microchipped are from Ireland, 3% from other EU, 2% from outside EU - needs scaling up by 2% (24) 50,000 dogs imported from Ireland per year (31) Working dogs to owned greyhounds - 3,910 per year (33) Working dog births Working dog deaths Working dog life expectancy Requirements for working dogs Working dogs to welfareAt least 2500 police dogs (45)
It involved pulling in data from a large number of journal papers and reports (we reviewed more than 50 data sources) and attempting to corroborate these against each other, whilst also working to identify gaps in existing knowledge. Needless to say, this was no mean feat if you ask 10 people what a stray dog is, youll get 10 different answers! At the start of the project we were a brand new team, having worked together for less than three months. Therefore, the project was a great opportunity to get to know each other outside of the work environment and to develop a strong team spirit. We made the most of fortnightly working lunches and spent some time together during weekends; the relaxed environment and our enthusiasm for the project always made the work very productive and fun. Talking about fun, the RSPCA gave us the fabulous opportunity to spend a day at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, one of the biggest animal welfare centres in the UK. There, we were treated to a tour of the home by the director of operations and got to see the efforts that go into looking after so many animals simultaneously. It was a great experience and at the end of the day we were all considering bringing home a dog or a cat with us! Figure 2: our visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home However, it was not only leisure time; we also worked hard to deliver the project and the experience was both interesting and fruitful. The work matched our skillset closely and we all learnt something from it: we deepened our knowledge in system dynamics and applied it on a real problem, worked with different roles and in different contexts and, above all, learnt a lot about dogs and their welfare.
At the end of the project we delivered a comprehensive literature review and a working stock and flow model prototype. We also identified many data and evidence gaps that unfortunately mean the model results are not yet robust enough to inform policy decisions. We therefore provided some recommendations on how to close these gaps in the future. Based on this work, the client is now in a position to argue the case for better data collection to inform policy making. All in all the experience was fulfilling and we would recommend it to all OR practitioners. The work was interesting and fun and our client was always appreciative and respectful of our time constraints; at the end it was very satisfactory to see that our work has been useful for a worthy project.

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It's a dog's life: Volunteers' experience at RSPCA

  • 1. Its a dogs life: when OR meets canine welfare The breeding, ownership and welfare of dogs in the UK is a complex social policy area. Without an understanding of the dog population and how it is stratified, it is difficult to propose meaningful welfare policies. To help with this, three Operational Researchers and an engineer from DECC have worked with RSPCA and DogED to develop a stock and flow model of the UK dog population. Although there has been research into the size of the dog population, nobody has pulled all this together into a single model that everyone can use to help focus priority issues. As a consequence, different stakeholders have varying, and sometimes conflicting, views of how many dogs there are and their needs. Without a consensus understanding of the population and how it is stratified, it is difficult to propose meaningful welfare improvement policies. In order to collect the relevant data and develop a useful model the RSPCA - UKs leading animal welfare charity - and DogED - a social enterprise applying System Thinking to canine welfare - have started a project with a group of three Operational Research and one engineer from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), namely me and my team. We accepted the project with great enthusiasm: we liked the idea of applying OR techniques in a Pro Bono context and of working on something different to the daily energy-related projects at the department. Our work included building a model which evaluates the stocks and flows of dogs within the UK and predicts the population changes over time. Figure 1: Stock and flow diagram developed with Vensim Stray dogs Dogs in welfare Owned dogs Owned births Owned deaths Stray births Stray deaths Welfare births Welfare deaths Owned dogs to welfare Welfare dogs to owned Owned dogs to stray Stray dogs to owned Stray dogs to welfare Imported owned dogs Dogs imported to welfare Owned dog exports Number of dogs microchipped Owner education level re dogs Welfare life expectancy Owned dog life expectancy Stray dog life expectancy Space available in welfare Euthanasia policy Emmigration Number of dog breeders Number of puppy farms Funding for welfare Welfare capacity Demand for dogs in UK Number of owned dogs having puppies Demand for dogs - non-UK Disposable income Insurance rates Number of dogs lost Number of dogs abandoned Number of dogs neutered 9.4m (23) 2009 LB: 12,340 2010 LB:10,630 est 1,250 (300 to 2130) 111,000 per year (13) Strays back to owner - 53,280 per year (13) Rehomed - 9,990 per year (13) Put to sleep/die 8,880 per year (13) Working dogs 27,750 per year (13) Entering welfare: 129,743 per year (1) 0.5% of welfare in flows (27, scaled) 11.4% of outflow died (27) LB 7142 euthanised (1) Assume 0 Welfare dogs reunited with owner - 12.5% of those entering = 16,218 (1). 7.7% of those entering (27) Rehomed - 80.9% of outflows (27) 69.5% of welfare inflows (27, scaled) 30% of welfare inflows (27, scaled) - this includes LA and public straying dogs 11.4% of dogs per year? (36) 25% of dogs per year? (est from 24, 41) 12 years (34) 4% of microchipped are from Ireland, 3% from other EU, 2% from outside EU - needs scaling up by 2% (24) 50,000 dogs imported from Ireland per year (31) Working dogs to owned greyhounds - 3,910 per year (33) Working dog births Working dog deaths Working dog life expectancy Requirements for working dogs Working dogs to welfareAt least 2500 police dogs (45)
  • 2. It involved pulling in data from a large number of journal papers and reports (we reviewed more than 50 data sources) and attempting to corroborate these against each other, whilst also working to identify gaps in existing knowledge. Needless to say, this was no mean feat if you ask 10 people what a stray dog is, youll get 10 different answers! At the start of the project we were a brand new team, having worked together for less than three months. Therefore, the project was a great opportunity to get to know each other outside of the work environment and to develop a strong team spirit. We made the most of fortnightly working lunches and spent some time together during weekends; the relaxed environment and our enthusiasm for the project always made the work very productive and fun. Talking about fun, the RSPCA gave us the fabulous opportunity to spend a day at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, one of the biggest animal welfare centres in the UK. There, we were treated to a tour of the home by the director of operations and got to see the efforts that go into looking after so many animals simultaneously. It was a great experience and at the end of the day we were all considering bringing home a dog or a cat with us! Figure 2: our visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home However, it was not only leisure time; we also worked hard to deliver the project and the experience was both interesting and fruitful. The work matched our skillset closely and we all learnt something from it: we deepened our knowledge in system dynamics and applied it on a real problem, worked with different roles and in different contexts and, above all, learnt a lot about dogs and their welfare.
  • 3. At the end of the project we delivered a comprehensive literature review and a working stock and flow model prototype. We also identified many data and evidence gaps that unfortunately mean the model results are not yet robust enough to inform policy decisions. We therefore provided some recommendations on how to close these gaps in the future. Based on this work, the client is now in a position to argue the case for better data collection to inform policy making. All in all the experience was fulfilling and we would recommend it to all OR practitioners. The work was interesting and fun and our client was always appreciative and respectful of our time constraints; at the end it was very satisfactory to see that our work has been useful for a worthy project.