WHAT IS A TREATABLE ANIMAL?
View the Maddie's® Pet Rescue Project Pet Evaluation Matrix:
The Maddie’s® Project partners, with the input of the residents of Erie County, spent several months establishing what medical and behavioral conditions are considered treatable. The result is a set of standard guidelines that will be followed when examining every dog and cat that is brought to one of the partner organizations. It is important to note, however, that just because a condition is categorized as untreatable does not imply that an animal with that condition will be euthanized. The partners will simply use the guidelines to prioritize their resources.
Below are the definitions based on ASILOMAR definitions established in 2003. The effect of the Asilomar definitions is not to draw lines between animals who can and can’t be saved, but to put shelters on the same footing as their community: shelters that save all healthy and treatable dogs and cats in their care are meeting the standard of care typically provided in their own community. Shelters that go beyond this to save a portion of the “unhealthy & untreatable” are exceeding their community’s standard of care and thus setting an example of humane treatment.
Healthy Definition:
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 Definition:
The term “treatable” means and includes all dogs and cats who are “rehabilitatable” and all dogs and cats who are “manageable.”
- 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 in the community.
- 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 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.
Unhealthy & Untreatable Definition:
The term “Unhealthy & Untreatable” means and includes dogs and cats who, at or subsequent to the time they are taken into possession meet one of the following conditions:
- 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 in the community;
- 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 in the community; or
- 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 in the community.
