Rebecca Ledger, new post-doctoral researcher in the Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of British Columbia

Rebecca is working to improve the successful adoption of unwanted cats and dogs through her research. Rebecca has been developing practical tools that enable rescue shelters to improve the care and re-homing of animals in their facilities. 

By better defining characteristics of individual animals, she is able to assess their requirements for training and housing ,and achieve a good match with potential new owners. "Dogs in shelters are often perceived as having behaviour problems, and our goal is to provide a kennel environment that helps prevent the development of such problems," says Rebecca.. "We are also developing tools to support shelters and pet owners through the adoption process. 

By implementing her techniques in the UK, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has achieved signifcant reductions in dogs returned to shelters, and the same tests are being adopted and validated in local Vancouver and Surrey shelters. She is now working to develop training courses for BC-SPCA shelter staff to use these resources. Because original owners often know the dog best, she has also developed a simple, effective questionnaire to assess the dog 's personality right when it is dropped off - a tool already used in shelters across BC. 

After gaining her M.Sc., Rebecca worked as an Animal Behaviourist in the pet food industry and obtained her Ph.D in companion animal behaviour from Brunel University in London in 1998.She has since been a RSPCA Fellow, the Sano . Fellow at De Montfort University and a Friskies Fellow and Lecturer at Brunel University. She is currently conducting collaborative research with the BC-SPCA and co-supervises the projects of several students in the UBC Animal Welfare Program.