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Behavioral Rehabilitation Center
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Launched as a pilot program in 2013, the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center (BRC) provides behavioral rehabilitation for severely fearful, under socialized dogs, such as those rescued from puppy mills and hoarding situations.
The Behavioral Rehabilitation pilot program is featured in an award-winning ASPCA documentary, “Second Chance Dogs,” which you can access for free on YouTube.
Due to the success of the pilot, we built a permanent, state-of-the-art facility in Weaverville, North Carolina, that can house up to 52 dogs undergoing behavioral treatment. The BRC facility has custom spaces designed to help dogs get used to life in home environments, outdoor play areas and a large indoor training area. It also includes several teaching spaces where shelter professionals can learn how we treat fearful dogs, how our integrated care team works together to make rehabilitation successful and how they can best support shelter animals’ psychological welfare at their own facilities.
Are you a shelter looking for assistance with a fearful dog?
The ASPCA Behavior Rehabilitation Center partners with shelter organizations to help dogs who are displaying extreme fear. If you have a dog in your shelter that you think could benefit from the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center, please email us to learn more about our behavioral and medical intake requirements! At this time, we only accept dogs from shelters and are unable to accept dogs from members of the community.
The BRC is part of our Rehabilitation Services group of teams, which also includes the Cruelty Recovery Center in Columbus, Ohio, and the Recovery & Rehabilitation Center, in Pawling, New York. All three facilities provide opportunities for animals to heal after rescue.
One of our goals at the BRC is to help partner organizations elevate their own shelter behavior programs. Therefore, we collaborate with the ASPCA’s Learning Lab to share the lessons we’ve learned about effectively supporting the quality of life and psychological needs of behaviorally challenged animals. Our expert staff serve as advisors in the development and delivery of the Learning Lab’s interactive educational programs for shelters nationwide. These include in-person retreats and training at the BRC for select shelter partners as well as online learning opportunities open to all shelter professionals and volunteers. By sharing what we have learned and collaborating with other shelters across the country, we can maximize the impact of our work for some of the nation’s most vulnerable animals.
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