Shelter Learniverse Return to the Shelter Learniverse

Shelter Learniverse and Industry-Wide Calendar

Author: Elise Winn

  • Announcing our Spring 2022 Bootcamp Cohorts

    Announcing our Spring 2022 Bootcamp Cohorts

    Here in the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse, our online learning world made possible by Maddie’s Fund®, we design Bootcamps around the belief that small steps and big leaps happen when we learn together and from one another. This spring we’re kicking off two Bootcamps and welcoming two new shelter cohorts—and we couldn’t be more excited!

    These community-based, “all teach, all learn” interactive training experiences are facilitated by experts and designed to dive deep. Developed by UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program – Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Director of Online Learning Cindi Delany, DVM, KPA-CPT, the brand new Behavior, Training and Enrichment (BTE) Bootcamp is an immersive, coach-guided course that helps shelter teams review current best practices and innovations in the Behavior, Training and Enrichment space, then assess operations and programs and begin implementing changes to level up your work and maximize animal welfare. This course was researched and built thanks to a generous grant from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation and will be offered on a regular basis thanks to the support of Maddie’s Fund® through the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge.

    Our comprehensive Four Rights Bootcamp offers proven techniques to help you ensure that each animal in your community gets the Right Care at the Right Time in the Right Place to the Right Outcome. Over six weeks, coaches Cindy Karsten, DVM, and Chumkee Aziz, DVM, offer a holistic perspective reset and guide shelters through a journey centered around quitting crisis mode, embracing your capacity, and creating space for lasting change.

    In each Bootcamp, live calls led by coaches set the goals for the week and kick off the brainstorming you’ll do with your own team in between meetings. Experts from both within and outside our industry will provide the framework to build your strategy. Past Bootcamp cohorts will tell you that the content shared in camp transformed their shelter, but the partnerships they formed with their peers are what has sustained it.

    Join us in cheering on these shelters who are coming together to do great work this spring. If your shelter wasn’t selected for this session or if you haven’t yet applied, we encourage you to apply again for upcoming Bootcamps. You can learn more about BTE Bootcamp or Four Rights Bootcamp and express interest in future sessions in the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse. #ThanksToMaddie and to the Wiederhold Foundation, both of these Bootcamps are free of charge to participants!

    Four Rights Bootcamp Spring 2022 Cohort

    • Ashville Humane Society – Asheville, NC
    • Chula Vista Animal Care Facility – Chula Vista, CA
    • Dallas Animal Services – Dallas, TX
    • Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control – Fort Wayne, IN
    • Humane Society of Weld County – Evans, CO
    • Inland Valley Humane Society and SPCA – Pomona, CA
    • Placer County Animal Services – Auburn, CA
    • Southeast Area Animal Control Authority – Downey, CA

    Behavior, Training and Enrichment Bootcamp Spring 2022 Cohort

    • East Bay SPCA – Oakland, CA
    • Humane Society Silicon Valley – Milpitas, CA
    • Kauaʻi Humane Society – Lihue, HI
    • County of San Diego Department of Animal Services – Bonita, CA
    • San Francisco Animal Care and Control – San Francisco, CA
    • San Jose Animal Care and Services – San Jose, CA
    • SPCA of Texas – Dallas, TX
    • Ventura County Animal Services – Camarillo, CA
  • Join Team KSMP as a Facility Use and Design Veterinarian

    Join Team KSMP as a Facility Use and Design Veterinarian

    Our person

    We’re looking for a veterinarian who shares our mission of making change easier for the shelter leaders who are implementing new or expanded visions. You’d be joining the outreach team dedicated to doing that great work, which is often done virtually—through 1:1 video calls or courses in our online learning portal, Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse—but likely will include some amount of onsite work as well.  Within that team, we’re looking to expand our facility use, facility design and housing-related offerings, and we’re willing to train the right person if wellness and improved efficiency supported by great design make your heart pitter-patter. 

    What your role would look and feel like

    Each veterinarian on our current team has an area of interest that, all together, allows us to offer shelters comprehensive consultations. You’ll be on the Facility Design team and, as part of that team, you’ll also contribute to our larger shelter outreach team. You’ll be working closely with our resident facility design expert to round out the aspects of our consultations that address environment-supported wellness encompassing animal, staff and organizational needs. Sometimes your consultations will be in tandem with the larger team; sometimes a shelter may specifically be looking for facility design and housing support. We’re looking for someone who doesn’t mind working alone, in pairs, or as part of a 3–6-person team.

    Is this opportunity speaking to YOU?

    Do you love working in population health as a veterinarian? Have you experienced the benefits of a well-designed shelter and seen firsthand improved animal well-being with better housing? Were you part of a construction build-out or redesign at your shelter/clinic and recognized the project was hitting all your marks? Or have you always loved architecture and design but weren’t sure how it might intersect with your career as an animal caretaker? We’re open to all kinds of scenarios to find you, including getting creative about where you live and how you might travel with our team when necessary. Don’t be shy: we want to get to know you and hear how your passion for design might be the catalyst to transitioning into a new chapter in your career! Apply by March 2, 2022.


    Apply now

  • California for All Animals Launches with Grants for Shelters

    California for All Animals Launches with Grants for Shelters

    California for All Animals, a five-year project administered by the Koret Shelter Medicine Program, is aimed at improving the lives of at-risk animals in the state and providing much-needed resources to shelters that serve this vulnerable population. We’re kicking off this historic initiative with two grants focused on making an immediate impact in shelters across the state.

    • $5,000 Welcome Grants are available to all municipal or private shelters with municipal contracts, and the deadline to apply is March 31, 2022.
    • Additionally, all shelters are invited to apply for targeted Portal Grants to retrofit cat and small dog/puppy housing with pass-through portals. Portal Grant applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis and will be prioritized based on need and impact.

    Register for the grant applicants informational webinar and join us on Friday, February 18, at 12 p.m. PT. We’ll walk through each step of the application process and answer your questions along the way.

    California for All Animals exists to unite and amplify the work of California animal shelters to achieve our shared goal of matching every animal in need with the right outcome through the right care, delivered in the right place and at the right time. This unique state-funded initiative was made possible in 2021 when California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed budget legislation that includes $45 million in one-time support for a statewide Animal Shelter Assistance Program, an augmentation to $5 million earmarked earlier that year.

    Whether you’re an animal shelter, an organization devoted to strengthening the safety net for people and pets, or a Californian who believes in fierce compassion for animals and people, you can join the movement! Learn more at http://www.californiaforallanimals.com.


    Learn more

  • Apply to Be Our Learning Coordinator

    Apply to Be Our Learning Coordinator

    Do you have a passion for helping to create and build online learning communities? Do you love both the people in the animal welfare industry and the animals they are trying to help? Does the idea of being on a small but mighty team dedicated to online learning in this space sound exciting? We have created a brand-new position at the Koret Shelter Medicine Program (KSMP) at the University of California, Davis and we’re looking for someone who wants to help imagine, bring to life, and coordinate A+ learner experiences in the online space.

    The UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program Learning Coordinator will have their hands on #allthethings in our online learning program and serve as the point person for learners in our brand-new virtual learning world – the Learniverse. From working with our Online Learning Director and Instructional Designer to plan and coordinate all things online learning, to helping our subject matter experts translate their knowledge into the online world, to helping learners engage with this new community and find their way through their coursework, you’ll play a pivotal role in our online learning Learniverse.

    We’ll also put your scheduling, organization, group facilitation and engagement skills to work, allowing your superstar-behind-the-scenes abilities to shine and make the Learniverse a place everyone wants to explore and engage with.

    If you have awesome communications skills, are a master of online learning best practices, love delving into adult learning theories, are a wizard when it comes to fostering online engagement, super-duper detailed, live for a well-streamlined process, know your way around the back end of an LMS, and love to scale the good in this world, we want to meet you.

    Our team is small but impactful and your voice will always be heard. We offer great benefits and promote work-life balance. Your contributions will serve two powerhouse programs, both with big goals and global reach. Ultimate flexibility: This position has the option to be primarily remote with regular opportunities to meet with the team!

    Apply by January 24, 2022
  • NACA Recommends Appointment-Based Pet Intake

    NACA Recommends Appointment-Based Pet Intake

    National Animal Care & Control Association’s latest position statement recommends all animal shelters discontinue unscheduled intake for non-emergency requests and underlines the advantages for both pets and people of an appointment-based, case management approach.

    When we take the time to assess each situation individually and match the need with the appropriate care, we create a win-win for shelters, pets, and people.

    [T]his practice will reduce the population of pets housed in the shelter, help more pets get home faster, improve community health and safety, and reduce shelter-borne illnesses and behavioral decline associated with crowded animal shelter conditions. Importantly, managed intake frees up shelter resources to ensure emergencies and critical situations are handled promptly and effectively. Scheduled intake is better for pets, better for people, and leads to healthier, safer communities.

    NACA Guideline on Appointment-Based Pet Intake into Shelters

    Download and read the full statement below.

    [embeddoc url=”https://www.sheltermedportal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/NACA-Guideline-on-Appointment-Based-Pet-Intake-into-Shelters.pdf” ]
  • Apply to Be Our Online Learning Designer

    Apply to Be Our Online Learning Designer

    Do you love designing and creating online learning experiences that thoroughly engage and excite busy professionals who are passionate about their work? Are you experienced at developing courses with adult users in mind that don’t feel like required training assigned by your HR department? If this is you, bring your UX experience over here and join our team of DVMs on a mission to change the animal welfare landscape! 

    The world of animal welfare is exploding right now. Our community is driving a revolution that both supports and returns animals safely to their homes or, when needed, finds new homes faster than ever before. If you’re a member of this community or are passionate about this (our dream candidate would be), you know that information is being exchanged at a profound rate, but the platforms we use to share this information can sometimes leave us feeling anything but progressive and the general information overwhelm experienced by our audience is real.

    The Koret Shelter Medicine Program and the Million Cat Challenge are on a mission to change that. We’re moving beyond listserves and webinars to create a learning universe that is designed just for us. Inside this new world, we will offer different types of learning adventures that meet each individual user’s needs and style, all supported by coaches, subject matter experts, and peers that share common goals, digging deep into the cohort learning model. 

    About you: Ideally, you live in California, or are at least in the Pacific Standard Time zone. You are an experienced Instructional Designer with a passion for using your skills to further missions dedicated to making this world a better, more equitable place for us all (especially animals). You have that “world domination” twinkle in your eye, but you’re able to execute sophisticated and interactive online learning projects in phases that meet tight timelines. 

    Why us? Our team is small; your voice will always be heard. We offer great benefits and work-life balance. Your contributions will serve two powerhouse programs, both with big goals and global reach. Ultimate flexibility: This position is remote with regular opportunities to meet with the team!

    Click here to apply by January 3, 2022! 

  • Join Team KSMP!

    We’re expanding our team! If you or someone you know is looking for great work-life balance, excellent benefits, collaborative, supportive culture, and game-changing work, check out our two newest openings.

    Administrative Assistant

    Are you a powerhouse admin assistant who would be a good fit for our team? Apply now—this position closes 12/20!

    Click Here

    Online Learning Designer

    We’re looking for an instructional designer who can create innovative, transformational learning experiences for our national online training program.

    Click Here

  • Join a Movement to Build Equitable and Kind Communities for People and Pets

    Join a Movement to Build Equitable and Kind Communities for People and Pets

    Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE) invites animal welfare volunteers, staff, and everyone committed to racial equity, diversity and inclusion to join the CARE Givers Circle. Members will receive a monthly newsletter, invites to national calls, the latest CARE content, and the ability to connect with other advocates locally and nationally.

    The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement’s DEI survey analysis report, released earlier this year, again affirms the need for a concerted, collective effort to strengthen DEI efforts in the field, and the CARE Givers Circle prioritizes action in its commitment to welcoming diverse voices and perspectives into the industry and supporting BIPOC communities. 

    “Where there are people there is power. To fully realize this power, we must be inclusive of all people,” Chief Engagement Officer Kenny Lamberti says in a CARE press release. “For far too long too many people and particularly BIPOC individuals have been systematically left out of the power structure. The human animal well-being movement has historically been one of the least inclusive and diverse fields, and the CARE Givers Circle aims to change this by intentionally prioritizing equity and inclusion in all aspects of our work.”

    In 2022, CARE will continue raising money for the Dr. Jodie G. Blackwell Scholarship, an endowment introduced this year to help fund scholarships for African American veterinary students. 

    To join the CARE Givers Circle, visit this link or text CIRCLE to 52886. 

    (Photo via CARE.)

  • Cats and Birds Can Coexist: Here’s How Shelters Can Help

    Cats and Birds Can Coexist: Here’s How Shelters Can Help

    How do we in animal welfare balance the needs of cats and birds? Can that challenge only be met for birds at the expense of cats, or of cats at the expense of birds?

    In one of the most-loved Million Cat Challenge webinars, Cats, Birds, and Animal Shelters, KSMP Director Dr. Kate Hurley sets out with an open mind to explore the experience of those on the front lines of cat management, investigate the science and research, and examine the role of “catch and kill,” eradication, TNR, confinement, and other approaches to community cat management and the welfare of birds and other wild animals.

    What Dr. Hurley discovers may surprise cat and bird lovers alike. Luckily, cats vs. birds is one thing we don’t need to argue over this Thanksgiving—or any day. Instead, we can be grateful that we don’t have to choose between the welfare of cats and the welfare of birds. Community cat programs that practice spay/neuter and return to home for healthy, free-roaming cats are a win for shelters, a win for the public, a win for cats, and a win for birds and other animals.

    As Dr. Hurley says, “Here’s to common ground.”

  • How Our Community Saved 3.4 Million Cats

    How Our Community Saved 3.4 Million Cats

    Think about the best stories you’ve read, or heard, or watched. The stories that have stuck with you. The stories you return to again and again because they have the power to move you, even if—or maybe especially if—you know them by heart. What ties them together? Maybe you’re into mysteries. Maybe you love love stories. Maybe you can’t resist an underdog overcoming huge challenges, especially when that win isn’t guaranteed, but necessitates an entire community rallying around a common goal. Grab a seat and a snack, because we’ve got a story that contains every single one of these elements. The best part? You’re the star! KSMP Director Dr. Kate Hurley was invited to the TEDxMileHigh stage to tell the fascinating, surprising, and victorious origin story of the Million Cat Challenge and how our community came together to save 3.4 million cats and counting. Whether you know this one by heart or you’ve never heard it before, it’s worth watching and sharing with anyone who needs to be reminded that sometimes what seems impossible is actually, when we all join in, possible.