You know the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare, but how do they differ from the Five Domains? How could an approach to care that also acknowledges Five Freedoms for people strengthen our teams and help them provide the “Right Care” for animals in our shelters and communities? The Right Care, the latest free course from the Maddie’s®️ Million Pet Challenge Learniverse, answers these questions and more, while breaking down the fundamentals of matching community need to community capacity and shelter services so that all animals receive the care that is right for them—and care and wellness for staff is prioritized too.

In this Self-Paced Online Training Module (SPOT Mod), subject matter experts from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program offer tactics for working within your capacity for care in the face of unprecedented staffing challenges so that you can provide the Right Care, ensuring animals are not left in dangerous circumstances to cause harm, suffer, or die because the shelter can’t admit them; nor are they are admitted to a crowded shelter.

You’ll be guided through the ins and outs of Right Care inside and outside the shelter, including five integrated components needed for right care within the shelter: right-sizing the population, right housing, right staffing, right medical and emotional care, and right care for people. Facility Design Veterinarian Dr. Denae Wagner will walk you through the principles of humane housing for dogs and cats, plus you’ll learn how working within your shelter capacity can grow your capacity to extend Right Care beyond shelter walls, meaning not only safety, health, and well-being for animals and staff, but also access to care for pets and families in the community and the opportunity to plan, create, communicate, and sustain programs to provide care where it is needed, helping pets succeed in homes and preventing animals from unnecessarily entering the shelter.

Enroll today and discover a holistic approach to Right Care, with strategies that build staff well-being, maximize your capacity to care for animals, and allow animals and people at your shelter to thrive.

This short course has been approved for 2.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA); it has also been approved for 2.0 units of RACE credit.

Right Care is the third course in a self-paced series that explores each of the Four Rights, an evolution of the Million Cat Challenge’s Five Key Initiatives and the foundation of Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge. Within the Four Rights, every element works in concert to support one another: animals and people are treated as individuals, empowering shelter staff to make the best decisions for everyone; community safety net services are in place and flourishing; and humane care within the shelter is provided, with appropriate outcomes for the animals that do come in, allowing shelters to deliver the Right Care, in the Right Place, at the Right Time, to the Right Outcome.

Join us in the Maddie’s®️ Million Pet Challenge Learniverse, an interactive, online learning community found at the intersection of Knowing and Doing. Hosted by a team of animal welfare’s leading experts, it is a space to question, test, and implement innovations in the pursuit of continuous discovery and improvement in animal sheltering. #ThankstoMaddie, Right Place and other SPOT mods, along with cohort-style, coach-led Bootcamps, are available at no cost.

Do you have comments, questions, or ideas related to the Four Rights? Join the discussion on Maddie’s Pet Forum!