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Shelter Learniverse and Industry-Wide Calendar

Category: Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge

  • Tackle Controlled Drug and Premises Permit Regulations Head-on to Deliver Better Care

    Tackle Controlled Drug and Premises Permit Regulations Head-on to Deliver Better Care

    Why this matters now

    Intakes are outpacing outcomes as communities and shelters are struggling to access veterinary care. A recent survey showed 66% of California shelters have no veterinarian on staff and 26% lack RVTs. Community members outside shelter walls face the same challenges to accessing care for pets, and the struggle is greater in underresourced areas and veterinary deserts where affordable care may be nearly impossible to come by.

    More than ever, it’s critical to make the most of the resources we do have, but first we have to understand the state and federal regulations that impact the care we can provide.

    What exactly does your shelter need to know about controlled drugs and premises permits? It’s all covered in a new on-demand webinar and short course from the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse.

    Cut through the confusion and earn CE while you learn the essentials!

    In Decoding Compliance: What You Need to Know about Controlled Drugs and Premises Permits in Your Shelter, Bruce Wagman (Lead Counsel for SF SPCA’s Shelter Pals) and Cindi Delany (DVM and Director of Online Learning for Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge) will guide you through each topic:

    • Understanding Legal Dynamics: Gain valuable access to the inner workings of the legal landscape governing medical and euthanasia services in shelters. Discover the transformative impact of understanding the agencies that impact the type and quality of care you provide.
    • Decoding Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) & Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) Roles: Untangle regulations around controlled substances, enhance your understanding of premises permits, and gain insight into the role of premises permit holders, with a focus on compliance.
    • Strengthen Your Team: Gain insights into the diverse roles of licensed and unlicensed staff in delivering top-tier medical care within shelters. Equip your team with knowledge that will directly amplify care quality.
    • Facilitate Access to Medical Care in Shelters: Explore actionable solutions! Master the art of collaboration with regulatory agencies, opening pathways for advanced medical care for animals in your shelter and in your community.

    Discover where you can directly impact the standard of care animals receive in your shelter. Enroll today and get the resources you need to unlock crucial insights and feel empowered to address challenges and navigate the intricate landscape of drug and premises permit regulations. Join the ongoing discussion about this and other topics in the Shelter PALS Legal Series on Maddie’s® Pet Forum.

    Enroll now
  • Expert Advice on Fighting Infectious Disease, Now On-Demand

    Expert Advice on Fighting Infectious Disease, Now On-Demand

    Any new treatments for resolving ringworm quicker?
    When should we vaccinate puppies and kittens?
    Do you have updates about the new monoclonal antibody treatment for parvo?

    These are just a few of the dozens of questions you asked Drs. Mehnaz (Chumkee) Aziz and Becky Stuntebeck during the webinar Curbing Disease As Intake Rises: Prevent Fight and Win Today. Now can find all the answers on-demand at Maddie’s® University!

    Curbing disease as intake rises - watch on-demand!

    Whether you’re providing daily care for animals or reviewing care and intake protocols, you’ll learn practical steps to relieve the strain on animals and team members. Get ready to UNLEARN unhelpful myths and walk away with tools and techniques that will lead to healthier animals, less stress for you, and make your job of serving the pets and people in your community easier.

    We’ve also posted new resources your teams can use to fight infectious disease, including

    • Infectious Disease Fast Facts posters to display in your shelter
    • Diagnostic testing guidance for outbreaks
    • A decision-making tree for dogs exposed to parvo
    • And more!

    Have a follow-up question about the content? Join the ongoing conversation at Maddie’s® Pet Forum. We welcome your webinar feedback via this short survey.

    Get the Recording and Resources
  • Curbing Disease as Intake Rises: Prevent, Fight and Win Today

    Curbing Disease as Intake Rises: Prevent, Fight and Win Today


    Free webinar for shelter leadership and staff on 8/16/23. Curbing Disease as Intake Rises: Prevent, Fight and Win today. Click on this image or use the registration link in the text below to join live or to access the webinar on-demand.

    Register Now to Attend Live or Access On-Demand after 8/16!

    Curbing Disease as Intake Rises: Prevent, Fight and Win Today

    From animal care attendants to RVTs and beyond, everyone in the shelter has the power to have a big impact on animal health. Does it seem like animals keep getting sick no matter what you do, especially right now with intake numbers climbing in many shelters? Does URI have to be status quo for summer? Is parvo inevitable? Have you wondered what else you can do to get ahead of these vicious cycles? This webinar is for you!

    UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program veterinarians Dr. Aziz and Dr. Stuntebeck will answer your questions and arm you with the information you need to squash the most concerning infectious diseases in your shelter. Whether you’re providing daily care for animals or reviewing care and intake protocols, you’ll learn practical steps to relieve the strain on animals and team members. Come prepared to UNLEARN unhelpful myths and walk away with tools and techniques that will lead to healthier animals, less stress for you, and make your job of serving the pets and people in your community easier.

    We want to answer your burning questions: submit them when you register at http://tinyurl.com/curbdisease. This webinar will be interactive, so bring your additional infectious inquiries and conundrums for Dr. Aziz and Dr. Stuntebeck to answer live.

    Can’t make it live? Register and receive a link to the recording after the event. Our experts can’t wait to give you what you need to tackle this concerning issue in your shelter!

    Questions? Contact us at learniverse@sheltermedportal.com


    Register Now!

    Want to invite others to this webinar?

    We have cute flyers for you to download, print, and share, and post at your shelter to invite other staff members! Both kitten and puppy options are included so you can print one or both depending on your needs. Also, feel free to share this event listing with anyone else who might be interested.


    Click the image above to download the flyer PDF
  • Sign Up Now: Post-Summit Fast Tracks Begin Next Week

    Sign Up Now: Post-Summit Fast Tracks Begin Next Week

    Now that the Shelter Summit event is over, it’s time to join Fast Tracks and Track Packs! You can find schedules, registration links, and descriptions of each track below. Be sure to register for Fast Tracks (open to everyone, no application needed) before 3/28. Thinking about applying for one of our limited spots as a “Track Pack” member in one or more of the Fast Tracks? Apply to be considered by 3/31. We would love to have you join us!

    If you would like to watch all or part of the recorded Summit, each presentation and Q&A session is viewable on Maddie’s® University.

    If you have any questions, please contact us at learniverse@sheltermedportal.com. For more information, visit www.sheltersummit.com. We hope you enjoyed our event.

    Fast Tracks:

    If the topics intrigued you and/or you liked what you heard at the Summit and want to dive deeper, be sure to register for one or more of the 8-week-long Fast Tracks and start doing—with support! Sprint from idea to implementation and ongoing improvement by connecting with coaches and fellow participants along the way.

    Fast Tracks are open to everyone and there is no application process, just register to attend any or all of the meetings and office hours for the track you are interested in.

    You can join one of the Fast Tracks to get more information, support, and guidance from your coaches in 4 one hour live meetings over the weeks of 3/27, 4/17, 5/1, and 5/15.  You’ll also be invited to join the coaches’ optional office hours during off-weeks (weeks of 4/10, 4/24, 5/8, and 5/22).

    Read more below or click the track title below to register for the Track and get links to the meetings and office hours.

    Track Live Meetings Optional Office Hours
    Coordinated Care: The Secret Sauce to Ensuring Animals and People Get the Right Care in the Right Place 3/30, 4/20, 5/4, 5/18 11 am Pacific 4/12, 4/26, 5/10, 5/24 9am Pacific
    Are You Staying Within Your Capacity for Care? (you might be surprised) 3/30, 4/20, 5/4, 5/18 9 am Pacific 4/13, 4/27, 5/11, 5/25 9 am Pacific
    Hidden Gems: How to Make Your Shelter Software Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder 3/28, 4/18, 5/2, 5/16 9 am Pacific 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23 1 pm Pacific
    Proven Barrier-Busting Strategies That Send Animals Home 3/29, 4/19, 5/3, 5/17 11 am Pacific 4/13, 4/27, 5/11, 5/25 9am Pacific
    Feeling Overwhelmed with Making Outcome Decisions? We can help! 3/29, 4/19, 5/3, 5/17 12 pm Pacific 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23 10 am Pacific

     

    Fast Track Options,  Information, and Registration:

    Coordinated Care: The Secret Sauce to Ensuring Animals and People Get the Right Care in the Right Place

    Learn progressive and collaborative ways of respecting all of the members of your community, especially those who come to us for supportive services. We’ll focus on ways to help pets stay in their current homes when possible and how to effectively reserve shelter intake for animals who really need to be in our care. We’ll discuss not only how these techniques can reduce shelter intakes, but also how this approach will set everyone up for success, including families, animals, and shelter team members.

    Track Coaches:
    Lead Coach: Jennifer Toussaint, Chief Animal Control Officer at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington
    Co-Coach: Kelly Bremken, Veterinary Social Worker at Oregon Humane Society

    Registration Link: https://sheltermedicine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvduurrT4iE9UKlsg4WkBeNNfaDMRAcWmz

    Are You Staying Within Your Capacity for Care? (You Might Be Surprised!)

    Capacity for Care (C4C) – such a wonderful place to be and yet can feel so out of reach. What is your shelter’s capacity for care, what is it based on and are you staying within it? Even just understanding what C4C is for an organization can feel overwhelming, much less getting there. Need a refresher or don’t know where to start? Answer – right here! It all starts with knowing that it is possible to stay within your capacity for care at all organizations, regardless of how animals come to you. We’ll dive into what determines your capacity, how it impacts the work you do every day, and the decisions you make. Discover how you can provide the Right Care in the Right Place for people and animals AND stay within your C4C. This is your chance to learn some of the ways you can get out of crisis mode, decrease overwhelm, and make it possible for your team to maximize your limited resources all while ensuring your shelter is able to have the greatest impact on the people and pets in your community.

    This track is a wonderful partner to the tracks being offered at this summit – to take the groundwork into action! Not a shelter director or manager? No problem, we invite anyone in the animal shelter space to join us on this journey!

    Track Coaches:
    Lead Coach: Cindy Karsten, DVM, Director of Outreach at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
    Co-Coach: Ivy Ruiz, Outreach Specialist at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

    Registration Link: https://sheltermedicine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtdumppzosHtV9whKkEVbdWk5QBA4WUM8Q

    Hidden Gems: How to Make Your Shelter Software Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder

    Is what your shelter software has to say being ignored? Start transforming numbers and patterns in your intake and outcome reports into concrete benefits for animals and staff! Discover how to increase live release and lower length of stay based on the information you already have at your fingertips.

    Track Coaches:
    Lead Coach: Becky Stuntebeck, DVM, Facility Design Veterinarian at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
    Co-Coach: Cindi Delany, DVM, Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Director of Online Learning at UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

    Registration Link: https://sheltermedicine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqcOqpqTkoHNbXcS9Bt9VZ1P5m3OA31Dnu

    Proven Barrier-Busting Strategies That Send Animals Home

    Uncover hidden and not-so-hidden roadblocks that are keeping animals in the shelter, contributing to shelter team overwhelm and fatigue, and tying up precious resources. Discover how to clear the way to ensure more pets are reunited with their families or placed in new homes. Tap into opportunities to increase live outcomes and build relationships with potential partners, volunteers, fosters, and adopters in your community.

    Track Coaches:
    Lead Coach: Nadia Oseguera, California Program Manager at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
    Co-Coach: Allison Cardona, California State Director at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

    Registration Link: https://sheltermedicine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvfuuqrDsiEtJ509W7t5bd2rkyav3BWA6k

    Feeling Overwhelmed with Making Outcome Decisions? We can help!

    Shelter teams are faced daily with high-stakes outcome decisions made harder by an increasingly complex and strained system. We’ll discuss some of the issues at play and help you to develop tools to remove bottlenecks to outcomes and overcome the toughest decision-making dilemmas, from Adoption to Euthanasia, with transparency and compassion.

    Track Coaches:
    Lead Coach: Chumkee Aziz, DVM, Outreach Veterinarian, at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program
    Co-Coach: Cindi Delany, DVM, Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Director of Online Learning at the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

    Registration Link: https://sheltermedicine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkcOyrqD4qG9Qn8jMPEgrOT3mXIRZe1Rvc

    Track Pack Opportunity for Even More Coaching Help

    Apply for one of the limited spots in a Fast Track’s “Track Pack” to unlock dedicated coaching sessions and get the extra accountability, motivation, and inspiration you need to get the impact you want. Stay on track by advancing within a tight-knit group of shelters working side-by-side with your coaches to achieve your goals.

    As a Track Pack member, you could be spotlighted for other track participants to learn from your challenges and successes. You’ll cheer each other on, exchange experiences and ideas to turn setbacks into solutions, and measure progress together.

    Applications will be reviewed and applicants selected on a rolling basis.

    Track Pack spots are limited!

    Final deadline to apply is March 31, 2023. APPLY NOW HERE!

  • Learn New Moves and Create the Change You Want With the Spring 2023 Shelter Summit and Fast Tracks

    Learn New Moves and Create the Change You Want With the Spring 2023 Shelter Summit and Fast Tracks

    Sometimes positive change happens in leaps, and sometimes it happens in strategic steps. The Maddie’s®️ Million Pet Challenge Learniverse Spring 2023 Shelter Summit and Fast Tracks will help shelter teams at all levels identify opportunities for both, no matter your shelter size or budget.

    On March 14, 2023 gather with expert coaches and peers in a half-day (9 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific), virtual Summit to explore 5 foundational topics that meet your most urgent challenges and get a bird’s-eye view of where your shelter could go next. Coaches will introduce 5 high-impact programs to start implementing now so you can maximize your resources and get set to thrive during kitten season and beyond:

    • Coordinated Care: The Secret Sauce to Ensuring Animals and People Get the Right Care in the Right Place
    • Are You Staying Within Your Capacity for Care? (You Might Be Surprised!)
    • Hidden Gems: How to Make Your Shelter Software Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder
    • Proven Barrier-Busting Strategies That Send Animals Home
    • Feeling Overwhelmed with Making Outcome Decisions? We Can Help!
    Social share image Spring 2023 Shelter Summit and Fast Tracks

    Fast-Track Change After the Summit

    Choose 1 or more of the 5 topics to continue learning and start implementing through 8-week coach-led Fast Tracks (with minimal time commitment each week). When you participate in a Fast Track, you’ll be able to sprint from idea to implementation and ongoing improvement by connecting with coaches and fellow participants in 4 live sessions alternating with 4 optional office hours.

    #ThanksToMaddie, joining a Fast Track is free and open to everyone, no application needed. Just pick your track or tracks and register to be able to join any or all of the Track’s meetings and office hours.

    Want even MORE information and coaching?
    Apply to run with an exclusive Track Pack for additional peer and coaching support

    You’ll move from Fast Track participant to pace-setter and gain even more momentum when you run with a Track Pack. Unlock dedicated coaching sessions and get the extra accountability, motivation, and inspiration you need to get the impact you want. Stay on track by advancing within a tight-knit group of shelters working side-by-side with your coaches to achieve your goals.

    As a Track Pack member, you could be spotlighted for other track participants to learn from your challenges and successes. You’ll cheer each other on, exchange experiences and ideas to turn setbacks into solutions, and measure progress together.

    Apply now; Track Pack spots are limited to ensure you get the dedicated coaching help you need! Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through March 31, 2023.

    This new, different, and better learning experience is designed with your feedback, your busy schedules, and your big goals in mind. Best of all, #ThanksToMaddie, participation in the Shelter Summit and Fast Tracks is absolutely free and everyone is welcome. Share this with your team!

    Learn More and Register
  • New Course Covers Community Cat Program Dos and Don’ts

    New Course Covers Community Cat Program Dos and Don’ts

    Whether you’re curious about implementing a community cat program or already have one at your shelter that you’d like to improve, Community Cat Programs Legal Considerations, the latest course in the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Shelter PALS Legal Series, has you covered.

    Community cat programs provide significant benefit to cats, community members, and shelters—there’s a reason Return to Field, which we now call Return to Home, was one of the five key initiatives of the Million Cat Challenge, helping shelters save over four million cats to date! Despite widespread support and documented success of these programs, questions about the legality of sterilizing, vaccinating, and returning unowned, healthy free-roaming cats to their homes can arise.

    In this short, Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse self-paced, on-demand training module (SPOT mod), Bruce Wagman, Lead Counsel for San Francisco SPCA’s Shelter Policy and Legal Services (Shelter PALS) program, explores what community cat programs (CCPs) are, explains why CCPs are needed, and describes how effective CCPs operate within legal considerations.

    You’ll learn how your shelter can address cat overpopulation and help cats thrive where they are by implementing humane, life-saving, evidence-based community cat programs, and you’ll leave with a list of important dos and don’ts surrounding:

    • Cat Eligibility
    • Intake Procedures and Flow Through the Shelter
    • Returning Cats to Their Outdoor Home
    • Program Data Collection
    • Engaging Shelter Staff and Gaining Community Support

    This course has been approved for 1.0 unit of CE by CAWA, NACA and RACE.

    Click to Start Learning

    Other courses in the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Shelter PALS Legal Series

    Animal Intake Requirements and Holding Periods Legal Considerations

    Finder Foster Legal Considerations

    Learn more about the Maddie’s®️ Million Pet Challenge Learniverse.  


  • Help Big Dogs Through Tough Times (and Get Your 2022 CE)

    Help Big Dogs Through Tough Times (and Get Your 2022 CE)

    With shelter dog populations exceeding pre-pandemic levels, outcomes slowing, transport destinations drying up, and historic levels of staffing turnover, shelters are struggling with medium and large dogs. Everybody is asking, “What do we do?”

    Just in time for end-of-year CE, the Big Dog Master Class online conference is now available free and on-demand at Maddie’s® University to help staff at all levels better manage big dog populations.

    Based on 5 Components of Big Dog Management:

    • Ensuring Public Safety
    • Intake Management
    • Maximizing Live Outcomes
    • Providing Humane Care
    • Cost-efficiency

    14 info-packed short sessions to explore at your own pace and learn how to maximize organizational efficiencies, utilize technologies, build proven programs, and implement transparent, effective policies

    We brought the nation’s top experts together – among them veterinarians, epidemiologists, veterinary behaviorists, shelter directors, trainers, and national leaders – to give you actionable programs that don’t require special skills or breaking the bank to make positive changes.


    Watch Big Dog Master Class Sessions

    This free, on-demand, virtual conference opportunity is made possible by support from Maddie’s Fund® and organized by the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge and Human Animal Support Services, and is approved for 8 hours of CE credit by RACE, NACA, and CAWA. 

    Learn More About the Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge

     

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    Learn More About Human Animal Support Services

    The Human Animal Support Services project is an international, collaborative effort of more than 2,100 animal shelters and 11,000 animal welfare professionals who are working together to keep pets with their families and reimagine animal services to better support their communities.

     

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    Big Dog Master Class On Demand from Maddie's Million Pet Challenge

  • How Your Team Can Tap into the Power of Yes to Send More Animals Home

    How Your Team Can Tap into the Power of Yes to Send More Animals Home

    If you’ve tried everything you can think of to connect with your community, reduced barriers to fostering and adoption, and still animals are sitting in your shelter, you may catch yourself feeling powerless to increase positive outcomes, but you do have the opportunity to make a difference, and it starts with one simple word: Yes! Yes to going further to simplify your adoption process; yes to partnering with the community and engaging in deep listening; and yes to mitigating bias and working to make your communications and materials more inclusive, welcoming, and accessible.

    In last week’s Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge webinar, The Power of Yes, California for All Animals State Director Allison Cardona invited us to dig into what might be keeping people who want to foster or adopt from coming to the shelter, and she outlined how we can use these three impactful and untapped practices to encourage engagement across our communities and send more animals home. If you missed this thought-provoking, tip-filled webinar, you can catch the recording here and continue the conversation at Maddie’s Pet Form.

    Want to engage more deeply with your staff and start a discussion around how you can lean into the power of these practices at your shelter? Enroll as a team in the short, self-paced online training module (SPOT mod) The Power of Yes! Removing Barriers to Adoption in the Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Learniverse. While 70% of US households have a pet, only a fraction of those animals are adopted from animal shelters. This new course looks at barriers that typically push potential adopters away from animal shelters and towards other options. In addition to examining adoption barriers and the misconceptions that help them persist, you’ll look at strategies that can lower these hurdles, help more animals reach a live outcome and a happy life, and help your shelter embrace and welcome all members of your community.

    The webinar recording has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association. The self-paced course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association and for 1 hour of continuing education credit until November 7, 2024 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.

    Learn more about 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, The Power of Yes! and other SPOT mods, along with cohort-style, coach-led Bootcamps, are available at no cost.


    Watch the webcast


    Enroll in the course

  • New Course Helps Keep Animals on Track to the Right Outcome

    New Course Helps Keep Animals on Track to the Right Outcome

    Our goal for every animal in need is to get them as quickly as possible to the right outcome, whether that involves a trip to the shelter or assistance in the community. This could look like sterilizing, vaccinating, and returning a cat to their neighborhood home; reuniting a dog with their family; or helping a foster kitten make the move to their new family. The Right Outcome, the capstone course in the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse Four Rights series, is here to help you match each animal with the outcome that is right for them and make a plan to achieve it.

    Click “Course Home Page” Button below to take this course hosted on
    Maddie’s®️ University.



    First, you’ll learn how weigh all possible outcomes to identify the right one—the outcome that best supports the well-being of animals, honors the connections between humans and pets, stabilizes communities, and maintains public health and safety.

    Subject matter experts from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program will outline the most important Return to Home principles that enable us to get animals back to the homes they already have and lead you through identifying and removing barriers that can work against reunification efforts or make it harder for animals who need new homes to find them.

    Finally, you’ll learn strategies for avoiding decision fatigue and promoting team clarity and consensus, so that you can make decisions with more confidence, compassion, and empathy, including determining when the right outcome for an animal is humane euthanasia to relieve suffering.

    This short, self-paced online training module (SPOT mod) has been approved for 2.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and by National Animal Care and Control Association, as well as two hours of continuing education credit until October 20, 2024 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.

    Right Outcome is the final 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.

    Enroll today for free #ThankstoMaddie! The Right Place, The Right Time, The Right Care and other SPOT mods, along with cohort-style, coach-led Bootcamps, are available in the Maddie’s® Million Pet Learniverse at no cost.

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

  • Boost Animal and Staff Well-being with the Right Care

    Boost Animal and Staff Well-being with the Right Care

    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!


    Enroll now