If you’re seeing length of stay trending upward and adoptions slowing, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and maybe lose sight of the many factors that we can control, which is why it’s so important to take stock of all the tools we have at our disposal to reduce bottlenecks and move animals as quickly as possible to positive outcomes. If you’re feeling challenged by the current climate, it’s the perfect time to check out Right Time, the newest Self-Paced Online Training module (SPOT mod) from the Maddie’s®️ Million Pet Challenge Learniverse.

The Right Time has two dimensions, and you’ll learn how to work successfully within both: There’s the right time for an animal to come into the shelter (which could be immediately, at a scheduled time in the future, or, for animals who are best served where they are, maybe never), and then there are right times within the shelter, which include setting open hours and offering services by appointment, as well as managing animals in care through pathway planning, hold periods, and daily population management rounds, all components critical to keeping animals moving efficiently to appropriate outcomes.

Subject matter experts from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program will discuss strategies for streamlining tasks, reducing length of stay, capturing lost resources, and making the most of the resources you have, all while balancing community need, animal and human welfare and shelter capacity. You’ll learn about interventions you can make at your shelter to lead animals to the right outcome in the right time, and you’ll see how other animal shelters have successfully made changes to improve services in their communities.

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 the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA); it has also been approved for 2.0 units of RACE credit.

Right Time is the second course in a self-paced series that will explore 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.

Whether we’re talking about the hours our shelter is open or the demands on our staff time, the system we build directly impacts the time an animal spends in our shelter. There’s no time like the present to make some improvements in your systems: Enroll today for free! #ThankstoMaddie, Right Time and other SPOT mods, along with cohort-style, coach-led Bootcamps, are available in the Learniverse at no cost.

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

Finder-foster programs are one impactful way to serve animals in the Right Place and the Right Time, to the Right Outcome: Animals found by community members can be quickly and legally moved from stray to foster status, and, if they can’t be reunited with their owner, adopted out, all without ever entering the shelter.

But when do holding periods apply? What if the animal needs routine care? What would a finder-foster agreement look like, and is it necessary? If you’ve been wanting to introduce or fine-tune a finder-foster program at your shelter, but you’ve got questions, the new self-paced Finder-Foster Program course is for you!

As part of the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse program, Bruce Wagman, Lead Counsel for San Francisco SPCA’s Shelter Policy and Legal Services (Shelter PALS), covers the concepts, legal issues, and suggestions for the development and operation of finder-foster programs for animal shelters in the state of California (and other states).

You’ll learn how you can reunite more animals with their families, promote animal well-being and minimize stress by reducing time spent in the shelter, and as a result of these programs, reserve resources for animals in need of shelter services—all by engaging people who are already helping animals in your community.

This short course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and by National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA). It has also been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit until July 25, 2024, in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.

Although the specific information in this course is applicable to and based on considerations of California state law, the basic concepts will be applicable anywhere, subject to modifications necessitated by state or local laws. Shelters in other states are encouraged to check their state and local laws and ordinances to see how this information can be adapted for use in your location.

#ThankstoMaddie, this course is offered at no cost! Enroll today, and check out other free SPOT mods (Self-Paced Online Training modules) and cohort-style Bootcamps available at the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse.

The newest Bootcamp from the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse is here to help your team implement efficient and effective daily population management rounds in just six weeks! Whether you wish your rounds were more productive or you haven’t started them yet, Population Management and Daily Rounds Bootcamp will help you improve animal health and welfare, increase the number of animals and people you can help, and decrease staff workload and burnout, length of stay, and the number of animals waiting in your shelter.

Alongside your peers and fellow Bootcampers, you’ll master the why, how, when, where, and what of implementing and performing rockstar daily rounds through online content and live, interactive Zoom meetings. Led by your coach, Dr. Cindi Delany, you’ll spend two weeks covering the nuts and bolts of population management and daily rounds, then two weeks putting daily rounds into action (or improving what you’re already doing), with team check-ins and coach feedback. In the final two weeks, you’ll learn how to troubleshoot your systems and make your daily population management rounds sustainable long-term—even when you’re short-staffed or nearing (or even over) capacity.

This cohort-centered course offers real-time implementation support with troubleshooting as you go, and results that will benefit your staff, community, and animals. Dr. Delany has established successful and sustainable rounds at many shelters, decreasing average length of stay by 50% or more and average on-site animal inventory by 50% or more, all while increasing live releases and animals helped, enhancing shelters’ ability to provide the Right Care, in the Right Time, with the Right Care, to achieve the Right Outcome for each animal. 

Best of all, #ThanksToMaddie and the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse, Population Management and Daily Rounds Bootcamp is free to all participants! To ensure everyone receives the personalized coaching that makes a difference in your success, this session will be open to eight shelters; a waitlist will be created for future sessions. 

Get your team on board and turn your population management processes and daily rounds into a well-oiled machine that boosts the well-being of animals and people! Learn more and apply by August 8.