Time’s on Your Side in a New Course from Maddie’s®️ Million Pet Challenge

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.