Society’s relationship to pets continues to evolve. The majority of people consider their pets to be beloved family members and expect their local animal shelter to work diligently to save the lives of the dogs and cats that enter the facility. This program will provide the knowledge you need to assume a management or leadership role at an open-admission animal shelter. You’ll learn how to maximize a shelter’s lifesaving potential through program management, community engagement, and shelter operations while at the same time preparing yourself for an exciting career.
The five courses are:
- Leadership covering strategic planning, analyzing operations, decision-making, managing people and processes to achieve results, organizational responsibilities, and working with a board of directors.
- Shelter Operations covering adoptions, animal care and sheltering fundamentals, animal behavior and enrichment, and customer service.
- Community Program Development covering volunteers, foster care, spay/neuter, pet retention, events, and community relations.
- Animal Health and Clinic Operations covering understanding shelter medicine, basic animal health considerations and care, euthanasia decisions, and clinic operations.
- Marketing and Development covering development fundamentals, fundraising strategies, marketing fundamentals, adoption promotion, social media and websites, and media relations.
Each of these courses include live video conference sessions with top experts in the field providing students valuable contacts within the field. Additionally, alumni have access to exclusive networking opportunities and receive notification of employment opportunities.
You can sign up for individual courses or all five for a discount. All five must be completed to get a certificate.
Who will benefit from the program?
- Professionals seeking a career change to something more personally fulfilling.
- New shelter directors.
- Shelter directors or managers wishing to improve their organization’s live release rate and sustainability.
- People working in the animal welfare field who wish to advance into management roles.
- Board members of animal shelters.
Credit for program/courses
Upon completion of all five courses, you will receive a Certificate in Animal Shelter Management from the University of the Pacific.
Each course earns:
- Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from the University of the Pacific
- Association of Animal Welfare Advancement CAWA Continuing Education (CE) credits
Schedule and Registration
Each of the five online courses are six weeks long and are offered sequentially. The entire program is about seven months long, and a new round starts again after a short break. More information on start dates of each course and the registration form can be found on the University of the Pacific website.
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