Traditional dispatch programs focus on collecting information and sending out an officer. Today’s modern dispatch program focuses on lifesaving and proactive problem-solving and acts as the agency’s gatekeeper for officer call volume and shelter intake. This approach accesses the potential for increased lifesaving and community engagement that the traditional mindset leaves behind. The training will cover customer service, radio use, and priorities, information collection and problem-solving over the phone, as well as tips and tricks on handling some of the commonly received complaint calls. This training will challenge the traditional model of animal control dispatch and encourage a more proactive, engaged, and community-focused approach to the call-takers of the field service industry.
Speaker:
Anna Walton is the municipal and shelter support coordinator for Best Friends Animal Society, providing logistics support for strategic shelter partnerships and programs across the country. Through Best Friends’ digital learning efforts, Anna creates educational content for a full range of interactive online trainings and tools to support field services professionals.
Before stepping into her current role on the shelter support team, Anna worked as the community cat program coordinator for the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in Atlanta, Georgia. As part of that work, she mentored municipal shelters and rescue partners in the Southeast, worked with commissioners and government leadership to establish best practices for local animal control agencies, and led grassroots efforts to update county ordinances to ensure the continuation of trap-neuter-return programs for Cobb County’s community cats.
Prior to joining Best Friends, Anna served as an animal control officer and dispatcher for Fulton County Animal Services through LifeLine Animal Project in Atlanta. While she was an ACO, Anna managed Fulton County’s Doghouse Program, providing humane support for pets and proactive assistance to community members in underserved areas. Before diving into the animal protection and sheltering world, Anna worked as a wildlife care supervisor for Aware Wildlife Center, where she oversaw the rehabilitation of wild animals, trained and managed volunteers in animal care, and developed fundraising and community engagement programs.
While completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Emory University, Anna traveled to northern Tanzania through the School for International Training to study human-wildlife conflict, animal behavior and the wildlife conservation movement. She also managed to pick up a bit of Swahili.
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