Shelter Learniverse

Online Event - Monthly - Journey You Own Meditation Gathering - JYO
2025-12-10 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-01-14 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-02-11 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-03-11 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-04-08 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-05-13 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-06-10 17:00 - 17:45, 2026-07-08 17:00 - 17:45 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Create a shared, supportive space to explore grounding practices.
The guided meditations happen every month and typically run 30-45 minutes. All are welcome to these very low-key sessions, with videos on or off, whatever feels most comfortable to you. No speaking is necessary unless you’d like to share at the end of the session.
Attendees register once and can attend any of the monthly meditation dates. Don’t forget to add the dates to your calendar to ensure you don’t miss out on any sessions.
About the Host
Jyothi Robertson is a student of meditation practice for 40+ years and trauma-sensitive grounding practices formally for the past three years. She was raised by parents who practice meditation and lead spiritual teachings for members of their Indian community. She began pursuing her own formal exploration of spirituality as an anthropology major at Princeton University and conducted fieldwork for her thesis while living at an ashram (spiritual center) in India in 1996. As a veterinarian, she is interested in highlighting the spiritual connection between all living beings.
Jyothi has completed certifications in trauma-sensitive mindfulness, advanced trauma-sensitive meditation, deep listening, DEI, and since 2019, has been receiving training in Buddhist meditation practices and philosophy. As a student learning meditation, she is interested in exploring these practices with others in community.
WEBSITE LINK: https://jyo.world/meditation-gathering/

Online Event - 12/19/25 - December Feline Chat and Chuckle with Marci Koski – Paths To Becoming a Feline Behavior Consultant - PPG
2025-12-19 12:00 - 13:00
Join Laura Cassiday and Joanna Wachowiak-Finlaison as they chat with Marci Koski about paths to becoming a feline behavior consultant.
PPG members, you can log in via Zoom if you prefer. The link is in your event confirmation email.
This event will be live-streamed on Facebook from the main PPG Facebook page.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/december-feline-chat-and-chuckle-with-marci-koski/

Online Event - 1/21/26 - Shelter Med LIVE: Behavior Belongs in Shelter Medicine: The Shelter Vet's Role in Behavioral and Emotional Health - UC Davis KSMP
2026-01-21 16:00 - 17:00
Behavior might have felt like a blip on the vet school radar, but in the shelter it’s a critical skill to develop and essential to helping animals cope. Care for an animal’s mental and emotional state is a part of a shelter veterinarian’s daily workload and one of the most important aspects to supporting whole animal health. As a shelter vet, only you can determine when a medical issue is behind behavior changes, legally diagnose conditions, and prescribe treatments, and you’re uniquely positioned provide guidance on balancing human and animal health and safety to staff, volunteers, adopters, community members, and colleagues caring for animals who need behavior support.
Join Drs. Cindi Delany, Emilia Gordon, and Sarah Mantovani on this episode of Shelter Med Live to explore the shelter veterinarian’s impact and often overlooked role in shaping and managing dog and cat behavioral and emotional health.
After this conversation, you’ll be ready to:

Clearly articulate the goals of behavior management and how those differ before and after the shelter stay
Identify the most common behavioral diagnoses in sheltered animals and best practices for medical management
Understand the shelter veterinarians’ role in pathway planning and behavioral decision making and how they can impact capacity for care

Approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit by CAWA and NACA.
Host: Jennifer Bennett (host), DVM, MS (Behavioral Neuroscience), CAWA
Guests: Cynthia Delany, DVM, KPA-CTP; Emilia Gordon, DVM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice); Sarah Mantovani, DVM, MS (Shelter Medicine)
About Shelter Med LIVE
Shelter medicine bridges gaps in veterinary care access, ensuring animals are sterilized, vaccinated, and have the medical treatment they need before going home to the people and communities who care for them. Shelter Med LIVE is the place where vet professionals connect around what it takes to make shelter medicine happen every day—from intake triage to MacGyvering creative fixes. Every third Wednesday, join your UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program host Dr. Jenn Bennett and special guests for real talk and real solutions.
Ask questions (or send them in ahead of time). This isn’t a lecture—it’s a conversation for everyone who wants to nerd out on shelter medicine. Kick back and recharge with your colleagues in the middle of a long week.
This event has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit by CAWA and NACA.
Can’t make it live? Register to receive the recording and resources after the event, accessible through the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program Shelter Learniverse, #ThanksToMaddie!
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.shelterlearniverse.com/events

Online Event - 1/22/26 - Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection - Pain and Behavior: A case-based talk - Maddie's Fund
2026-01-22 12:00 - 13:00
Pain and discomfort are often under-diagnosed in dogs with behavioral issues. This presentation will highlight why this happens, and reviews cases where pain was the cause of the behavior issues or made behavioral issues worse. This is happening in young dogs and dogs who may not show any typical signs of pain/discomfort, but rather express it as aggression and/or anxiety.
Speaker: Emily Levine, DVM, DACVB, Animal Behavior Clinic of New Jersey
About Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection:
Join us on the fourth Thursday of every month as we talk about dog and cat behavior – supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. Each month, we hear from speakers about topics of interest to our group, such as behavior medications, modifying animal behavior, assessing and improving animal welfare, and how organizations successfully provide behavior support to dogs and cats.
Who should join: Animal welfare staff and volunteers who are interested in dog and cat behavior, and everyone who works to keep pets out of shelters and in homes.
You only need to register once for all meetings: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection group on Maddie’s Pet Forum – https://maddies.fund/monthlybehaviorconnectionMPF
Maddie’s Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration

Online Event - 2/5/26 - Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection: Shelter Evacuation via Emergency Foster Homes - Maddie's Fund
2026-02-05 12:00 - 13:00
One day ahead of Hurricane Helene hitting Asheville, NC, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue orchestrated a shelter evacuation into emergency foster homes with 100 animals going out the door in just two hours and two-thirds of the emergency fosters never having fostered for the organization previously. This action turned out to be lifesaving, as their shelter was consumed by 12 feet of floodwaters that very night. With full shelters across the US and an increase in natural disasters (a hurricane in the NC mountains?!), every animal welfare facility can benefit from having a plan in place to quickly evacuate pets to the safety of emergency foster homes. Join the Brother Wolf team to learn how to prepare ahead of time, communicate effectively when an evacuation occurs, collaborate with your community for support, and oversee the logistics seamlessly. These same strategies can be used to place animals into emergency foster homes due to any crisis: full shelter, unexpected large intake, part of shelter under construction, etc. The Brother Wolf team will walk you through turning a crisis into an opportunity for community connection and lifesaving work, together.
Guest Speakers:
Leah Craig Chumbley, Executive Director, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
Sara Groce, Director of Programs, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
Megan Malek, Senior Coordinator of Volunteers & Fosters, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
About Maddie’s Monthly Foster Connection:
Join us on the first Thursday of every month to discuss successful foster innovations and programs, collaborate with others in the field, answer questions and talk through complex foster-related issues.
Who should join: Foster managers, coordinators, volunteers and any staff who are interested in learning about what’s working in foster programs.
You only need to register once for all meetings: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyFosterRegistration
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie’s Monthly Foster Connection group on Maddie’s Pet Forum https://maddies.fund/monthlyfosterconnectionMPF
Maddie’s Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyFosterRegistration

Online Event - Third Wednesdays - Shelter Med LIVE - UC Davis KSMP
2026-02-18 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-18 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-15 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-20 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-17 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-15 16:00 - 17:00
Shelter medicine bridges gaps in veterinary care access, ensuring animals are sterilized, vaccinated, and have the medical treatment they need before going home to the people and communities who care for them. Shelter Med LIVE is the place where vet professionals connect around what it takes to make shelter medicine happen every day—from intake triage to MacGyvering creative fixes. Every third Wednesday, join your UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program host Dr. Jenn Bennett and special guests for real talk and real solutions.
Ask questions (or send them in ahead of time). This isn’t a lecture—it’s a conversation for everyone who wants to nerd out on shelter medicine. Kick back and recharge with your colleagues in the middle of a long week.
This event has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit by CAWA and NACA.
Can’t make it live? Register to receive the recording and resources after the event, accessible through the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program Shelter Learniverse, #ThanksToMaddie!
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.shelterlearniverse.com/events

Online Event - 2/26/26 - Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection: Sound in the Shelter - Maddie's Fund
2026-02-26 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Bailey Eagan, MSc, PhD
About Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection:
Join us on the fourth Thursday of every month as we talk about dog and cat behavior – supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. Each month, we hear from speakers about topics of interest to our group, such as behavior medications, modifying animal behavior, assessing and improving animal welfare, and how organizations successfully provide behavior support to dogs and cats.
Who should join: Animal welfare staff and volunteers who are interested in dog and cat behavior, and everyone who works to keep pets out of shelters and in homes.
You only need to register once for all meetings: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection group on Maddie’s Pet Forum – https://maddies.fund/monthlybehaviorconnectionMPF
Maddie’s Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration

Online Event - First Thursdays - Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection - Maddie's Fund
2026-03-05 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-04-02 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-05-07 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-04 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-07-02 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-08-06 12:00 - 13:00
About Maddie’s Monthly Foster Connection:
Join us on the first Thursday of every month to discuss successful foster innovations and programs, collaborate with others in the field, answer questions and talk through complex foster-related issues.
Who should join: Foster managers, coordinators, volunteers and any staff who are interested in learning about what’s working in foster programs.
You only need to register once for all meetings: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyFosterRegistration
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie’s Monthly Foster Connection group on Maddie’s Pet Forum https://maddies.fund/monthlyfosterconnectionMPF
Maddie’s Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyFosterRegistration

Online Event - 3/26/26 - Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection: Considerations with Returns - Maddie's Fund
2026-03-26 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Stacy Price, CAWA, CFRE, MBA
About Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection:
Join us on the fourth Thursday of every month as we talk about dog and cat behavior – supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. Each month, we hear from speakers about topics of interest to our group, such as behavior medications, modifying animal behavior, assessing and improving animal welfare, and how organizations successfully provide behavior support to dogs and cats.
Who should join: Animal welfare staff and volunteers who are interested in dog and cat behavior, and everyone who works to keep pets out of shelters and in homes.
You only need to register once for all meetings: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection group on Maddie’s Pet Forum – https://maddies.fund/monthlybehaviorconnectionMPF
Maddie’s Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration

Online Event - Fourth Thursdays - Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection - Maddie's Fund
2026-04-23 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-05-28 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-25 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-07-23 12:00 - 13:00
Join us on the fourth Thursday of every month as we talk about dog and cat behavior – supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. Each month, we hear from speakers about topics of interest to our group, such as behavior medications, modifying animal behavior, assessing and improving animal welfare, and how organizations successfully provide behavior support to dogs and cats.
Who should join: Animal welfare staff and volunteers who are interested in dog and cat behavior, and everyone who works to keep pets out of shelters and in homes.
You only need to register once for all meetings: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie’s Monthly Behavior Connection group on Maddie’s Pet Forum – https://maddies.fund/monthlybehaviorconnectionMPF
Maddie’s Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration
