Shelter Learniverse

Webinar - 1/10/24 - Trans* Inclusive Workplaces - The AAWA
2024-01-10 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Toward a Culture of Belonging and Inclusion in Animal Welfare
How can we ensure inclusion, safety, and belonging for transgender* people in our organizations?
Webinar attendees will unpack the importance of DEI work concerning transgender, non-binary, and gender-fluid people in the animal sheltering and well-being movement, and how this work is inherently anti-racist and anti-oppressive. This webinar will cover a brief history of gender, the intersectional, Black Feminist roots of queer theory, and unpack some of the most asked questions about transgender and non-binary identities.
Attendees will walk away with tangible ideas that your organization can implement to create more trans-inclusivity, equity, and belonging, and will understand how these actions can contribute to your overall DEI efforts.
Presenter: Rory Adams, Senior Manager of Adoption Initiatives. PetSmart Charities
(Image via All Are Welcome Here)
WEBSITE LINK: https://learning.theaawa.org/p/1-10-24

Webinar – 1/11/24 – For Dog’s Sake, Can You Stop That? Canine-Friendly Body Language Improvements for Humans – Dogs Playing for Life
2024-01-11 09:00 - 11:30
Dogs are resilient and oh-so-forgiving! These qualities make them endearing as companions, along with their ability to love unconditionally. So, why do some dogs struggle to understand us when we are offering affection or when we want to help them, not harm them? In this session, we will focus on the HUMAN handling that contributes to unwanted behavior, even “aggression”. Get ready to rethink your approach as we reveal the common and widely accepted and taught handling errors that set dogs up for failure. Through extensive video examples, we will demonstrate alternative handling techniques that help dogs to trust and thrive!

This webinar will demonstrate:
– Examples of handling that causes negative behavior compared to handling that promotes desired behavior
– Demonstration of handling that induces trust and learning with dogs that are too afraid to respond initially to food rewards or affection
– Comprehensive discussion around the correct use of pressure and release and why this is a critical skill for shelter canine handlers to master to save more dogs
This is a 2-hour presentation followed by a Q&A session. This webinar will NOT be recorded and is scheduled at EASTERN TIME.
WEBSITE LINK: https://dogsplayingforlife.com/webinars/

Webinar - 1/11/24 - Bringing the Past, Present and Future into Focus for Kittens - National Kitten Coalition
2024-01-11 11:00 - 12:00
It was not very long ago in the United States that kittens too young for adoption or those with signs of illness were routinely euthanized. Happily, the situation for kittens in our country has been rapidly changing, and those same kittens who would never have had a chance in the past are now being successfully cared for and adopted into loving homes.
This session will provide the inspiration for attendees to continue in their life-saving efforts. Attendees will gain insights into past and present situations for kittens’ survival and will also acquire useful, proven information on new, upcoming programs and protocols being implemented around the country that are saving more kittens than ever. We can see a better future for kittens in our country, and together we can make that vision become the reality!
Presenter: Rosemarie Crawford, LVT
Click here to register for this FREE webinar.
If you can’t join us for the live presentation, don’t worry! Sign-up anyway, because a recording of this, and other webinars, will be available on NKC’s eLearning Center no later than two weeks after they air.
WEBSITE LINK: https://kittencoalition.org/event/bringing-the-past-present-and-future-into-focus-for-kittens/

Webinar - 1/11/24 - Maddie's Insights: Foster Care and the Human-Animal Bond - Maddie's Fund
2024-01-11 12:00 - 13:00
It is commonplace among those who provide foster care for animals to have a recurring conversation with those who do not. Upon hearing that one is an animal foster parent a frequent response is, “Oh, I could never do that. I would not be able to give the animal up.” But this is precisely what those caring for animal fosters are called to do. The ability of animal shelters and rescues to provide critical care through foster homes depends on volunteers who willingly and temporarily take animals into their homes and lives. Studies of foster volunteers has indicated that they find taking care of animals with medical, and particularly behavioral, issue to be stressful. And, volunteers that do not feel that their shelter is providing them sufficient emotional support are more likely to think about quitting. Given these two realities it becomes important for shelter staff to understand the emotional aspects of providing foster care and to identify ways to better support volunteers so that they are satisfied and more likely to continue to provide this service.
The presentation addresses these issues with the following learning objectives:

What is the nature of attachment (human-animal bond) between volunteers and their foster animals?
What emotions do volunteers experience when their fosters leave their care?
What coping and resilience strategies appear to reduce the stress of providing foster care?
How can animal shelters help foster volunteers cope with the stress inherent to fostering?

This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association. It has also been submitted for approval for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) approval.
If you have questions you’d like our presenter to answer, submit your questions or comments on this discussion thread: https://forum.maddiesfund.org/discussion/webcast-on-january-11-2024-maddies-insights-foster-care-and-the-human-animal-bond
About the Presenter
Dr. Laura Reese is a professor in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on issues of animal welfare policy and shelter management. She wrote the book, Strategies for Successful Animal Shelters, and has published numerous articles on local animal ordinances, dog bite risks, animal cruelty, compassion fatigue, animal foster programs, and animal shelter volunteer satisfaction. She is the president of Professional Animal Welfare Services which provides consulting services to animal shelters and rescues and founded The Un-Shelter a foster-based rescue in Michigan. Dr. Reese also volunteers in and provides foster care for local animal shelters in the Charleston, SC area.
WEBSITE LINK: http://maddies.fund/MIwebcasts

Webinar - 1/11/24 - Sheltering Beyond Shelters: Housing Justice Advocacy and its Role in Animal Welfare - HASS
2024-01-11 15:00 - 16:00
Housing is a necessity that impacts all families in the United States, and believe it or not – it also profoundly affects animal shelters. Join us for a webinar on the state of housing and the history of housing justice advocacy efforts in the U.S. (and why animal welfare advocates should care). Lauren Loney, Staff Attorney & Policy Specialist for HASS, will share highlights from the HASS shelter intake reasons database, which details more than 20,000 housing-related intakes across the country. Joining Lauren is Megan Collop (MSW, LCSW), Manager of Client Support Services for Colorado Legal Services, and Christina Rosales, Housing and Land Justice Director for PowerSwitch Action. Megan is a licensed clinical social worker with a master’s in social work and an Animal Assisted Social Work certificate. Christina holds a master’s in social work and has dedicated her career to advocating for equitable housing. These impressive panelists will discuss why our approach to the pets and housing crisis must go beyond pet inclusivity, be intersectional, and align with broader tenants’ rights and housing justice movements; they will also provide resources for how to do it. Vincent Medley, Maddie’s® Director of Human Animal Support Services, will moderate.
Register below and join us live on Thursday, January 11 at 5 p.m. CT. After the live event, a recording will be distributed to all registrants within 3 business days.
WEBSITE LINK: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/2616740581796/WN_-AIP-PlOQt-geuDOGubKoA
