Shelter Learniverse

Online Event - 4/3/24 - Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 2 - Maddie's Fund
2024-04-03 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Camp Maddie is back with its second offering! Join us on March 20th and April 3rd from 9 am-1 pm PT (12 pm-4 pm ET) for a focus on dog behavior. The free, virtual event will consist of two half-days that will include presentations, short videos and Q&A sessions. At Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition, we’ll talk about determining which dogs are safe to rehome, keeping dogs happy and healthy while in your care, and finding them homes.
Hear from a wonderful lineup of speakers including Dr. Chris Pachel, Dr. Wailani Sung, Mike Shikashio, Bobbie Bhambree, Ferdi Yau, and more!
Who should attend? This event is perfect for those involved in animal shelters and foster-based organizations, dog trainers, behaviorists, foster caregivers, and veterinarians.
Post Event Workshops: At the end of each event, you’ll have the opportunity to apply for a series of follow-up workshops, diving deeper into some of the presentation topics with our esteemed speakers.
Continued Education Credits: Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition participants will be eligible for up to 8 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) and National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA)continued education credit hours.
Come make new friends and unleash your organization’s potential, one dog at a time.
Register once for both days:

Wednesday, March 20, 2024: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Pacific (12:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern)
Wednesday, April 3, 2024: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Pacific (12:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern)

WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/CampMaddieBehaviorRegistration

Webinar - 4/3/24 - Vector Vigilance: Understanding and Managing Vector-borne Pathogens of Dogs and Cats - VETGirl
2024-04-03 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Vector Villain!
In this complimentary, 1-hour, VETgirl–Antech webinar, Dr. Brian Herrin, DVM, PhD, DACVM will discuss the common arthropod vectors and the pathogens they can transmit to dogs and cats. Ticks, fleas, heartworm, and Lyme may be things your practice sees every day, but new products, diagnostics, and medical recommendations might have muddied your plans. We’ll clear it up with up-to-date information on best diagnostic, treatment, and management practices! Don’t see these issues very often?? You’re in luck, but maybe not for long! We’ll talk about where these vectors are moving so you can begin to assess which patients might be at risk in your practice!
Thanks to sponsorship from Antech, the recording of this webinar will be available to view free and On-Demand until December 31, 2024.
WEBSITE LINK: https://vetgirlontherun.com/webinars/april-3-2024-vector-vigilance-understanding-and-managing-vector-borne-pathogens-of-dogs-and-cats/

Online Event - First Thursdays - Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection - Maddie's Fund
2024-04-04 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
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

Webinar - 4/4/24 - Strategies for Training the Atypical Dog – Part 1: Concepts and Overview - FDSA (fee applies)
2024-04-04 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
This is Part One of a two-part webinar on working with “atypical” dogs. Both webinars are stand-alone webinars covering a different aspect of this topic, but they combine to cover the topic more broadly.
When we train our dogs, we are constantly asking them to solve puzzles. We are asking them to connect the dots between the cue (context cue or human initiated verbal / visual cue), their subsequent behavior (action), and the reinforcement. As our dog becomes more confident about the connection between these elements, they can respond more rapidly and with improved accuracy.
During the learning process there will be moments of frustration and confusion. Typical dogs deal with small amounts of frustration and confusion in a way that helps them find a solution to the puzzle. This leads to the dog attaining reinforcement, which results in them putting in the same or greater effort on future learning-oriented tasks.
Atypical dogs however do not respond in the same way. For a range of underlying reasons, the training puzzle itself may cause an excessive spike in arousal in these dogs. This is commonly referred to as the dog “stressing down” or “stressing up” depending on the observable behaviors. “Stressing down” behaviors may include shutting-down, stalling, looking away, appearing disinterested, freezing, moving slowly, or performing avoidance, escape, appeasement, or displacement behaviors. “Stressing up” behaviors may include barking at the human or at the task, whining, performing rapid sequences of random un-cued behaviors, anticipating cues, spinning, doing zoomies, lacking focus, and attempting to guess at the solution with little thought.
Beyond training pressures, these dogs may also struggle more than usual with environmental pressures. All dogs need a certain amount of desensitization and distraction training in order to successfully function in bigger environments, but the atypical dog may be extremely aware of stimuli in the environment. This requires additional training steps and more detailed monitoring.
In this “Part One” webinar we discuss:

The underlying factors that contribute to the development of an atypical dog, including genetic traits and the impact of prior learning.
Ways to identify the difference between a simple training gap, and a more complex problem.
When to use classical conditioning versus operant conditioning.
Methods for measuring the proportional impact the environment is having on our dog’s behavior.

We also look at a range of solutions that can create a more focused, happier, and more consistently successful training partner.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars

Online Event – 4/4/24 – Live from the Ranch – Insights, Best Practices, & Anecdotes in Animal Training – Karen Pryor Academy
2024-04-04 15:30 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Live from The Ranch is hitting the road, and will be broadcasting live from ClickerExpo in Portland, Oregon. Juliana DeWillems is taking over the interview seat and talking to 50+ year veteran of animal care and training, Ken Ramirez, about insights, best practices, and personal anecdotes about learning with animals. Ken has used positive reinforcement training with everything from butterflies to elephants to dogs.
Tune in live on YouTube on April 4, at 3:30 pm PT. Link in bio.
WEBSITE LINK: https://theranch.clickertraining.com/live/#next

Online Event – 4/6/24 – Neighborhood Cats TNR Certification Workshop – Community Cats Podcast (small fee applies)
2024-04-06 11:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Are you ready to be part of the solution for feral and stray cats in your neighborhood? Our expert instructors will teach you best practices for Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) and colony management. Learn what TNR is and why it works. We’ll cover getting along with neighbors, preparations for trapping, trapping itself (including entire colonies at once), feeding, providing winter shelter, and more. Take advantage of the interactive format, extensive handouts, and video footage of actual projects. Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and gain access to an ongoing Facebook group for networking with other TNR activists. Instructed by Susan Richmond, executive director, and Bryan Kortis, national programs director.
Session duration is 2.5 hours, followed by an optional 15-minute Q&A session.
This course/webinar/series/conference has been approved for Continuing Educational Units by the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA). National certificate holders can submit for credit consistent with the NACA CEU policy located https://nacatraining.org/continuing-education-recertification/
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/events/the-neighborhood-cats-tnr-certification-workshop-april-2024/

Webinar - 4/8/24 - Playgroups: The Why, the What, and the How - Dogs Playing for Life
2024-04-08 08:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Learn about all the ways in which DPFL Playgroups are transforming shelters all across the country! This webinar (formerly offered in three parts) will cover the Why, the What, and the How of playgroups.
Attendees will be introduced to dynamic video examples and impactful data and experiences from some of the over 350 shelters who have embraced the power of letting shelter dogs play!
This is a 3.5-hour presentation with Q&A at intervals throughout. This webinar will not be recorded.
This course has been pre-approved for 3 continuing education unit (CEU) credits for Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and by the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP).
WEBSITE LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jEdkGmh4REqHRf42RarYaQ#/registration

Online Meeting - Mondays - Weekly Community Conversations #ThanksToMaddie - Maddie's Fund
2024-04-08 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-04-15 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Maddie’s Fund hosts a weekly 50-minute Zoom call for animal well-being professionals. These calls are a collaborative space to share exciting new programs and research, discuss uncomfortable topics, connect with peers in the industry, and more, all while sharing a common goal of preserving the human-animal bond.
Who Should Join?
Executive directors, animal well-being leaders, shelter workers, pet support professionals, volunteers, rescue organizations and anyone who shares the common goal of preserving the human-animal bond.
Win Ca$h for Attending!
Each month, Maddie’s Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants. You can enter to win each time you attend a call or watch on-demand during the month by completing the giveaway drawing entry forms shared in the chat during the calls.
Register Today
Join us each Monday at 11am PT/2pm ET to receive support and learn about innovative ideas other organizations across the country are seeing success with.
All calls are recorded and uploaded to the Community Conversations page on Maddie’s Pet Forum https://forum.maddiesfund.org/communityconversations
Please note: All views expressed on these calls are not necessarily endorsed by Maddie’s Fund.
WEBSITE LINK: https://forum.maddiesfund.org/communityconversations

Webinar - 4/11/24 - Why trust matters: How grantmakers and nonprofits can build lasting partnerships - Bonterra
2024-04-08 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Trust is at the center of all relationships. Is it at the center of your charitable partnerships?
Reporting impact has been central to building transparency between funders, grantees, employees, and consumers. Funders use impact reports to share their progress toward funding commitments with key stakeholders, including employees and consumers.
They also depend on nonprofits to report how their funds are being used to build accountability and trust. But this reliance can create a power imbalance, suggesting a lack of trust in a nonprofit’s ability to maximize grants and requiring resources not all nonprofits have to build comprehensive impact reports.
During this session, we will explore how to strengthen transparency and build trustworthy partnerships without creating an undue burden on nonprofits and grants administrators alike. We’ll share examples of creative, scalable partnerships and tips for garnering internal and community support.
Key takeaways:

Building trust
Tips for stronger funder and nonprofit partnership
Building nonprofit innovation

WEBSITE LINK: https://go.bonterratech.com/webinar-how-grantmakers-and-nonprofits-build-partnerships.html

Webinar - 4/9/24 - Northern Tier Shelter Initiative Zoomies: The Updated ASV Guidelines: Practical Guidance for Animal Welfare Organizations - ASPCAPro
2024-04-09 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ (ASV) Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters has been a guide for animal shelters since 2010. Join us as we discuss the second edition and learn bite-sized strategies for improving welfare in your own organization. The latest updates to the guidelines include staff well-being, disaster response, and forensics.

Takeaways

Understand the shift from the Five Freedoms to the Five Domains framework
Learn how organizations are implementing bite-sized strategies for bringing the guidelines to life for their community
How to create a plan for improving the welfare in your organization

Suited For

Animal Welfare leaders, staff, and volunteers working in, or with, animal shelters, rescues, or clinics within the Northern Tier (Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin), but all are welcome.

Credits

The ASPCA is an approved provider of content, which enhances professional competence and aligns with the 5 domains of the CAWA Exam specification.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.aspcapro.org/training/webinar/northern-tier-shelter-initiative-zoomies-updated-asv-guidelines-practical-guidance

Online Event - 4/10/24 - Neonatal Kitten Rescue 101: A Practical Guide for Animal Control Officers - The National Kitten Coalition
2024-04-10 09:00 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
This conference has been approved for One (1) Continuing Educational Unit by the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA).
Are you familiar with the challenges of aging, assessing, and caring for neonatal kittens in the field? Finding appropriate placement for them can be a daunting task, and time is often of the essence. To address these issues, we’ve created a practical guide for rescues and animal control officers who want to make a difference for neonatal kittens in need. Join us for this informative webinar to help prepare yourself and your colleagues for kitten season, and if you know any animal control officers who could benefit from this webinar, please let them know.
Neonatal Kitten Rescue 101: A Practical Guide for Animal Control Officers is brought to you by the National Animal Care & Control Association, Rhode Island Kitten Kits, and The National Kitten Coalition
WEBSITE LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2317109686219/WN_F5M2hfglRpaOeInVP1I-Pw

Webinar - 4/10/24 - Study Results: How Do Access to Veterinary Care Challenges Impact Animal Welfare Orgs? - The AAWA
2024-04-10 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The nationwide shortage of veterinarians disproportionately affects the work of animal welfare and animal care & control agencies.
Recognizing that we need to understand how the access to care crisis impacts our profession, The Association and The Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee recently fielded a national survey to gain insights. Hundreds of organizations participated in the study which was comprised of questions related to personnel, budgets, and medical programs.
We need to understand the breadth and depth of these challenges so we can work toward solutions. During this webinar, the study’s principal investigator and The Association’s CEO will share our findings.
WEBSITE LINK: https://learning.theaawa.org/p/4-10-24

Webinar - 4/11/24 - Communicate on Your Own Terms: A Training for Animal Shelter and Rescue Leaders - CalAnimals
2024-04-11 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Today, more than ever, animal shelters find themselves struggling to communicate effectively with advocates, volunteers, public officials, and even their own colleagues. To complicate matters further, animal shelter and rescue leaders often find themselves on the defensive, communicating from a reactive position. Some common communications mistakes include: engaging on someone else’s terms; closing off communication; oversimplifying complex subjects; getting defensive; and withholding information.
In this session, we’ll teach you how simple shifts in how we think, act, and speak can help you achieve results, win community support, and build trust. You’ll learn eight simple rules to win on the communication front every time and you’ll learn how to avoid communications traps that can make situations worse. You’ll also learn how to talk to stakeholders about complex situations and how to communicate in crisis situations. Finally, attendees will practice, using common examples.
The goal of this class is for every attendee to feel well-prepared to communicate about any subject to everyone from critics to community supporters. If you’ve been struggling to achieve healthy, productive communication with anyone inside or outside of your organization, you’ll get the help you need!
Speaker: Kristen Hassen, Outcomes Consulting
WEBSITE LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z_sQAnOrRde1_0Laab9aHQ

Webinar - 4/11/24 - Maddie's Insights: Beyond Animal Shelter Walls: Using Community Data to Understand Intake Diversion - Maddie's Fund
2024-04-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
How do we reduce relinquishment to animal shelters? In the U.S. and Canada, approximately 25-30% of animals that enter shelters are surrendered by owners. However, despite many shelters and rescues providing various pet support services for the past few decades, there has been little demonstratable reduction in owner surrendered animals. Currently, many animal shelters use data collected at intake, such as surrender reasons, to create programs that aim to support pet owners to keep their pets. This presentation will outline research into animal shelters, pet owning communities, self-rehoming platforms, and pet owners to demonstrate the complex system of pet surrender. By the end of this presentation, participants will learn how community data can complement animal shelter data to help divert animals from shelters.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this presentation, you will be able to….

discuss strategies to improve standardization of intake data collection within your shelter
Identify ways to connect animal shelter data to community-level demographic data to understand risks of surrender
Interpret data from pet support services, self-rehoming platforms, and pet owners to understand how to promote intake diversion

Can’t attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcasts
Connect with the guest speaker & ask questions here on Maddie’s Pet Forum: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcastIntakeDiversion
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 and has been submitted for approval for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) approval.
Presenter: Lexis Ly, PhD Student, UBC Animal Welfare Program
Lexis Ly is a PhD student in Applied Animal Biology at the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Program. Her work uses animal shelter and community data to understand how to maintain human-animal bonds, help animal shelter services provide equitable services, and reduce intake to shelters. She is also interested in veterinary disaster response, climate change and pet ownership, and bias in animal shelter adoption.
WEBSITE LINK: http://maddies.fund/MIwebcastsRegister

Webinar - 4/11/24 - Building Trust, Preventing Bites: Proactive Dog Bite Prevention and Handling Strategies - Fear Free
2024-04-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
As you know, a scared or anxious dog can react abnormally out of the desire to protect themselves. But, how does this translate into an effective and safe dog bite prevention strategy? The key to an effective dog bite prevention strategy is being proactive rather than reactive when a pet is showing signs of fear, anxiety, and stress.
Join us during Dog Bite Prevention Week, on April 11, at 3 p.m. ET with Steve Dale, CABC, FFCP, to explore how being proactive can significantly enhance workplace safety and foster a harmonious environment for both humans and pets. Discover practical techniques and approaches to mitigate potential aggression and create a happier, safer environment for everyone involved.
In this webinar, you will:

Learn proactive measures to create a safer environment for dogs and humans
Explore techniques for effectively managing and de-escalating tense situations involving fearful or anxious dogs
Gain insights into communication strategies that promote trust and confidence between dogs and humans, contributing to a stronger human-animal bond
Acquire actionable tips for implementing dog bite prevention protocols in workplace settings

If you are unable to attend in person, we encourage you to register. All registrants will receive the recording of this webinar to your inbox within 1-2 weeks of the event date. If you are interested in continuing your education through previous webinars, you can access the recordings for all Fear Free webinars through our site, here.
WEBSITE LINK: https://fearfreellc.webinargeek.com/building-trust-preventing-bites-proactive-dog-bite-prevention-and-handling-strategies

Webinar - 4/11/24 - Elevator Behavior: Skills for Existing in Polite Society! - FDSA (fee applies)
2024-04-11 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Is your dog magnetized to people and other dogs when out in public? Does he find it difficult to impossible to simply ignore others in the environment? Do you feel like your dog is constantly looking for interaction with others while you struggle to keep his focus on you? We all want our dogs to be comfortable around other dogs and people and we often work very hard to socialize them. But do we take it too far and create an even bigger problem? Deb will discuss her concept of teaching dogs good “elevator behavior” and the importance of a dog who can simply mind his own business in public places.
Note: This Webinar is back by popular demand. Please check your webinar library before purchasing.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars

Hybrid Conference - 4/13/24 and 4/14/24 - Feline Health Symposium: Being PURRfectly Clear on Feline Pain - EveryCat Health Foundation (fee applies)
2024-04-13 04:30 - 15:00, 2024-04-14 05:00 - 09:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
EveryCat Health Foundation and the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine are excited to partner together for the symposium, Being PURRfectly Clear on Feline Pain on April 13-14, 2024. We hope you join us to learn and support our missions for our feline friends.
This symposium will have two tracks, one for veterinary professionals looking for continuing education credits and one for non-veterinary professionals. Both tracks will focus on feline pain with topics such as pain with cancer, dentistry, urinary tract, and GI . The symposium will take place at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. Both tracks will be recorded and made available to all attendees at the conclusion of the symposium.
WEBSITE LINK: https://felinepainsymposium.squarespace.com/

Online Event - 1st Tuesdays - All Call - California for All Animals
2024-04-16 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The All Call is a twice-monthly, California community call for animal well-being professionals. The one-hour call is a dedicated space to share and learn from each other. Popular topics include initiatives that create a more inclusive culture for both staff and community, programs that keep pets with their people, industry trends, research studies, as well as the hard stuff, like what’s not working or what is particularly difficult during times of scarcity. The call is a mix of presentations, storytelling, open discussion, and Q&A time.
The All Call is hosted by the California for All Animals team, Nadia Oseguera-Ramón, Ivy Ruiz, and Allison Cardona. You only need to register one time. Calls are sometimes recorded; recap emails with supplemental resources are sent post-call. Find past call resources and recordings, including the recent Multicultural Engagement Community of Practice series, at the Cal for All Animals website.
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/all-call

Online Event - 1st and 3rd Tuesdays - All Call - Beyond Words: Navigating Accent Discrimination in the Workplace - California for All Animals
2024-04-16 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
More than one billion people speak English worldwide, yet no one speaks it exactly the same way. Factors like region, culture, and variations among native and non-native speakers contribute to language fluidity and diversity. Yet accent bias and discrimination is universal and often goes unexamined. Whether it’s conscious or unconscious, it can fuel stereotyping, judgment, racism, and distrust within our teams and communities. At the April 16 All Call, Dr. Wesley Cheung (Shelter Medicine Resident, Ontario Veterinary College) will explore this topic with examples from the veterinary and shelter sector. He’ll offer steps we can take to reduce accent biases and build trust so we can accomplish more together.
The All Call is a twice-monthly, California community call for animal well-being professionals that occurs on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday. The one-hour call is a dedicated space to share and learn from each other. Popular topics include initiatives that create a more inclusive culture for both staff and community, programs that keep pets with their people, industry trends, research studies, as well as the hard stuff, like what’s not working or what is particularly difficult during times of scarcity. The call is a mix of presentations, storytelling, open discussion, and Q&A time.
The All Call is hosted by California for All co-leaders Allison Cardona and Nadia Oseguera and is enriched by rotating facilitators. You only need to register one time. Calls are sometimes recorded; recap emails with supplemental resources are sent post-call.
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/all-call

Webinar - 4/17/24 - Practical Calicivirus: All You Need to Know from Diagnosis to Adoption - Maddie's Fund
2024-04-17 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Feline calicivirus is a contagious, often severe virus in cats that can be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to treat. However, standardized protocols help treat these cats efficiently, reduce transmission within the shelter, and get cats moving toward live outcomes. This webcast will cover diagnosing calicivirus without the use of expensive testing; treating the virus and caring for sick cats in the shelter; and clearing and adopting the cats after illness.
Learning Objectives:

Attendees will learn how to diagnose calicivirus without expensive testing.
Attendees will take away best practice treatment protocols.
Attendees will understand how, and when, to clear cats and move them along toward their outcome.

Maddie’s Pet Forum discussion thread https://maddies.fund/ForumWebcastCalicivrius
This webinar will be recorded and 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 approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval.
Presenters
Monica Tarant
Chief Innovation Officer
Cincinnati Animal CARE and The Give Them Ten Movement
Monica Tarant is the Chief Innovation Officer: Feline Lifesaving at Cincinnati Animal CARE with The Give Them Ten movement and is helping organizations create the most humane city in the country for cats.
A decade before anyone had heard of such a thing, she cut her teeth founding a trap-neuter-return organization in rural Illinois and pioneered one of the nation’s first, and largest, working cat programs. In 2012, she joined Austin Pets Alive! where she led her team to an 88 percent growth in cat adoptions and helped Austin achieve a citywide 98 percent live release rate for cats. Monica then spent years as an instructor for the Maddie’s Fund Lifesaving Academy teaching shelters best practices and innovative lifesaving programs, advancing research in feline retroviruses, and progressing public policy as a City of Austin Animal Advisory Commissioner. Monica is a frequent speaker and advisor on innovative ways to save every cat, including cats with feline leukemia, community cats, and shelter cats in need of medical care.
Jordana Moerbe
Medical Care Director, Austin Pets Alive!
Jordana brings over 15 years of experience in the animal welfare field and is one of the founding staff members of Austin Pets Alive!. Her work there created the Medical Triage and Wellness Clinic which is now the largest foster-centric medical clinic in the country and sees upwards of 7,500 medical cases each year. In 2017, her national work began in shelter clinic management, disease management, and outbreak response. Jordana worked with shelters and rescues nationwide to improve medical practices, live outcomes, and shelter efficiencies through innovative ideas and programming. She also served as the American Pets Alive Maddie’s Medical Program Instructor, creating in-person training courses as well as online coursework.
Jordana’s passion continues to be shelter clinic management, outside-the-box thinking to industry problems, and helping people acquire realistic methods and tools to accomplish the job. She is a national conference speaker on these topics. Jordana resides just outside Austin with her husband, daughter, dogs, cats, and many farm animals.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddiesfund-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3FEJayD2Qa6SXp5gKD38IA#/registration

Webinar - 4/19/24 - For Dog's sake, can you stop that? Canine-Friendly Body Language Improvements for Humans - Dogs Playing for Life (fee applies)
2024-04-19 09:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
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 30 min Q&A session. This webinar costs $20 and you will receive the recording the next day.
WEBSITE LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EYFAcMH0S-6beQZX-RStQQ#/

Online Event – 4/20/24 – Online Behavior Day – Community Cats Podcast (fee applies)
2024-04-20 07:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Community Cats Podcast will host their ever-popular Online Behavior Day on April 20, 2024.
More than 400 attendees from all walks of life are expected to log on and learn all they can to better understand and care for the cats in their lives. From animal shelter professionals to caregivers and cat owners, this is the perfect event for anyone who has wondered why cats do the things they do.
Online Behavior Day will feature four of the animal welfare industry’s most-trusted authorities on feline behavior. Workshops will focus on an array of subjects, from managing multi-cat households to creating a fear free shelter environment. Sessions will include a live Q&A to address attendees burning questions and concerns.
The impressive speaker lineup includes:

Pam Johnson-Bennett, certified cat behavior consultant and best-selling author of 8 books
Tabitha Kucera, Elite Fear Free and Low Stress HandlingⓇ-certified Registered Veterinary Technician, certified cat behavior consultant, and one of only 30 Veterinary Technician Specialists in behavior
Rachel Geller, Ed. D, Founder and President of All Cats All the Time, Inc., certified cat behavior and retention specialist, and Fear Free Shelter Specialist
Arden Moore, America’s Pet Health and Safety Coach and host of “Oh Behave” on Pet Life Radio

Sessions will run from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET. Registration is $25 (early bird registration is $20 and ends March 20, 2024) and includes access to the live event and recordings after the event has passed. People who would like to attend this virtual event should complete the registration form here. More information about Online Behavior Day, its sessions and sponsors, can be found on the conference page here.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/events/2024-online-behavior-day/

Zoom Meeting – 4/23/24 – Leadership Job-Alike – HASS
2024-04-23 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
This group is for Leadership in Animal Welfare, Human Animal Support Services, and more, and occurs once a month unless otherwise posted.
Please note: All Job-Alikes will be suspended starting May 1st.
During this suspension period, HASS will continue to evaluate the best step forward for the Job-Alike program. We’ve heard your feedback loud and clear that the time commitment, meeting cadence and frequency, as well as meeting format can be challenging, so it’s our goal to find a path that resolves these challenges, among others. We hope to have a clear direction and solutions outlined for you all by the end of August and already have plans in the works to transition this program smoothly.
WEBSITE LINK: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqd-yvrDkiEtxoB6v-gympzL5KOmvKw9M4

The Roundtable: Make a PACT with Your Community
2024-04-23 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Compassion, transparency, leadership.
These are the drivers of People and Animals in Community Together (PACT), a new movement in sheltering that recognizes the power of working together as outlined in nine shared beliefs. Hundreds of organizations and their communities are already on board or are in the process of making a PACT.
Join your host Michael Robbins for a candid conversation with longtime shelter leaders Sharon Harvey, Joe Elmore, and Dr. Kendall Houlihan about why they embrace PACT — and why you should, too. This discussion will be tailored to executive leadership, but all are welcome to learn more about the nine tenets of PACT.
Panelists:

Joe Elmore, President & CEO, Charleston Animal Society
Sharon Harvey, President & CEO, Cleveland Animal Protective League
Dr. Kendall Houlihan, Associate Director in the Animal Welfare Division, AVMA

Moderator:

Michael Robbins, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Atlanta Humane Society

Webinar - 4/24/24 - APCC: Springtime Hazards - ASPCAPro
2024-04-24 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Springtime comes with its own lineup of potential hazards to our pets. This course will cover several springtime hazards for veterinarians and their teams to keep a watch out for, including plants, fertilizers, insecticides, composting dangers, and more.
Takeaways

A dig into springtime related toxins
Discussion of various springtime hazards
The effects on canines and felines exposed to each toxin
Treatment and prognosis breakdowns

Suited For
This session is suited for veterinarians and veterinary technicians, but all are welcome.
Credits
The live webinar and post-webinar online course are RACE-approved and are eligible for one hour of free CE for veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.aspcapro.org/training/webinar/apcc-springtime-hazards

4/25/24 - Why Animals Need Trainers Who Adhere to the Least Intrusive Principle: Improving Animal Welfare and Honing Trainers’ Skills - Dog iBox (fee applies)
2024-04-24 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Recent interest in basic and applied research on negative reinforcement creates an opportunity to confirm the understanding of why animals need trainers who support the least intrusive principle in selecting behavior-change procedures. In this presentation, we will
1) examine the rationale for a hierarchy of behavior-change procedures according to the least intrusive principle,
2) consider the principle’s impact on animal welfare and trainers’ skills,
3) explore the research comparing positive and negative reinforcement for addressing escape-maintained behavior,
4) review alternative solutions to negative reinforcement, and
5) acknowledge recent concerns about the adoption of a procedural ethical guideline as it applies to the animal training profession.
These concerns offer the animal training community the opportunity to disagree well when disagreement exists.
Presenter: Dr. Susan G. Friedman
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.dog-ibox.com/en/why-animals-need-trainers-who-adhere-to-the-least-intrusive-principle-improving-animal-welfare-and-honing-trainers-skills.html

Webinar - 4/24/24 - The Healthy Animal-Healthy Community Initiative - The AAWA
2024-04-24 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Over the last decade, animal welfare organizations in the US have shifted their focus towards addressing the root causes of animal problems, realizing the importance of addressing the human aspect of the issue. Program models have moved away from shelter-based services to more preventive, community-based solutions. The Animal Rescue League of Boston recognized this shift and updated its mission and vision to include bringing veterinary and wellness services directly to those who need it most, ensuring that animals are safe and healthy in communities rather than shelters.
This case study explores the journey of the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s Wellness Waggin’ program, from its conception to implementation, including steps like determining a target area, building community relationships, securing funding, and launching a pilot program. The Wellness Waggin’ is now a successful mobile veterinary unit that has completed over 14,000 wellness care appointments since 2018.
Attendees will leave the webinar with:

A basic framework for implementing a new community-based program, including an alternative grass-roots approach to engaging with community that is achievable for organizations of all sizes.
Ideas for learning what each community needs
Ways to determine a target community for a new community-based program or for creating new community partnerships

WEBSITE LINK: https://learning.theaawa.org/p/4-24-24

Webinar - 4/24/24 - Bottle Feeding & Neonate Nutrition - The National Kitten Coalition
2024-04-24 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Bottle-baby kittens are arriving in many parts of our country – and in some places, the kitten season never stops! Kittens under four weeks of age, or ‘bottle-baby kittens’ need trained fosters to save their lives.
This webinar will teach you everything you need to know, from how much and how often to feed a kitten to how to mix the formula. Join us to learn the basics or get a refresher to bottle feed and help a neonatal kitten grow safely.
WEBSITE LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2617109689831/WN_Y4qzybIZRZSUWnVkNzgeOA
