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.
Blog
-
Webinar – 9/29/22 – Lost Cats and Found Hounds: Community-based Solutions to Boost Your Return-to-Owner Metrics – NACA/Justice Clearinghouse
How many lost pets are coming into your local animal shelter in an average year? In Virginia, public animal shelters receive thousands of lost pets each year, with many of them never being reclaimed. In response, Loudoun County Animal Services initiated a series of programs to help lost pets find their way back home, simultaneously identifying and reaching out to the communities least likely to reclaim lost pets. This webinar will take you through the budget-friendly process they implemented to get lost pets back home, and help you keep owned pets with their families, saving room at the shelter for animals who need it most.
This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.
Presenter: Nina Stively is the Director of Loudoun County Animal Services in northern Virginia, an independent government agency that includes the County animal shelter and a team of sworn humane law enforcement officers. Nina is a Certified Animal Cruelty Investigator, a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator, and an Animal Control Officer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She is a self-professed cat person, but is currently training for a canine biathalon with one of her adopted dogs, Whistlepig. Nina shares her home with two very supportive humans, six chickens, two cats, three dogs, and an assortment of foster animals.
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.justiceclearinghouse.com/webinar/lost-cats-and-found-hounds-community-based-solutions-to-boost-your-return-to-owner-metrics/
-
Online Conference – 10/2/22 – National Kitten Coalition Veterinary Conference – National Kitten Coalition (fee applies)
The National Kitten Coalition invites veterinary professionals to attend our kitten-focused NKC Veterinary Conference! Join others —virtually— in learning information and approaches in caring for your youngest feline patients. Together we can increase the survival rates of kittens!
The Conference program will be submitted to the AAVSB for RACE® continuing education credit for veterinarians and credentialed veterinary technicians/nurses in jurisdictions that recognize RACE® approval. Recordings and continuing education credit quizzes will be accessible for registrants through December 31, 2022 through The National Kitten Coalition’s eLearning Center.
WEBSITE LINK: https://kittencoalition.org/programs/national-kitten-coalition-veterinary-conference-2022/
-
Webinar – 8/31/22 – Using Care Pathways to Manage Your Shelter Behavior Program – Maddie’s Fund
Care Pathways are standardized plans for animals that have the same type of condition. They allow for individualized support while ensuring efficient, effective care for animals with that condition. They’re commonly used for improving animals’ paths through the shelter system, as well as managing medical conditions. During this presentation, we’ll talk about care pathways regarding behavior and how we can utilize them pathways to improve our shelter behavior programs.
Join Maddie’s Fund Director of Outreach and Research, Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB, and use this webinar in conjunction with her course on Maddie’s University, Care Pathways: Guiding Animals Through the Shelter.
After the webcast, drop by Maddie’s Pet Forum to continue the discussion, ask questions and exchange ideas: https://maddies.fund/WebcastCarePathways
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.
About the presenter
As Director of Outreach and Research for Maddie’s Fund®, Dr. Sheila Segurson’s goal is to develop and support research that increases pet adoptions from rescue groups and shelters and improves pet well-being. She relies upon her background working in and with animal shelters, pet foster care programs, and veterinary medicine to lead Maddie’s Fund research efforts.
After graduating from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Segurson worked as a general practice/emergency/shelter veterinarian at pet hospitals in California. Then, in 2005, Sheila graduated from Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at UC Davis, becoming the first in the nation to complete a three-year, post-graduate behavior specialty training program with an emphasis on shelter animals and shelter behavior programs. She worked for several pet welfare organizations, including UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, The Sacramento SPCA, and the Animal Rescue League of Boston, where she developed and implemented enrichment/behavior modification programs.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddiesfund-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b1uGR2fRSMWolVFpQ1NckQ
-
Online Event – 8/24/22 – Maddie’s Candid Conversation with Elijah Brice-Middleton – Maddie’s Fund
Join us for a brand-new season of open, informal 30-minute conversations and Q+A with influential BIPOC leaders in our field. You will be inspired by each speaker’s pathway to promoting equity, inclusion and diversity in their daily work.
In our Season 2 premiere, Elijah Brice-Middleton, Director at Plainfield Area Humane Society (PAHS) in New Jersey, reveals the values and skills he uses to face challenges of being, in his words, “a brown face in a white world.” Maddie’s Fund Executive Leadership Team member Mary Ippoliti-Smith hosts the discussion and Q+A.
Growing up in a household that cared for a menagerie of dogs, cats, snakes, monkeys, tarantulas and a bird named Diablo, Elijah learned early on to love all living creatures. That passion drove him to undergraduate degrees in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. On his way to a PhD in ecology, he realized something was missing. After a stint in the financial technologies sector on Wall Street, a happy, accidental interview led him into the field of animal well-being – and straight into the kennels of Animal Care Centers of New York. Now, as a leader at PAHS, he advocates cultivating the talents of his team so they have what they need to excel as professionals.
Afterwards, continue the conversation with Elijah on Maddie’s Pet Forum: https://maddies.fund/candidconvoElijahBriceMiddleton
The program will be recorded and made available on Maddie’s University for continuing education credit for both CAWA and NACA.
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJusticeWEBSITE LINK: https://maddiesfund-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYudeyrrz0rEtDN1lxqOKJTMdzXAbcF11gA
-
New Course Clears Up Finder-Foster Program Questions
Finder-foster programs are one impactful way to serve animals in the Right Place and the Right Time, to the Right Outcome: Animals found by community members can be quickly and legally moved from stray to foster status, and, if they can’t be reunited with their owner, adopted out, all without ever entering the shelter.
But when do holding periods apply? What if the animal needs routine care? What would a finder-foster agreement look like, and is it necessary? If you’ve been wanting to introduce or fine-tune a finder-foster program at your shelter, but you’ve got questions, the new self-paced Finder-Foster Program course is for you!
As part of the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse program, Bruce Wagman, Lead Counsel for San Francisco SPCA’s Shelter Policy and Legal Services (Shelter PALS), covers the concepts, legal issues, and suggestions for the development and operation of finder-foster programs for animal shelters in the state of California (and other states).
You’ll learn how you can reunite more animals with their families, promote animal well-being and minimize stress by reducing time spent in the shelter, and as a result of these programs, reserve resources for animals in need of shelter services—all by engaging people who are already helping animals in your community.
This short course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and by National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA). It has also been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit until July 25, 2024, in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.
Although the specific information in this course is applicable to and based on considerations of California state law, the basic concepts will be applicable anywhere, subject to modifications necessitated by state or local laws. Shelters in other states are encouraged to check their state and local laws and ordinances to see how this information can be adapted for use in your location.
#ThankstoMaddie, this course is offered at no cost! Enroll today, and check out other free SPOT mods (Self-Paced Online Training modules) and cohort-style Bootcamps available at the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse.
-
Webinar – 8/5/22 – AlignCare: Program for Pet Health Equity – CalAnimals
All members of the family deserve access to healthcare, including the nonhuman members (pets). Health equity means that all family members have the potential to get the care they need. When they don’t receive needed care, health disparities result. Unfortunately, more than 1 out of 4 families do not have access to veterinary care. Not having veterinary care threatens the wellbeing of the whole family.
The AlignCare system was created to improve access to veterinary care for families currently underserved. It is a community-based collaboration where resources and activities are aligned, including funds to subsidize the veterinary care for qualified families. This presentation will describe the societal problem and how AlignCare addresses it. Also, participants will learn what is required to bring AlignCare to their community.
Speaker: Dr. Michael Blackwell, DVM, MPH – University of Tennessee, Knoxville
WEBSITE LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_em05H86CQ02KZ-3RaEnjbg
-
Online Course – Applications Close 8/8/22 – Population Management and Daily Rounds Bootcamp – Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge
The newest Bootcamp from the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse is here to help your team implement efficient and effective daily population management rounds in just six weeks! Whether you wish your rounds were more productive or you haven’t started them yet, Population Management and Daily Rounds Bootcamp will help you improve animal health and welfare, increase the number of animals and people you can help, and decrease staff workload and burnout, length of stay, and the number of animals waiting in your shelter.
Alongside your peers and fellow Bootcampers, you’ll master the why, how, when, where, and what of implementing and performing rockstar daily rounds through online content and live, interactive Zoom meetings. Led by your coach, Dr. Cindi Delany, you’ll spend two weeks covering the nuts and bolts of population management and daily rounds, then two weeks putting daily rounds into action (or improving what you’re already doing), with team check-ins and coach feedback. In the final two weeks, you’ll learn how to troubleshoot your systems and make your daily population management rounds sustainable long-term—even when you’re short-staffed or nearing (or even over) capacity.
#ThanksToMaddie and the Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge Learniverse, Population Management and Daily Rounds Bootcamp is free to all participants! To ensure everyone receives the personalized coaching that makes a difference in your success, this session will be open to eight shelters; a waitlist will be created for future sessions.
Space is limited—learn more and apply now!
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.sheltermedportal.com/population-management-bootcamp-info-page
-
Online Course – Starts 9/1/22 – Shelter Training Behavior Mentorship – Shelter Behavior Hub (fee applies)
The FIRST Shelter Dog Training Mentorship is here! Are you interested in learning how to train dogs? Whether you are new to the field, or an old hand, this course takes you from recognizing and addressing stress in dogs through teaching dogs specific skills, and changing emotional responses.
We go over the ethics, learning the theory, developmental stages, controlling unwanted behaviors and more.
CEUs have been approved for IAABC. CEUs are pending approval for CCPDT.
Join Sue & Trish for the 13-week Dog Training Mentorship!
WEBSITE LINK: https://trish-s-school-bcb6.thinkific.com/courses/shelter-dog-training-mentorship
-
Online Course – Starts 8/4/22 – Talking to Clients About Behavioral Euthanasia – Shelter Behavior Hub (fee applies)
Join Sue and Trish for a four-part mini course on talking to clients and shelter workers and volunteers about behavioral euthanasia, and learn how to approach this sensitive topic with people who never thought they’d be faced with such a difficult decision.
In week one, we will explore the issues surrounding behavioral euthanasia, what may be going on for your clients, and how you can approach this for yourself. In week two, we explore the ethics around alternatives to behavioral euthanasia. In week three, we work through the process of discussing behavioral euthanasia with your clients – including empathetic words to use, as well as those to avoid. In our final week, we will go through the days before, the day of and the days following a behavioral euthanasia.
Weekly classes are held during two timeslots: Thursdays at 10 AM and 7 PM Eastern Standard Time. We will play a recording of each class while Sue and Trish answer questions in the chat box, and then we will have a discussion afterward. Zoom sessions will be recorded if you can’t make all of them. A discussion group is available for questions during and after the course. Recordings of the sessions will be available to you for a one year.
Continuing Education Credits through CCPDT and IAABC.
Limited spots available!
WEBSITE LINK: https://trish-s-school-bcb6.thinkific.com/courses/talking-to-clients-about-behavioral-euthanasia-2022A