Shelter Learniverse Return to the Shelter Learniverse

Shelter Learniverse and Industry-Wide Calendar

Blog

  • Online Event – 10/2/25 – Maddie’s Monthly Foster Connection: Smarter Systems for Stronger Support – Maddie’s Fund

    Online Event – 10/2/25 – Maddie’s Monthly Foster Connection: Smarter Systems for Stronger Support – Maddie’s Fund

    Long Stay Pet Workshop
    With every shelter stuffed to bursting, finding fosters and adopters is crucial. For some pets this is simple, but others are harder to place. In this workshop, we’ll discuss your favorite long stay pets to identify strategies for marketing them to fosters and adopters. This workshop is not just for foster staff– it’s open to anyone who is interested in marketing pets who are harder to place!

    Make sure to bring information about your own favorite or most challenging long stay. We’ll choose several and work through them together, discussing what works, what doesn’t work and some innovative new ways that can get extra attention and help them find the right home. We’ll discuss how we talk about behavioral and health challenges in bios and social media and discuss the optimal ways to be frank about issues while also not deterring potential adopters. We’ll look at different social media channels and how to optimize content about those pets for those channels to get the message across and help these pets put their best paw forward. Be prepared for a fun, frank and useful webinar with a lot of workshopping and participation!

    To submit a question for our presenters or a long stay pet you’d like to discuss during the workshop, please fill out this form:
    https://forms.gle/i1K3jAvzsJCfRtBs6

    Guest Speaker: Finnegan Dowling, Shelter Program and Engagement Manager, Mutual 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

  • Webinar – 9/30/25 – Beyond the Page: Meet the Authors Shaping DEI in Veterinary Medicine – Bridging Gaps in Veterinary Care: Equity, Access, and Innovation – MCVMA

    Webinar – 9/30/25 – Beyond the Page: Meet the Authors Shaping DEI in Veterinary Medicine – Bridging Gaps in Veterinary Care: Equity, Access, and Innovation – MCVMA

    Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association (MCVMA) is launching a new webinar.

    Beyond the Page: Meet the Authors Shaping DEI in Veterinary Medicine is a groundbreaking webinar series that brings to life the voices behind Elsevier’s Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine, Parts 1 & 2 – the first comprehensive, open-access DEI publications in veterinary medicine.

    Thanks to a generous grant from Maddie’s Fund®, MCVMA secured permanent open access to these volumes. Now, Beyond the Page takes this knowledge further with live, interactive conversations that connect scholarship to action.

    Our first installment features none other than Dr. Michael Blackwell, Director of the Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee, former Chief of Staff in the Office of the Surgeon General of the U.S., and recipient of the AVMA’s 2025 Frederick Douglass Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award.

    We’ll discuss his chapter, “Bridging Gaps in Veterinary Care: Equity, Access, and Innovation,” which explores practical strategies for closing gaps in care, addressing inequities, leveraging innovation, and reimagining how our profession can better serve diverse communities.

    Join us! September 30 5pm PT \ 8pm ET

    Read the chapter for free now at: mcvma.org/publications

    Register for our free webinar to be part of this inspiring conversation: https://bit.ly/MulticulturalVMABeyondthePage 

  • Online Conference – 10/11/25 to 10/12/25 – 2025 United Spay Alliance Online Conference – Community Cats Podcast & United Spay Alliance (fee applies)

    Online Conference – 10/11/25 to 10/12/25 – 2025 United Spay Alliance Online Conference – Community Cats Podcast & United Spay Alliance (fee applies)

    Join the Community Cats Podcast and United Spay Alliance for an informative two-day virtual conference focused on all aspects of spay/neuter. This event will bring together animal welfare experts from across the field to present a variety of topics, including how to establish and maintain a low-cost spay/neuter program, secure funding for essential services, and raise awareness in communities about the importance of spay/neuter initiatives.

    Throughout the conference, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, hear details and get firsthand knowledge of successful programs, and learn valuable lessons from both professionals and volunteers on what strategies have worked (and what hasn’t) in their spay/neuter efforts. This event offers a chance to connect with others who share a commitment to reducing pet overpopulation and to come away with innovative ideas and practical solutions to make a lasting impact in your community.

    WEBSITE LINK: https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/events/2025-united-spay-alliance-online-conference/

  • Online Event – 10/15/25 – Shelter Med LIVE – Small Patients, Big Procedures: Weighing Pediatric Spay and Neuter Considerations – UC Davis KSMP

    Shelter medicine bridges gaps in veterinary care access, ensuring animals are sterilized, vaccinated, and healthy 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 outreach veterinarian host 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.  

    On the 10/15 edition, we’re diving into pediatric spay and neuter—what’s new, what’s still misunderstood, and how to make it work in a shelter context. Hosted by Dr. Jennifer Bennett (DVM, MS, CAWA) with guests Dr. Brian DiGangi (DVM, MS, DABVP) and Dr. Emily McCobb (DVM, MS, DACVAA), the discussion will cover everything from pre-surgical candidate considerations, anesthesia tweaks, and recovery, to barriers and implications for shelters and access-to-care programs. Expect the kind of practical wisdom you can only get when you’ve been there, spayed that, plus plenty of “wish I’d known that sooner” takeaways. You’ll find a conversation that’s as accessible as it is evidence-based. 

    This event has been approved for 1.5 hours 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/webinars

  • Online Event – Third Wednesdays – Shelter Med LIVE – UC Davis KSMP

    Online Event – Third Wednesdays – Shelter Med LIVE – UC Davis KSMP

    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

  • Webinar – 10/22/25 – Enhancing and Expanding Your Veterinary Career: Job Opportunities in Shelter Medicine – CVMA & SF SPCA

    Webinar – 10/22/25 – Enhancing and Expanding Your Veterinary Career: Job Opportunities in Shelter Medicine – CVMA & SF SPCA

    California shelters are in urgent need of veterinary support. Many lack regular access to veterinary care, creating a critical gap in animal welfare services. And shelters provide unique on-the-job experience that will increase your value to all of your clients and patients.

    This webinar will explore how veterinarians and RVTs can play a vital role in improving outcomes for shelter animals—whether as a full-time career path, an occasional volunteer, or a supplement to private practice.

    Join the San Francisco SPCA and the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) for a two-hour session featuring:

    • Dr. Grant Miller, DVM, Director of Regulatory Affairs, CVMA
    • Bruce Wagman, Keith C. Wetmore Shelter Policy and Legal Services Special Counsel, SF SPCA
    • Dr. Zarah Hedge, DVM, Chief Medical Officer & VP of Shelter Medicine, San Diego Humane Society

    Expanding Your Veterinary Practice’s Horizons: The Multifaceted Values of Working with California’s Shelters in Need
    Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Noon–2 p.m. PT

    This session will showcase how veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) can make a meaningful difference in people’s and animals’ lives in their own communities while also gaining valuable experience not always seen in private practice.

    What You’ll Learn:

    • Flexible career pathways in shelters, from full-time positions to part-time or consultative roles.
    • How shelter medicine provides opportunities for advanced medicine, surgery, and dentistry outside of the scope of most private practice work.
    • The unique fulfillment of helping animals most in need.
    • How remote and on-site flexibility for the shelters makes contributing more important and accessible than ever.
    • Don’t miss this chance to discover how shelter medicine can increase your career satisfaction while transforming animal lives.

    Register Now

    This course has been RACE approved for 2 hours of live-interactive continuing education credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.

    This course will be available on-demand for self-guided/ non-interactive CE credit after October 24. To view additional RACE approved on-demand webinars click here and here.

    SF SPCA’s advocacy work is made possible in part by the generous support of the Barbara Wolfe Advocacy Fund.

    WEBSITE LINK: https://events.zoom.us/ev/AlhvPjr8vNeqnVsHNx6AbO5HPwsxZki7UM8_09e1RI1pa8NG_ejE~AidBi0LCK4BG03y3F5c9ks_34mfyIAJ-Nr4XnprmMQxCbIs9MSz6S-CzbA

  • Online Event – 9/9/25 – One Health Clinic Quarterly Coffee Hour – One Health Clinic

    Online Event – 9/9/25 – One Health Clinic Quarterly Coffee Hour – One Health Clinic

    One Health Clinic Quarterly Coffee HourWhen: Sep 9, 2025 from 02:30 PM to 03:30 PM (PT)

    We will have our quarterly One Health Clinic coffee hour on September 9th, 2:30-3:30 Pacific. Please join us if you want to talk about your One Health Clinic activities, ask questions about how to set up a Clinic in your region, and to learn from others.

    We can also discuss the new publication looking at 4 years of data from the flagship One Health Clinic in Seattle

    If you have joined our free Toolkit , you will receive an email with the zoom link, but the Zoom link is here:

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://washington.zoom.us/j/99200444453?pwd=aFQwOGJJRG1xeUFLYm93S3BXNlMwUT09

    Meeting ID: 992 0044 4453

    Passcode: 051009

  • Webinar – 9/4/25 – Mike Shikashio – Arousal and Aggression – FDSA (fee applies)

    Webinar – 9/4/25 – Mike Shikashio – Arousal and Aggression – FDSA (fee applies)

    What does “arousal” have to do with aggressive behaviors in dogs? In some cases, arousal can be the catalyst for an intense, aggressive response, and can be directed at something a dog may not even be focused on. We may also see cases where a dog in a highly aroused state “spills over” into aggressive behavior.

    Mike will first define this often-controversial topic and discuss why it is crucial to consider arousal as a factor in aggression cases. Prevention, management, and behavior change strategies will be highlighted!

    WEBSITE LINK:  https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars

  • Webinar – 9/11/25 – Data Basics – From Intake to Insight: Buiding a Smarter Strategy with Data – HASS

    Webinar – 9/11/25 – Data Basics – From Intake to Insight: Buiding a Smarter Strategy with Data – HASS

    A webinar featuring Dr. Josh Fisher, Director, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control

    WEBSITE LINK: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XBs3-LokQU2ZJ8FYceRFLg#/registration

  • Online Event – 9/10/25 – Turning the Tide for Big Dogs: Proven Strategies That Work – The AAWA

    Online Event – 9/10/25 – Turning the Tide for Big Dogs: Proven Strategies That Work – The AAWA

    Across the country, shelters are facing one of today’s biggest adoption challenges—finding loving homes for large dogs. But there’s hope, and there are solutions.

    Join the Arizona Humane Society for an energizing Lunch & Learn that will show how big changes can start with bold ideas. You’ll discover how their team has not only increased big dog adoptions, but also dramatically reduced length of stay—transforming outcomes for some of their most overlooked companions.

    Through a mix of:

    • Creative adoption incentives that spark interest
    • High-impact marketing campaigns that tell unforgettable stories
    • Innovative programs that meet both dogs’ and adopters’ needs

    …the AHS team is creating a blueprint any shelter can adapt.

    This special Lunch & Learn will take place on Wednesday, September 10, from 2-2:30 ET. Bring your questions—there will be time for a Q&A so you can take actionable ideas back to your own organization. Because every big dog deserves a big story—and a happy ending.

    WEBSITE LINK: https://learning.theaawa.org/p/9-10-25