Animal shelters can be stressful for dogs, but human interaction, such as foster caregiving, can improve their experience. In this webcast, Dr. Gunter will discuss multiple studies she and her team have carried out as part of the Arizona State University/Virginia Tech Maddie’s Nationwide Fostering Study in which we studied the effects of field trip and sleepover programs on the welfare of dogs living in shelters. Their initial studies investigated the physiological impacts of these programs, and their published study examined how field trips and sleepovers influenced dogs’ likelihood of adoption and length of stay. They also explored factors related to the performance of these programs. Overall, their findings support the implementation of these programs. Learn how you can use short-term fostering programs to improve the welfare of dogs in your shelter as they await adoption.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe potential stressors that make shelters stressful for dogs
• Relate how human social interaction can improve the welfare of dogs in the shelter
• Extrapolate the different activities dogs likely engage in during field trips and sleepovers
• Discuss the research findings about field trips and sleepovers
• Differentiate how field trips and sleepovers impact dogs’ proximate and distal welfare

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.

Register once for all Maddie’s Insights webcasts here: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcasts

After the webcast, continue the conversation on this thread in Maddie’s Pet Forum: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcastsFosterCareImpact

About the presenter:
Dr. Lisa Gunter, Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Virginia Tech

Before beginning her graduate studies, Dr. Lisa Gunter worked for nearly a decade with dogs in animal shelters and with pet dogs and their owners. The goal of Lisa’s research is to better the lives of companion animals and their owners. To this aim, she has investigated the breed labeling of shelter dogs, their breed heritage, shelter housing and social interactions, temporary and long-term fostering, short-term outings, behavioral indicators of welfare, post adoption interventions focused on owner retention – and more recently, fostering during the pandemic and safety net programs to help keep people and their pets together. Under the mentorship of Clive Wynne, Lisa earned her Master’s in 2015, and her PhD in 2018 as a graduate student in the behavioral neuroscience and comparative psychology program at Arizona State University.

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

This webinar will not outline any training or behavior modification. What it will do is present your options for dogs with serious behavior problems and give you a framework about how to make an educated decision regarding those options. Is management alone an appropriate option? Or is your problem too severe to chance management failure? Is the problem one that can be responsibly transferred to another owner and/or another environment successfully? The same variables to help determine what option is best for you, will also be critical in determining if training and behavior modification are a viable option as well as how successful that option may be. The agonizing decision to discuss behavioral euthanasia with your veterinarian can also be analyzed logically by using these same variables. This can be a difficult topic. But it is important to keep in mind, in whose best interest we decide.

Whether you are part of a rescue group, shelter staff, or volunteer, dedicated dog owner, professional trainer or behavior consultant, or a veterinarian working with a client, this webinar will help to make an appropriate decision regarding a dog in your care.

Join Karen Deeds as she takes you through over 20 variables about the dog, the environment, and the people involved to help you determine what option is best for a dog with serious behavior issues.

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

This webinar will cover how to effectively do an animal case with public scrutiny and press interest.  Animal cases garner a lot of press and sometimes the press coverage has implications for your case.

This webinar will offer tips on how to handle living under scrutiny and making sure your case is not jeopardized by it.  We will discuss jury voir dire, opening and closing statements, and witness preparation with these considerations in mind.

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:

Michelle Welch is a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the Director of the Animal Law Unit at the Attorney General’s Office.  She is charged with taking all animal law questions in Virginia.  She is called on by agencies all over the Commonwealth to act as a special prosecutor in animal cruelty and animal fighting cases.  She frequently gives advice to local law enforcement authorities and prosecutors all over Virginia, across the nation, and internationally.  She also trains prosecutors, animal control, and law enforcement officers on the state of Virginia animal law.  She is a board member of the Virginia Animal Fighting Taskforce.  Ms. Welch serves as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia to aid in animal fighting and animal crime prosecutions.

She is a senior faculty member for the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA).  She is the Chair of the Animal Law Curriculum Advisory Committee for the APA.  She serves as adjunct faculty for Animal Law at the University of Richmond Law School and William & Mary Law School.  She has testified before a Congressional Caucus examining the enforcement of animal laws and the cooperation between state and federal partners. She has trained other countries on animal crime, including Greece, the United Kingdom, and Spain and she has advised on animal criminal cases in Columbia and Belgium.

She has received many honors for her work on behalf of animals.  In 2022, she received the Ellen Glasgow Award for Humane Service from the Richmond SPCA for her work on behalf of abused animals.  In 2020, she received the Humane Law Enforcement Award from HSUS for the seizure of zoo animals from a neglectful zoo (one of the first times in twenty years that law enforcement has intervened on behalf of zoo animals).  In 2019, HSUS gave her and her Unit the Humane Law Enforcement Award for bringing to justice wildlife trafficker, resulting in the closing of 5 fox pens.  In 2018, the Norfolk SPCA honored her with The Thomas M. Ammons III Animal Welfare Award.  In 2014, she was named Prosecutor of the Year by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.   In 2013, she was named one of the Top 10 Animal Defenders in the Nation by Animal Legal Defense Fund.  She was presented with the Albert Schweitzer Medal for her work on behalf of the animals in 2012 by the Animal Welfare Institute.

WEBSITE LINK:  https://www.justiceclearinghouse.com/webinar/surviving-a-high-profile-case-living-under-scrutiny-and-not-jeopardizing-the-case/

This discussion will equip the veterinary team with information and tools to educate pet parents on alternatives to declawing. By ending the elective onychectomy procedure we are protecting the welfare of our feline patients, but we also must know how to help pet parents live in harmony with cats and their claws. With a plethora of information out there, this discussion will streamline what you need to know today to set your pet parents up for success tomorrow.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the reason cats have claws and why they have a need to scratch
• Provide training on how to select appropriate scratchers and where to put them in the home
• Troubleshooting difficult cases (like curtain climbers!)
• Summarize the five pillars of environmental enrichment to help improve the welfare of cats and discuss why lacking these in the home can lead to destructive and unwanted behaviors.

Presented by: Ashlie Saffire, DVM ABVP (feline)

WEBSITE LINK:  https://hsvma.memberclicks.net/webinar-living-with-claws