Shelter Learniverse and Industry-Wide Calendar

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  • Webinar – 9/26/23 – Finessing a Fear Free Stay: Safe Animal Handling – Fear Free

    Webinar – 9/26/23 – Finessing a Fear Free Stay: Safe Animal Handling – Fear Free

    Do you have the occasional high-intensity, fearful, or shy pet stay with you while their pet owners are away? These pets often need a little extra care to feel safe and secure during their stay and play sessions. Join us to learn tips and tricks to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress (FAS) in sensitive pups, ways to increase control with impulsive dogs, and strategies to set up a more serene space in our upcoming webinar.

    Brought to you by our friends at Virox.

    In this webinar, you will learn how to:

    • Recognize and respond respectfully to noted signs of FAS
    • Implement strategies that soothe high-intensity, impulsive dogs
    • Set up serene spaces for dogs to play and/or stay

    Fear Free’s Lead Animal Trainer and Dog Behavior Counselor, Mikkel Becker, shares that from early life, it was clear her number one focus would be animals. Her training career started early with help from her childhood dog, a Wire Haired Fox Terrier named Scooter, who delighted in fun games like running in the opposite direction when called, leading the neighborhood bark patrol and terrorizing other dogs in a blaze of terrier-fueled fury. When frustration created what could have been rifts between dog and pet parent, pure love was instead able to bridge those gaps and create a wiser, more resilient child and dog. In pursuit of formal animal training education, Mikkel graduated from the San Francisco SPCA Dog Training Academy with Jean Donaldson to earn a Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC), the Karen Pryor Academy to earn her KPA CTP credential, and the Purdue Dogs and Cats Course. Amongst Mikkel’s long list of achievements, she also achieved becoming a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine (CBCC-KA), a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and a Certified Dog Behavior Counselor (CDBC). Mikkel also co-authored “From Fearful to Fear Free: A Positive Program to Free Your Dog from Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias” with Dr. Marty Becker and Dr. Wailani Sung.

    WEBSITE LINK:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SEsfR-fgTlC-_gHMCUACNQ

  • Webinar – 9/25/23 – The Anxiety Pendulum Presented by Jean Donaldson – PPG (fee applies)

    Webinar – 9/25/23 – The Anxiety Pendulum Presented by Jean Donaldson – PPG (fee applies)

    We have come a long way in applied dog behavior in the recognition and treatment of fear, stress and anxiety in dogs.  From a veritable denial of its existence before the advent of the force-free training movement to a much broader and more sophisticated range of behavior modification, management and medication options today.

    This webinar will look back at this history and then delve into whether we now might sometimes invoke anxiety and stress where it is inappropriate, why this might be, and why it would be better for dog welfare to avoid these errors.

    Presented by Jean Donaldson
    CEUs: 1 IAABC
    Pending CEUs: PPAB , CCPDT , KPA , & PMCT

    WEBSITE LINK:  https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-5368412

  • Online Course – Starts 10/18/23 – Principles of Contemporary Animal Services Certificate Course – Best Friends (fee applies)

    Online Course – Starts 10/18/23 – Principles of Contemporary Animal Services Certificate Course – Best Friends (fee applies)

    The Principles of Contemporary Animal Services certificate course is a great way to develop an understanding of the animal services profession by learning about the field’s history, current state, and future possibilities.

    The certificate course is built around contemporary best practices provided by experts and organizations in the field to give you a well-rounded view of the profession. With course content curated by Best Friends Animal Society as well as leading practitioners and researchers in the field, you will have access to a wide range of earned expertise, perspectives, information, and resources.

    Choose from two participation options:

    • POCAS Certification – successful completion earns an SUU Institutional Certificate and one Continuing Education Unit (CEU), $399
    • POCAS Fast Track – successful completion earns three credits that may articulate into undergraduate or participating master’s degree programs at Southern Utah University, $699

    WEBSITE LINK:  https://bestfriends.org/learn/principles-animal-services

  • Feeling Overwhelmed with Making Outcome Decisions? We can help!

    Feeling Overwhelmed with Making Outcome Decisions? We can help!

    Click “Course Home Page” Button below to take this course hosted on
    Maddie’s®️ University.



    Course Home Page button links to Maddie's University

    Shelter teams are faced daily with high-stakes outcome decisions made harder by an increasingly complex and strained system. We’ll discuss some of the issues at play and help you to develop tools to remove bottlenecks to outcomes and overcome the toughest decision-making dilemmas, from adoption to euthanasia, with transparency and compassion. 

    Information on CE (Continuing  Education Credits)

    Each 1/2 hour session of the Spring 2023 Shelter Summit has been approved for 0.5 hours of continuing education credits through Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) and The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA). Each session of this Summit when viewed on demand here on Maddie’s University has been approved for 0.5 hours of continuing education credit until March 27th, 2025 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. Upon viewing each session and passing the session’s short quiz, you can download your RACE CE certificate and upload it to https://CEBroker.com. This is the broker used by the AAVSB to track your continuing education credits.

    Fast Track meeting live attendance and on-demand viewing have been approved for 1.0 hours of continuing education credits through Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) and The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA). RACE approval is pending for Fast Tracks but is anticipated to be available as 4.0 units for attendance of all 4 live meetings (links to claim CE will be shared with participants at the end of the series once approved by RACE).  On-demand session viewing is available through RACE after completion of a short quiz on each live meeting, valid through 4/4/2025.   

    Please contact  learniverse@sheltermedportal.com if you have any questions or concerns about this course.

  • Online Course – Starts 10/18/23 – Dog Lifesaving Course – Best Friends (fee applies)

    Online Course – Starts 10/18/23 – Dog Lifesaving Course – Best Friends (fee applies)

    Best Friends and Southern Utah University’s  Dog Lifesaving Course is designed for anyone who wants to positively impact the lives of dogs in shelters, whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your journey. 

    Join us as we empower you with the knowledge, tools, strategies, and steps to start making changes immediately to increase dog lifesaving and enhance the lives of dogs at your organization.

    The online Dog Lifesaving Course engages animal services practitioners, shelter staff, volunteers, and advocates in lessons and discussions around saving the lives of dogs.

    During this seven-week, university-endorsed college online course, you’ll learn from experts in the field and explore proven ways to save the lives of dogs in animal shelters through adoption, dog behavior and well-being, foster programs, canine handling, shelter medicine, and much more.

    At its core, the course focuses on how lifesaving can be increased.

    WEBSITE LINK:  https://bestfriends.org/learn/dog-lifesaving

  • Webinar – 10/11/23 – In It for the Long Haul: Well-Being Considerations for Career Contentment – HVSMA

    Webinar – 10/11/23 – In It for the Long Haul: Well-Being Considerations for Career Contentment – HVSMA

    Veterinary medicine can be a uniquely rewarding profession, and there are inherent challenges within the field that can influence our well-being. Increasing awareness and giving voice to those factors within the work and our daily lives that contribute to distress and discontent is necessary for making changes that can improve well-being and support career contentment. This session seeks to create greater understanding of compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral distress within the context of the neurobiology of trauma/chronic stress, and it will discuss tools and practices that support the different domains of well-being within this context. It will also look at relevant community resources for consideration within the field of veterinary medicine.

    This program will help attendees:

    • Develop an understanding of the neurobiology of trauma/chronic stress and the impact on mental health and well-being
    • Define well-being concerns within the veterinary industry, including compassion fatigue, burnout, and moral distress
    • Describe intrapersonal and interpersonal tools and practices to support different domains of well-being
    • Identify community resources within the field of veterinary medicine

    Presented by:Debra Lee LCSW (she/her), Veterinary Well-Being Program Director, DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital

    This webinar is FREE for all attendees. 1.5 hours of RACE CE credits (non-medical) will be available for HSVMA members only.

    WEBSITE LINK:  https://hsvma.memberclicks.net/webinar-in-it-for-the-long-haul

  • New Grant Could Help Your California Shelter Keep and Bring More Pets and People Together

    New Grant Could Help Your California Shelter Keep and Bring More Pets and People Together

    The latest California for All Animals grant cycle aims to power shelters’ efforts to remove barriers that separate people and pets and keep animals waiting for adoption. The More Pets and People Together Grant application period will be open to eligible organizations for 15 days beginning on Friday, September 15, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. PDT and ending on Friday, September 29, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.

    Who is eligible?

    Municipal animal shelters, private animal shelters with municipal contracts, and private shelters are eligible to respond to this RFP. A shelter is defined as a brick-and-mortar facility that houses animals on-site and is open to the public a minimum of fifteen hours per week. 

    Animal control agencies that provide field services and animal control functions are also eligible to apply, even if they do not perform sheltering services.

    If your organization does not meet these criteria, consider partnering with your local animal shelter or animal control agency.

    What might a proposal look like?

    The funding priority for this grant cycle is to enable animal shelters to take the necessary steps to dismantle barriers and create processes that can lead to the following measurable outcomes:

    • Preventing intake and keeping pets in their homes
    • Decreasing length of stay of animals in the shelter
    • Reducing euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals
    • Increasing live outcomes through foster, adoption and return to home/community

    Proposals could focus on removing barriers in adoptions, foster programming, Return to Home, and intake prevention services, though we also invite innovation outside these focus areas.

    For additional guidance, ideas and inspiration, download the From Barriers to Bridges Action Kit at the Cal for All website. You can also watch roundtable series recordings to hear your colleagues highlight their own collaborative approaches to removing barriers that come between people and pets and share creative solutions they’re implementing to ensure pets spend more nights at home, not in the shelter. 

    How do I apply?

    Visit California for All Animals for the full guidelines and simple grant application. If you have questions or need help, don’t hesitate to email us at grants@californiaforallanimals.com.

  • Curbing Disease as Intake Rises: Prevent, Fight and Win Today

    Curbing Disease as Intake Rises: Prevent, Fight and Win Today

    Click “Course Home Page” Button below to take this course hosted on
    Maddie’s®️ University.



    Course Home Page button links to Maddie's University

    Does it seem like animals keep getting sick no matter what you do, especially right now with intake numbers climbing in many shelters? Does URI have to be status quo for summer? Is parvo inevitable? Have you wondered what else you can do to get ahead of these vicious cycles?

    From animal care attendants to RVTs and beyond, everyone in the shelter has the power to have a big impact on animal health. Whether you’re providing daily care for animals or reviewing care and intake protocols, in this webinar, you’ll learn practical steps to relieve the strain on animals and team members when infectious diseases and intake numbers are climbing. UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program veterinarians Dr. Aziz and Dr. Stuntebeck answer questions and arm shelter staff with the information needed to squash the most concerning infectious diseases in your shelter.

    This short, self-paced course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credit by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association. 

    This course has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit until July 24th, 2025 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. Upon completing the course and passing the quiz, upload your certificate to https://CEBroker.com. This is the broker used by the AAVSB to track your continuing education credits.

    Please contact learniverse@sheltermedportal.com if you have any questions or concerns about this course.

  • Veterinary Care in Shelters: Who Can Legally Do What? – Legal Considerations with Shelter PALS

    Veterinary Care in Shelters: Who Can Legally Do What? – Legal Considerations with Shelter PALS

    Click “Course Home Page” Button below to take this course hosted on
    Maddie’s®️ University.



    Course Home Page button links to Maddie's University

    How can your shelter best leverage the veterinary care capabilities of your entire staff?

    In this short course, you’ll learn how to fully leverage the veterinary care capabilities of your entire team – not just your designated “medical” staff – including front office staff, field officers, kennel attendants, volunteers, and fosters. Bruce Wagman, Lead Counsel for San Francisco SPCA’s Shelter Policy and Legal Services (Shelter PALS), will review which shelter tasks team members can perform, from intake-related care and running diagnostics to providing treatment, surgery, euthanasia, public veterinary services, and emergency care. After this course, you’ll be ready to maximize your shelter’s options for providing veterinary care while adhering to the law and Practice Act requirements.

    By the end of this course, you should be able to: 

    • Describe how the practice of veterinary medicine is defined in California and the law surrounding its practice.
    • Compare and contrast the required training, licensing, and other qualifications of Veterinarians, Registered Veterinary Technicians, and Veterinary Assistants/other shelter team members.
    • List permitted tasks for each shelter team member.
    • Demonstrate an understanding of who can perform various animal care and medical tasks including but not limited to administering medications, vaccinations, and deworming, microchipping, rabies vaccinations, inducing anesthesia, and performing euthanasia.

    This course was adapted from a webinar by Bruce Wagman, Lead Counsel for the San Francisco SPCA’s Shelter Policy and Legal Services (Shelter PALS) program and hosted by the California Animal Welfare Association (CalAnimals).

    This short course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credit by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and by National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA). 

    This course has been approved for 1 hour of RACE continuing education credit until 8/2/2025 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. Upon completing the course and passing the quiz, upload your certificate to https://CEBroker.com. This is the broker used by the AAVSB to track your continuing education credits.

    Email us at learniverse@sheltermedportal.com if you have any questions or concerns about this course.

  • MMPC Learniverse – Power of YES! Removing Barriers from Animal Shelter Adoption

    MMPC Learniverse – Power of YES! Removing Barriers from Animal Shelter Adoption

    Click “Course Home Page” Button below to take this course hosted on
    Maddie’s®️ University.



    How can we eliminate adoption barriers to get pets adopted?

    While nearly 70% of US households have a pet, only a fraction of those animals are adopted from animal shelters. This course looks at barriers that typically push potential adopters away from animal shelters and towards other options. In addition to examining adoption barriers and the misconceptions that help them persist, we look at strategies that can lower these hurdles, help more animals reach a live outcome and a happy life, and help animal shelters embrace and welcome all members of their community.

    This short, self-paced course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association. 

    This course has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit until November 7, 2024 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval. Upon completing the course and passing the quiz, upload your certificate to https://CEBroker.com. This is the broker used by the AAVSB to track your continuing education credits.

    Please contact  learniverse@sheltermedportal.com if you have any questions or concerns about this course.

    Removing Barriers Discussion Group

    You can also join the discussion about these concepts over on Maddie’s® Pet Forum in the Power of Yes – Removing Barriers Discussion Group.

    Click to visit the Discussion Group (will open in a new window/tab).