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GUEST: Scott Giacoppo. Scott is the Director of National Shelter Outreach for Best Friends Animal Society and oversees the development of lifesaving efficacy and sustainability for animal welfare partners across the U.S. Prior to Best Friends, Scott was president of NACA â the National Animal Care & Control Association â as well as chief of Animal Field Services for the District of Columbia for 10 years, overseeing all animal control and cruelty investigations team members for Humane Rescue Alliance. He began his animal protection career with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as the Special State Police Officer for Cruelty Investigations.
MAIN QUESTION: How can leaders and managers get staff and public buy-in for return-to-field programs?
TAKEAWAYS:
Removing cats doesnât work, never has and never will. Removing a cat is not serving the community; itâs clearing a call log. It only solves the problem for a few weeks at most, as new cats will invariably move in to fill the void. Give your team all the information they need to fully understand why RTF is a better approach, how it works in other communities and why the old way is not effective. Some staff may be resistant to change because they donât want to face the fact that theyâve been doing something that doesnât work or because doing something new that goes against the way they have always done it can be scary. When someone calls to have cat picked up, thatâs when the discussion about RTF should start. Explain that: Removing cats isnât effective, as another cat will show up to fill the niche. Getting the cat fixed, vaccinated and returned decreases nuisance behavior, including spraying, yowling and fighting as well as preventing the birth of kittens. Share humane ways to deter cats from their garden or yard. When an officer has an encounter that doesnât work out well, talk it through with them, asking them how it may have been handled differently and offering suggestions.LINKS:
Best Friends Network Leadership recommendation: Leadership Freak blog -
GUEST: Kimberly Wade. Kimberly is an expert consultant for Humane Network focusing on communications and social media. She was campaign manager for Maddie's Pet Project in Nevada, communications director at Nevada Humane Society, news producer at KOLO 8 News Now, and has a degree in broadcast journalism and communications from the University of Central Florida.
MAIN QUESTION: What are some tips for animal organizations to create better social media pages and posts?
TAKEAWAYS:
If you donât have a photo, you donât have a story. To take good photos, avoid a busy background. Get a good clear picture of the animal with their eyes wide open and looking at you. You may hear hundreds of similar stories about why animals end up in your shelter or at your rescue group. The public has not. So gather basic information even if itâs not a unique story to you. Find out what you can about the animal and their backstory, especially where they came from and why they are now at your organization. You need details to tell a story that will interest your followers in adopting or donating. Make sure you have a positive spin on a story â donât point blame. Talk about how your organization helped, how your supporters made it possible and a bright future ahead, thanks to the generosity of kind supporters. Ask for specific help if needed, such as donations and foster homes. For social media: You want a minimum of one post a day â this makes your posts more likely to appear in your followersâ feeds. Busy and larger organizations should aim for two to three posts a day. Interact with your followers. Like their comments. Thank them when they make a donation or say something nice.LINKS:
Humane Network's team Leadership recommendation: âManaging Yourself to Better Lead Othersâ (article) by Jo Anne Preston âLead the Way in Five Minutes a Day: Sparking High Performance in Yourself and Your Team" (book) by Jo Anne Preston -
Fehlende Folgen?
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GUEST: Brent Toellner. Brent is the Senior Director of National Programs for Best Friends Animal Society. Prior to joining Best Friends, Brent, his wife, Michelle, and a few others co-founded the Kansas City Pet Project to run the municipal shelter in Kansas City, Missouri.
MAIN QUESTION: There's a lot of pressure in animal welfare and people can feel alone in their work â what tips and ideas might help?
TAKEAWAYS:
In animal welfare, weâre pushed to do more with limited resources. People often feel they just need to work harder and do more programs, but that doesnât work in the long-term. Itâs better to reach out for help. Someone on the outside can often provide needed perspective. By being a sounding board, they can give you a sense of confidence and make you feel less isolated. You can find this help by creating or developing relationships with your peers at similar organizations. In addition to making connections within the field, people working at similar types of agencies within your own community can also be helpful. Consultants and representatives of national organizations with outreach teams can also be valuable. One sign you need help is if you're feeling stressed that you can never get on top of whatâs needed or if you know things need to change but you donât know how to do it with your existing resources. Consider an organizational assessment that looks at whatâs going well and that you should keep doing and what is not the best use of resources now.LINKS:
Best Friends Network Leadership recommendation: â5 Things an Executive Director Can Do to Build a Strong Leadership Teamâ by Joan Garry -
GUEST: Scott Giacoppo. Scott is the Director of National Shelter Outreach for Best Friends Animal Society and oversees the development of lifesaving efficacy and sustainability for animal welfare partners across the U.S. Prior to Best Friends, Scott was president of NACA â the National Animal Care & Control Association â as well as chief of Animal Field Services for the District of Columbia for 10 years, overseeing all animal control and cruelty investigations team members for Humane Rescue Alliance. He began his animal protection career with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as the Special State Police Officer for Cruelty Investigations.
MAIN QUESTION: What are the common issues you find when doing organizational assessments of animal organizations around the country?
TAKEAWAYS:
The two most common challenges to successfully implementing a program are internal communication and training. Scott shared tips on both:
1. Communication:
Often when leadership decides to pursue a new program, by the time it trickles down to the frontline staff implementing it, the why is lost so staff members revert to doing what they know. Hold productive meetings that include explaining: Why the new program works, including a few examples from other places where it has helped and How the program is to be implemented. Create a culture of two-way communication, where people are encouraged to ask questions if they donât understand.2. Training
Make training a priority. Investing time in training improves performance and increases staff retention. Schedule time to do it as a group. Watch a webinar together and discuss it, or schedule time to discuss assigned reading material. Engage staff in how a program is implemented â as this increases their buy in. For training resources check out the Best Friends Network Partners page â thereâs a link in the show notes.Scott also talked how frequently leaders and managers assume that things are going well and are unaware of issues. He suggested three ways to know whatâs actually happening:
Schedule time to routinely get out of your office and walk around and observe how things are being done and talk with your team. Plan an annual assessment â this could be a self-assessment or one conducted by consultants. Secret shopping your shelter: Call your own organization and ask a question to see how well (or not so well) your staff is doing helping people. Send a friend in to adopt a pet and have them tell you about the experience.LINKS:
Best Friends Network
Leadership recommendations: "The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong" (TED Talk video and blog post)
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GUEST: Chris Roy. Chris is a technology guy by day, and the founder of Doobert at night and on weekends. Doobert helps you help animals and is the only software that organizes transport, and the only foster management platform allowing you to send and receive texts with fosters. And Chris has continued to build out Doobert and recently added a new case management module.
MAIN QUESTION: How does Doobert's new Companion Case Management module improve communications with the public?
TAKEAWAYS:
As animal organizations increasingly focus on becoming resource centers rather than primarily as repositories for animals, it is especially important that we have effective ways to manage communications with the public. A good tracking system is needed in order to make sure cases donât fall through the cracks. Follow-up and trustworthiness are essential to building good community relations. Doobert.com has a new Companion Case Management module specifically designed for animal organizations to help them keep better track of public interactions and to effectively collaborate with other organizations in the community. For example, you can assign tasks to specific people and even other organizations, set up automated follow-ups with people seeking help, view cases on a map, and view only tasks assigned to yourself. You can create a case to see how it works with a free Doobert account or request a demo for your organization through Doobert.com.LINKS:
Doobert.com Leadership recommendation: âTips for Encouraging Teamwork in the Workplace and Getting People Out of Silos" by Humane Network (article) -
GUEST: Lori Weise. In 1996, Lori founded Downtown Dog Rescue, which rescues dogs and provides services for low income pet owners in underserved communities in Los Angeles County. She is the founder of the South LA Shelter Intervention Program and one of the founding members of the Best Friends Animal Society's initiative No Kill Los Angeles and advised the ASPCA on their Safety Net Program at LA county shelters. And Lori is a national speaker on community programs and the shelter intervention model of keeping pets in homes.
MAIN QUESTION: How can animal organizations better meet people where they're at?
TAKEAWAYS:
You're more likely to engage people in a solution successfully when you meet people where theyâre at rather than judging them based on how you would do things. Meet people at first with empathy - simply as one pet lover to another. Asking âHow can I be of service?â puts you in a better frame of mind to be truly successful and opens real dialogue with people. Many organizations come in with big plans, overpromise, lose steam, and disappear. Donât let this be you. Try a pilot program first or pick a very targeted group or service to focus on when developing a program or new organization so you can build trust with those you're trying to help and to see if this is something youâll be able to commit to for the long run. Donât get so focused on preventing people from taking advantage of the service or program that you create barriers that end up keeping people who need it from taking advantage of the program. No program can be perfect and total control is not possible so spend your time figuring out how to help people rather than on how to prevent a few people from benefiting who do not really need it.LINKS:
Downtown Dog Rescue (website) Leadership recommendation: âCultivation: How to Build One-on-One Relationships With Your Donors" by Amy Eisenstein (blog post) -
GUEST: Kat Albrecht-Thiessen is a pioneer in lost pet investigations. She was a police officer, bloodhound handler, crime scene investigator, and search-and-rescue manager before beginning to apply her skills in 1997 to finding lost pets. She is founder of Missing Animal Response Network and author of the book âPet Tracker.â
MAIN QUESTION: How can shelters and rescue groups support the public in finding lost pets?
TAKEAWAYS: Donât make assumptions about found pets such as that a pet has been abused or dumped, rather than simply lost and on their own for a long time. Such assumptions can get in the way of reconnecting that animal with their people. Search techniques are different for dogs and cats. With cats, the best advice is to get permission from neighbors to do a methodical search of every conceivable hiding place in a two- to five-house radius. (Thatâs where most cats are found.) With indoor-only cats who have escaped, in addition to doing a search, put out a plate of food and set up a wildlife camera. (Then you can set a humane trap). With dogs, marketing is key: Dogs are often picked up by people so itâs important to get the word out widely so that the finder can learn that the dog belongs to someone who cares about and misses the pet. Shelters and rescues can put a link on their website to MissingAnimalResponse.com, where people can find resources on finding missing pets and connect with volunteers who can help them in their search. And here are a few myths about lost pets: Itâs not true that putting a missing catâs litterbox on your porch will bring them back. Calling out for your cat generally wonât help and doesnât mean your cat is not nearby when they donât respond. They are intentionally staying hidden and silent out of fear or injury. Some shelters will make a situation worse by telling people that a pet was probably eaten by a coyote. Assumptions about coyote predation kills more lost pets than coyotes actually do by inspiring people to give up their search.LINKS:
Missing Animal Response Network (website) "Pet Tracker: The Amazing Story of Rachel the K-9 Pet Detective" (book available in print, electronically and on audio) Leadership recommendation: "Don't Let Internal Controls Slip at Your Nonprofit Organization" by Blue Avocado (article) -
GUEST: Karen Green is executive director at Cat Adoption Team, the Pacific Northwestâs largest nonprofit, feline-only animal shelter. Before that, she was senior director at the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs and assistant director of the No More Homeless Pets program at Best Friends Animal Society.
MAIN QUESTION: How can animal organizations build a healthy workplace culture, which is so important in a competitive job market?
TAKEAWAYS:
Open two-way communication is key to having a strong, positive organizational structure. If thereâs a program or policy that isnât working, you need to know â so staff needs to have a way to share such information with people who can fix the problem. Ask for feedback and make it safe for people to give feedback by demonstrating your trustworthiness. Implement suggestions when they make sense. If you donât plan to implement someoneâs ideas or suggestions, they are more likely to accept your decision if they feel that their concerns were heard. Repeat back what the person said to make sure you understood before explaining your own position. Create an environment where people can have a good work-life balance through reasonable expectations and work hours. When people are at work, they should be working and when off, they should be encouraged to care for the other parts of their lives. Examine staffing levels and processes to support this. Gently encourage people who check in when off work by saying something like, âArenât you supposed to be on vacation?â Sometimes there will be times you just need to put in extra hours, perhaps for a budget deadline, a special event, or a large rescue situation. But make these the exception, not the rule, so that overwork does not create burnout. Address conflicts and issues when they come up. Little problems become big problems over time. LINKS: Cat Adoption Team (website) Cat Adoption Team's workplace culture agreement (example) "The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout" by Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman (book) "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven R. Covey (book) "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" by Douglas Stone (book) "Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition" by Kerry Patterson (book) "Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity" by Kim Scott (book) Leadership recommendation: "How to run more effective daily standup meetings" (article) -
GUEST: Bonney Brown was Executive Director for six years at Nevada Humane Society, an open-admission shelter. She has been Chief Operating Officer, National No More Homeless Pets Director and Communications Director for Best Friends and was National Campaign Director for Alley Cat Allies. Bonney is currently president and co-founder of Humane Network, where she is often involved in assessing and creating fundraising campaigns for shelters and other animal organizations. MAIN QUESTION: What works to engage more members of the community with our animal welfare work so that we can raise more funds â and what doesn't work? TAKEAWAYS: Stories with great photos are powerful. Donors give twice as much when presented with a story about an individual animal than about the overall needs of the organization. Donât expect stories and photos to happen. Assign someone to gather them â it can even be a volunteer. Train staff to take better cellphone photos so they can snap something good when a situation arises. Use âyouâ and âyourâ in your communications so that your audience feels they are a part of whatâs happening. Thank people. It makes them feel they play a valued role in your organizationâs good works. Let people know that donations of any size help. It helps people feel comfortable sending more modest gifts. In fact, research shows that using this phrase increases the number of people who give. Communicate with your supporters more than you think you should. Fundraising is about building relationships, and relationships require communication. LINKS: Humane Network (website) End-of-year fundraising tips webinar with Bonney Brown (video) Leadership recommendation: âHow I Manage My Time - 10 Time Management Tips" by Ali Abdaal (video)
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GUEST: Diane Blankenburg is CEO & Co-Founder of Humane Network. She was Community Programs & Development Director for Nevada Humane Society, Katrina Rescue and Recovery Director for Alley Cat Allies for 2 years, and Network Director for Best Friends Animal Society. MAIN QUESTION: How can leaders and managers handle internal staff conflict better? TAKEAWAYS: A leader or manager should get involved with a staff conflict if it starts to get in the way of work getting done, goals of the organization, or team relationships. Consider the consequences of not dealing with the situation. The ultimate goal is to find common ground among the individuals concerned that you can then build a solution on. Sit down with the individuals involved and try to understand the whole picture, knowing that there may be more going on than just the surface conflict. Donât make assumptions; ask the people involved what is creating this issue. When emotions are high, one way to ratchet down the tension is to show empathy, convey you understand how they feel, and reflect back what you've heard from them. Conflict is not something to fear. When differences can be expressed and discussed respectfully, conflict can be a healthy part of an organizationâs culture that leads to better brainstorming, plans, solutions, and relationships. Conflict can sometimes be prevented by setting clear expectations. Having job descriptions, processes and checklists in place, as well as reinforcing the mission and expectations verbally, can help keep people pulling in the same direction. LINKS: Humane Network (website) Leadership recommendation: âHow I Manage My Time - 10 Time Management Tips" by Ali Abdaal (video)
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GUEST: Kelley Bollen is a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant with a masterâs degree in Animal Behavior who has worked in the field of companion animal behavior for twenty years. Kelley is the Owner and Principal Consultant for Kelley Bollen Consulting â an animal behavior consulting business. Kelley consults with animal shelters across the country on the design and implementation of comprehensive behavior programs to improve the welfare of the animals. She leads Humane Networkâs Alive & Thriving animal behavior training program for shelter and clinic staff. And Kelley teaches an Animal Shelter Behavior Management Certificate Course through the University of the Pacific with a new program starting September 27, 2021.
MAIN QUESTION: What tips do you have for shelter and clinic staff for handling animals to make it a more stress-free experience?
TAKEAWAYS:
Coming to an animal shelter or veterinary clinic is inherently stressful for animals, in part because of all the new surfaces, sounds, and smells, including fear pheromones from other animals. Not having secure footing is stressful for cats and dogs so be sure that tables and scales where they might stand have nonslip surfaces. For dogs, make sure there is a nonslip pad right inside the main door. Pre-medicating with sedatives can help some animals come to the clinic calmer, but for others their fear may overpower the effects. Sedating the animal in the clinic instead might be a more viable option. In general for cats: Give cats a place to hide such as under a towel, or try a specific towel wrap that can help you be able to perform the procedure. Try minimal restraint first, making sure the cat can have all four feet on a solid, non-slippery surface whenever possible. In general for dogs: Before starting an exam, try getting dogs to change their mindset by playing with them or asking them to do a known trick such as sit or shake.LINKS:
Kelley Bollen Consulting Kelley's Animal Behavioral Management Certificate Course through University of the Pacific (new course starting Sept. 27, 2021) Kelley's Alive & Thriving training program for shelter and clinic staff Leadership recommendation: âHow to Ask Useful Questionsâ by Josh Kaufman (article) -
GUEST: Mark Robison has been president of CockadoodleMoo Farm Animal Sanctuary for more than 14 years. He is also Senior Consultant at Humane Network and Communications Manager for Options Veterinary Care, a nonprofit clinic. Mark was a journalist for more than 25 years in Stockton, California; Little Rock, Arkansas; and for most of his career at the main newspaper in Reno, the Gazette-Journal
MAIN QUESTION: How should nonprofit animal organizations handle negative reviews, critics on social media posts, and critical investigative reporters?
TAKEAWAYS:
Respond to all online reviews, including the positive ones. Make sure that the person responding to negative reviews understands the big picture and can write clearly and concisely. This person may be you â or you might want to approve responses to negative reviews before they go out. Remember that the response is not just to this individual, but to everyone who will come across the review. Respond seriously to criticism, even when itâs unfounded. Express understanding for criticsâ concerns. Cultivate supporters on social media by regularly liking their comments and responding to their praise and questions quickly. Be transparent and get ahead of criticisms so that your fans understand the issues and background. Hide comments by trolls, and respond fully to people who seem genuine in their concerns. Your main audience is not so much the critic as it is everyone else who might come across the complaint. This will give talking points for your fans so they can respond on your behalf wherever they encounter critics in the future. Donât take journalistic investigations personally and donât stonewall or be defensive. Express solidarity with their desire to inform the community and do right by supporters. Being open and honest will often defuse a reporterâs concerns before a situation blows up.LINKS:
Humane Network â website CockadoodleMoo Farm Animal Sanctuary â Facebook page Options Veterinary Care â website Leadership recommendation (article): âManagers: Compassion and Accountability Arenât Mutually Exclusive" by Amy Gallo for Harvard Business Review -
GUEST: Christie Keith is a communications and media consultant with an exclusive focus on animal welfare and veterinary medicine. Her current and recent clients include The Shelter Pet Project, the first public service campaign promoting an animal welfare cause in the Ad Council's 60-year history; Dr. Marty Becker, author and veterinarian; Maddie's Fund; Million Cat Challenge; Dr. Patty Khuly, veterinarian and author; and Vetstreet.com. As a writer and editor, Christie's work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com, Bark Magazine, and the nationally syndicated newspaper feature "Pet Connection." She has been a speaker at a number of animal sheltering conferences such as the HSUS Animal Care Expo, Best Friendsâ No More Homeless Pets, and the National No-Kill Conference. MAIN QUESTION: How can animal organizations avoid blaming the public in their messaging when talking about the challenges they face? TAKEAWAYS: Your organization relies upon your community to make donations to support your work, to adopt animals, and volunteer. If we inadvertently blame the community for animal surrenders, we poison that well and hurt our own ability to be successful. In the past, shelters and rescue groups fell into a pattern of blaming irresponsible pet owners, backyard breeders, and an indifferent public for the problems we were facing. These were real feelings and understandable, but this approach turned out to be undermining our own success. It is important to avoid falling into these old patterns. When creating communications aimed at the public, figure out who the audience is and what you want them to do. This will guide your language. Avoid using words like âdumpingâ or âabandoningâ pets. People are turning to you for help with an animal they got from you â thatâs what we want them to do. Give support instead of judgment. Invite members of the public to be heroes by becoming a foster caregiver, adopting a pet or donating to help pets in need. Share how rewarding it is to foster or adopt. LINKS: Christie Keith â website Leadership recommendation: "8 Ways Your Board Can Fundraise Without Asking" â article
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GUEST: Rebecca Guinn is CEO of LifeLine Animal Project, which manages Atlantaâs Fulton and DeKalb County animal shelters and which opened a new shelter, adoption center and clinic in 2019. LifeLineâs community outreach effort provides free vaccines, spay/neuter and other assistance to thousands of pets belonging to underserved Atlantans. LifeLineâs community cat program, the first and largest organized trap-neuter-return assistance program in Atlanta, has sterilized and vaccinated more than 40,000 community cats; and the LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics comprise the largest spay/neuter provider in Georgia, having performed more than 140,000 surgeries to date. Rebecca is active in the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia and is a member of Best Friends Animal Societyâs No-Kill 2025 National Steering Committee.
MAIN QUESTION: How can animal welfare leaders and managers keep an eye on the big picture while staying on top of day-to-day fires?
TAKEAWAYS:
The leaderâs job is to keep the focus on the mission and to get others involved in it. Build a team of likeminded people, look for each personâs superpower and tap into it. Seek out people with skills that complement others on the team. We owe our best to the animals every time. Set that standard for yourself. Find the gaps in your community, and figure out whatâs needed to close those gaps. Regularly ask yourself if you're solving the right problems and what you are trying to make better. Perform gap analyses; over time, youâll get better at solving for the right problems. Embrace both ends of the leash.LINKS:
Lifeline Animal Project â website Leadership recommendation: Nonprofit Tech for Good website and e-newsletter -
GUEST: Dr. Leslie Appel is the founder and executive director of Shelter Outreach Services (SOS). She is also a courtesy lecturer at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Before these roles, Dr. Appel was director of veterinary outreach at the ASPCA. She was also a full-time faculty member at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she was an instructor in Small Animal Surgery. And Dr. Appel was the 2013 recipient of the AVMA Animal Welfare Award.
MAIN QUESTION: How can animal organizations provide services to rural communities, which often get overlooked?
TAKEAWAYS:
Dr. Appelâs organization Shelter Outreach Services, or SOS, is specifically designed to meet the needs of rural communities. Before starting a program, assess whatâs going on in your community and surrounding counties to understand what services are needed and who might be able to help. Also, get advice from a veterinarian early on in your planning about whatâs needed to provide veterinary outreach services. SOS is set up like the hub of a wheel with its partners as the spokes. Each is essential to success. SOS provides the services and seeks grant funding for big ticket items like anesthesia machines, while its partners who host SOSâs MASH-style clinics in their communities do their own fundraising and grant writing to pay for those services. If you want to provide high quality, high volume spay/neuter services, veterinarians and veterinary technicians need training because it is generally not taught in school. This is best done by having them observe and work alongside an existing team initially. High quality, high volume spay/neuter services are not about speed; itâs about creating an efficient flow.LINKS:
Shelter Outreach Services The Association of Shelter Veterinarians' guidelines for spay-neuter programs Leadership recommendation: "How to Read Non-Profit Financial Statements" -
GUEST: T' Fisher is director of operations for AlignCare Health, a program of the University of Tennessee that aims to expand access to veterinary care nationwide. She was founder and director of the Companion Animal Initiative of Tennessee at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as vice president of animal welfare at the Houston SPCA. She has a bachelorâs degree in cultural anthropology and bachelor of science degrees in computer technology (with a specialty in graphic design and 3D animation) and in animal science. MAIN QUESTION: What is AlignCare and how can it help organizations expand access to veterinary care even if they don't have their own clinic? TAKEAWAYS: AlignCare and other access-to-care programs help to keep animals who just need veterinary care with their families and out of shelters. This enables shelters to focus resources on animals who are homeless and really need the shelter. AlignCare benefits private practice veterinarians in the community, as they hate to see an animal euthanized for financial reasons. AlignCare is one way for helping with these situations. It covers 80% of veterinary costs for pets who are sick or injured whose people are on a means-tested public assistance program such as Medicaid, food stamps, or Section 8 housing. Animal organizations without public clinics can refer people to AlignCareHealth.org to apply for help at a participating clinic near them. (You can check with AlignCareHealth.org to see if the program is operating in your community, or you can help to get it going there.) AlignCare and other access-to-care programs typically works with veterinarians to provide incremental care that does not start with âgold standardâ care that often involves lots of upfront costs, like diagnostic tests. Instead it relies on veterinariansâ experience to determine the best, most cost effective initial courses of action for sick or injured pets, if additional help is needed, then tests can be ordered. Itâs a tiered diagnostic and therapeutic approach to veterinary medicine, similar to the way shelter veterinarians work. LINKS: AlignCare Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee Leadership recommendation: Adopters Welcome Manual by HSUS
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GUEST: Lisa LaFontaine is president and chief executive officer of the Humane Rescue Alliance, based in Washington, DC. In 2019, Lisa oversaw the merger of the Humane Rescue Alliance with St. Hubertâs Animal Welfare Center to create the first regional, community-based, multi-state animal welfare organization in the nation. The organization is the largest provider of animal services in that region, touching the lives of more than 100,000 animals each year. Lisa was also CEO of New Hampshireâs Monadnock Humane Society. She has served as board member and chairman of the board of the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, the National Federation of Humane Societies, and the New England Federation of Humane Societies.
MAIN QUESTION: What lessons have you learned from the pandemic that have led your organization to be even more community facing?
TAKEAWAYS:
Remember that animals are social connectors. They can build community and bring people together who otherwise might feel they have nothing to talk about. Expand your foster program. This is a great way to start for organizations looking to become a more integral part of their communities. It engages the public, inspiring them to become advocates for animals as they help find good new homes for them. Look into creating virtual support for foster caregivers, such as telemedicine from staff veterinarians and behavior classes or videos with trainers or behaviorists. Use staff and volunteers who have strong skills to mentor other staff, such as with hosting events over Zoom or taking photos. Seek more feedback, such as surveys of your volunteers, supporters, and adopters. You can also hold Zoom meetings with volunteers to get their feedback. Volunteers and supporters are a great conduit between your organization and the rest of your community.LINKS:
Humane Rescue Alliance Leadership recommendation: "3 Simple Steps to Develop a Nonprofit Board Education Plan" by Sabrina Walker Hernandez -
GUEST: Susan Cosby is the Senior Director of Lifesaving Centers for Best Friends Animal Society. She was the Director of Lifesaving for the Petco Foundation and served as the Executive Director and founding employee of the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia. Susan was also the President and CEO of the Pennsylvania SPCA and the Executive Director of the Animal Welfare Association in New Jersey.
MAIN QUESTION: What advice do you have for leaders and managers to handle stressful or chaotic work environments?
TAKEAWAYS:
Make sure your communications with staff are thoughtful and layered. This means repeating important information and using different communication channels because different people absorb information differently, such as verbally, in emails, text messages of apps such as Slack. It is almost impossible to over-communicate. Listen and create a feedback loop. Follow-up when people ask questions or you've assigned someone a project. Check in and listen. And when you say youâll follow-up, be sure to do it so that people have trust when communicating with you. Look for opportunities to create moments of positivity. When you tell someone that something is important to you, follow up after they complete it and let them know that they did a good job. Nobody likes an inefficient meeting. Make sure they start and end on time and have an agenda and a purpose.LINKS:
Best Friends Animal Society Leadership recommendation: Eisenhower Matrix -
GUEST: Marc Peralta is chief program officer at Best Friends Animal Society. Prior to this position, he served in a number of other key roles at Best Friends, including senior director of National No-Kill-Advancement and senior director for Best Friends in Los Angeles. Marc also served as vice president and chief operating officer at the Pennsylvania SPCA and was a member of the board of directors for the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia. And he was animal care manager at the Nevada Humane Society in Reno, Nevada, and the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
MAIN QUESTION: What advice do you have for shelters struggling with summer surges in pet populations?
TAKEAWAYS:
If you're in the thick of a surge in admissions, here are some strategies to help: Identify specific shelter populations who need help and find creative ways to lower adoption prices and market them for adoption. Try pop-up adoption events, or adopting pets out at community events. Branch out to NextDoor and other social media platforms beyond Facebook. Create a specific call to action and pitch it to your local news media (TV, newspapers and radio) such as how the shelter has many cats and dogs in need of homes now â so if you can adopt, please reach out or come in to adopt now. If you have an overabundance of a certain shelter population (kittens, black dogs, adult cats), and need adopters now, share that with the media. Have volunteers put up adoption promo fliers around town. It may sound old-fashioned, but getting volunteers involved in this way can work! Because peaks in animal populations entering shelters generally happen every summer â especially with cats â itâs helpful to prepare for them in late winter. Here are some ways to prepare: Plan to do kitten showers in April to seek donations of kitten milk-replacer, heating pads, and kitten food so that you have what you need when the wave comes. Itâs also a great time to line up and train potential foster homes. Re-examine your adoption processes and try to make adoptions easy for adopters. Remove barriers to adoption and donât rely on feelings, which can be tainted unconsciously by bias; instead talk with people and keep an open mind. Make sure you have your ducks in a row with your foster program, so that there is ongoing follow-up to avoid extended lengths of stay with your organization. Create a path to adoption for all the animals in foster care.LINKS:
Best Friends Animal Society Best Friends network partners site Leadership recommendation for PR Daily e-newsletter -
GUEST: Shyanne Schull is the director of Washoe County Regional Animal Services in Reno, Nevada, where there is an average annual intake of 13,000 animals with a 40% Return-To-Owner rate over a 10-year average. Before that she was director of Kern County Animal Services in California. In her 22-year career in animal welfare, she has worked in a variety of animal services roles, including kennel worker, dispatcher, officer, shelter manager, and director. She also has a degree in animal sciences from California Polytechnic State University.
MAIN QUESTION: How can shelters and animal services agencies develop robust Return-to-Owner programs?
TAKEAWAYS:
Make microchips free or low-cost and easy to get. A $5 microchip is much cheaper than caring for a pet at the shelter for even a day. Upload registration information for people at the time they get the microchip so that they donât have to do it, as many people neglect this next step. Get scanners and laptops or tablets for officers to use in the field so they can take animals who have microchips straight home without ever having to go back to the shelter. Take photos of animals out in the field and get them online as quickly as possible, updating your found-pets site frequently so that people can claim their pets sooner and the animals spend less time in the shelter. Share reunification stories everywhere you can, through the news media as well as social media, so that people understand the importance of programs to get pets back home. Track and share data, such as how many animals were returned in the field as opposed to returned from the shelter and how many were returned because of a microchip.LINKS:
Washoe County Regional Animal Services https://www.washoecounty.us/animal/index.php Shyanne Schull's email [email protected] Leadership recommendation: Your Thriving Nonprofit Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/535957226792368 - Mehr anzeigen
