WisCARES receives $200,000 grant to help keep pets and people together

Maddie’s Fund® has awarded a $200,000 grant to The Wisconsin Companion Animal Resources, Education and Social Support (WisCARES) program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M). This grant will support the salaries of a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) and social worker at the WisCARES program.   By having a social worker available to its clients, WisCARES is able to provide the best possible veterinary medical care along with relevant social services to help keep pets and people together. These services can include...

    Posted On: Apr 13, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

6 guidelines for marketing your foster pet

This post originally ran in 2018. We are republishing it today because foster marketing is as relevant as ever!  Thanks to social media, foster caregivers from around the country are realizing the power they have to get pets adopted through marketing. Photographs, video, text and other materials created in foster care are especially valuable in helping potential adopters picture a pet in their own home and conveying information about a pet’s behavior outside the shelter. You don’t need a degree in marketing to be successful...

    Posted On: Apr 11, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: Return to Home results, Spanish language customer service course, and more!

Happy Monday! Below is a brief roundup of resources added over the past week.Please note: There will be no additional blog posts this week. Over 10,000 dogs and cats reunite with their families, thanks to the Return to Home ChallengeIn October of 2022, over 10,000 lost pets were reunited with their families thanks to the Return to Home Challenge. Seventeen national organizations came together to promote the Challenge that encouraged animal shelters and foster-based organizations to create a culture of return to home within their...

    Posted On: Apr 3, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

Over 10,000 dogs and cats reunite with their families, thanks to the Return to Home Challenge

In October of 2022, over 10,000 lost pets were reunited with their families thanks to the Return to Home Challenge. Seventeen national organizations came together to promote the Challenge that encouraged animal shelters and foster-based organizations to create a culture of return to home within their organization and community. A total of 140 organizations across the United States participated. $300,000 in grant prizes were awarded to winners. Maddie’s Fund®, Michelson Found Animals Foundation and Petco Love awarded prizes for...

    Posted On: Mar 30, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

A free editorial calendar template for your animal organization’s marketing efforts

Does your animal well-being organization use an editorial calendar to strategize and organize its marketing efforts? If not, or if you want some inspiration for your current plan, be sure to check out this toolkit from HeARTs Speak and Human Animal Support Services. Throughout the past year, the organizations have created a series of communications kits to help you talk to your constituents about the many ways that you are supporting people and pets (and how they can, too!). Now, they’ve created a way for you to use...

    Posted On: Mar 28, 2023 | Category: Chew On This Human Animal Support Services InformationView Details

Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: Science-backed human and animal bonding, grant opportunity and more!

Happy Monday! Below is a brief roundup of resources added over the past week. How the Open Arms Challenge allowed this rescue organization to become more accessibleThe Open Arms Challenge starts next month, and we’re highlighting Salem Friends of Felines (SFOF) in Oregon to provide a little inspiration! SFOF is a rescue organization that won a grant for the Most Effective Use of Open and Welcoming Menu Items in the 2021 Open Arms Challenge. The Challenge was instrumental in obtaining the… Learn More Using science to improve...

    Posted On: Mar 27, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

How the Open Arms Challenge allowed this rescue organization to become more accessible

The Open Arms Challenge starts next month, and we’re highlighting Salem Friends of Felines (SFOF) in Oregon to provide a little inspiration! SFOF is a rescue organization that won a grant for the Most Effective Use of Open and Welcoming Menu Items in the 2021 Open Arms Challenge. The Challenge was instrumental in obtaining the support they needed to implement changes including a more concise adoption questionnaire by removing questions about income, living arrangements and removed the landlord permission requirement prior to adoption....

    Posted On: Mar 23, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

Using science to improve human-animal bonds and well-being

Join Monique Udell, Ph. D., CAAB on Thursday, April 13 at 12:00PM PT/3:00PM ET for “Becoming a Secure Base: Using science to improve human-animal bonds and welfare,” the latest offering in the Maddie’s® Insights webcast series. Many people feel that they have shared a strong bond with a dog, and there is growing scientific evidence that these dogs also form strong bonds with their humans. However, science also tells us that not all bonds are created equal. The kind and quality of attachment relationship shared can...

    Posted On: Mar 21, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: Kitten season, National Shelter Programs Survey and more!

Happy Monday! Below is a brief roundup of resources added over the past week. Kitten season is coming and we’ve got resourcesWhile we may not be able to provide you with an extra set of hands to bottle feed, we do have plenty resources to help with kitten season. From a kitten marketing toolkit from HeARTs Speak to foster recruitment to kitten care and more, we hope these will help make kitten season a little easier… Learn More Balancing medical and behavioral well-being in shelter animalsWant to learn why strategies to...

    Posted On: Mar 20, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details

Kitten season is coming and we’ve got resources

While we may not be able to provide you with an extra set of hands to bottle feed, we do have plenty resources to help with kitten season. From a kitten marketing toolkit from HeARTs Speak to foster recruitment to kitten care and more, we hope these will help make kitten season a little easier at organization. Kitten Season resources on Maddie’s® Pet ForumThere’s no need to recreate the wheel when you have hundreds of resources at the ready. Foster caregiver recruitmentHelp even more kittens by growing your foster program....

    Posted On: Mar 16, 2023 | Category: Chew On This InformationView Details