Supported Self-Rehoming Without Surrendering: Setting Up Supportive Services with Safety and Success
[embedded content] Approximately a quarter of animals enter animal shelters under the intake type called “owner surrender.” Pet parents often do not know how to safely and successfully rehome their pets themselves. Supported self-rehoming is a great way for organizations to give pet parents who can no longer keep their pets the tools they need to safely rehome their own pets with ongoing support from shelter staff and volunteers. Supported self-rehoming not only gives pet parents an opportunity to be a part of selecting a new...
At This Shelter, Any Employee Can Shadow Any Other Employee for a Day
About a year ago, the APA Adoption Center—a 100-year-old nonprofit, open-admission shelter with a government contract to serve St. Louis County in Missouri—launched a new program called Show Me How. Any employee, in any department, could shadow any other employee for a few hours. That includes top leadership, front line animal care staff, adoption counselors, veterinary staff, and so on. Anyone can shadow anyone. The program was launched as part of an effort to improve the organization’s culture, says CEO...
What Are Your Rights When It Comes to Your Apartment’s Pet Policy?
Renters have certain rights when it comes to bringing a service dog, emotional support animal or companion pet into their apartment. Most pet owners will say that their beloved pet is part of their family, but if you rent an apartment, condo or house, you may be subject to a few rules when it comes to pet ownership. “Companion animals provide us with so much and are integral members of the family for most Americans,” says Katie Jarl, director of government affairs and policy at American Pets Alive!. “And for those with...
Times Are Hard. Neighbors Helping Each Other—and Their Pets—Will Help
With rents and food prices high, whole families are struggling—including pets. Animal shelters across the country report that loved pets are being surrendered—given up to the shelter—by people who feel they have no other choice, in this very hard economy. This contributes to shelters becoming and staying full, while families are split apart. More and more shelters are turning their efforts to helping pets and people stay together with pet food pantries, access to veterinary care, emergency fostering programs, and other...
We Asked Animal Shelter Workers How They’re Staying Hopeful & Strong, This Hard Summer
In this hard summer, of a hard year, we wanted to know what was giving people in animal welfare hope, and strength. What is keeping you going, keeping you fighting for the animals in your care, and the families in your community? Below, we’ve shared some of what you told us. It’s very moving, and powerful, and inspiring. We teared up more than once, to be perfectly frank, hearing what you had to say. Thank you to everyone who spoke with us. And thank you to all of you who are working so hard, through all of this, to keep pets safe...
Giving Lost Pets Get a ‘Free Ride Home’ Helps People, Pets, and Shelters
So far this year, field officers with Pasadena Humane in California have gotten 293 loose and lost pets back to their owners without those pets ever entering the shelter. That’s nearly 300 animals, mostly dogs, along with a handful of wayward cats, who are home snoozing on the couch—not in a kennel in a very full animal shelter. They’ve done it with a program they call simply Return to Owner, or RTO—other organizations use the charming name Free Ride Home—through which pets found in the field are returned...
Video Gamers Raised $2,309 for This Shelter, and It Might Be the Easiest Fundraiser Ever
About a month ago, Brendan Gepson, marketing specialist for the Nebraska Humane Society, had an idea. What if some video gamers would hold fundraisers for the shelter while broadcasting themselves playing Stray—a popular video game about a lost cat who has to navigate, and escape, a world populated by robots. You play stray from the perspective of the cat! “Are you a local streamer who’s interested in doing a Stray charity stream for the shelter?” Brendan wrote on Twitter. “Let’s chat! Our DMs are...
Building a Positive Workplace Culture—Why It Matters and How To Do It
[embedded content] The animal welfare industry is understaffed and facing worker turnover, like employers around the country. The effects are dire: animal shelter workers are burned out, and animals’ lives are at risk. But in the face of these challenges, Pasco County Animal Services (PCAS) in Florida has zero vacant positions, and hasn’t had an opening in an entry level position in over 14 months. PCAS Assistant Director Spencer Conover attributes this success to a positive workplace culture, built through inspiration,...
Did You Know You Can Adopt Pets Straight From Members of Your Own Community?
Katie Corbett has a full house! The tan dog, Charlie, “is a guide dog dropout,” Katie says. Chance, the white dog, “is a tripod foster win from DeKalb,” in Georgia, who participated in the Arizona State study that found sleepovers reduced stress for shelter dogs. So you might think of him as not just a good dog, but a scientist. The kittens are Albus and Dooley, fosters who were since adopted into a family from New York. Photo credit: Katie Corbett We all know the traditional way to adopt: go to your local shelter, a...
Lifesaving Paw-tnerships: How to Build and Sustain Healthy Relationships Between Rescues and Shelters
This is fundamental: Shelters and rescue organizations must work cooperatively in order to save animals in need. Having worked in large open admissions shelters, and now as a rescue director, I have witnessed thriving partnerships—as well as those that have soured. With these years of experience, an initiative I now champion is relationship-building between shelters and rescues. Here are some of the ways for shelters and rescues to best grow positive, long-lasting relationships. For Shelters: Build Personal...
