From Transactions to Conversations
Build trust with the public seeking pet support services Imagine this. You’re going through the toughest period in your life. Maybe you lost your job, and your home, and now you have nowhere to go with your pet. On top of it, you’re struggling to provide basic care for both of you. You’ve tried everything, and you realize that the only way out of the situation is to focus on providing for yourself first, to get back on your feet. You take your beloved pet to the local animal shelter hoping that someone can help them....
Tools for Lost Pet Prevention
Did you know that July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month? From foundational solutions such as collars with identification tags or secured yards to microchipping and emergency kits—there are proven solutions to help pets remain safe and at home. To discuss the importance of lost pet prevention and how animal welfare organizations can arm themselves and communities with resources, Lorien Clemens, Co-founder and CEO of PetHub, and Jerrica Owen, Executive Director of the National Animal Care & Control Association, share their...
Saving Lives with Mindfulness in Animal Welfare
[embedded content] Animal welfare professionals struggle with maintaining their mental health for a multitude of factors including challenges with work-life balance, traumatic experiences within the shelter, and more. It’s up to the industry to care for the PEOPLE that are doing the life-saving by creating care opportunities for better mental health in the shelter. Panelists Dr. Jyothi V. Robertson, Founder of JVR Strategies & Journey You Own along with José Ocaño, Founder & CEO of Hatching, discuss the importance...
Using Reasons for Intake for Resource & Policy Advocacy
Every animal sheltering organization has to make difficult choices about prioritizing resources, especially now, at a time when animal welfare facilities are experiencing record-breaking capacity issues, struggles with staffing, and increasing need in their communities. There seems to be never-ending recommendations about the best programming, staffing, and advocacy-related tools for improving outcomes for people and pets, and it’s reasonable to expect that this menu of options may be overwhelming to decision-makers. For...
A New Model for Pet Intake
Understanding the true reasons for pets entering today’s shelter Roughly eight million cats and dogs entered animal shelters in the U.S. in 2023, according to Shelter Animals Count–and the numbers don’t show much sign of slowing. Since the inception of Human Animal Support Services (HASS), we’re aiming for a better understanding of the downstream effect human hardships have on overcrowded animal shelters. It’s no secret that people are struggling and when people struggle, so do their pets, which are found in 66%...
Uniting Human & Animal Welfare
[embedded content] The Hays County Resource Center is trailblazing a new animal welfare model that will provide programs focused on public safety, animal safety and lifesaving, increased public access to important resources for pet owners, and community education to provide safe and humane care for pets–and it all began with community engagement. Panelists Lee Ann Shenefiel, Hays County Pet Resource Center Executive Advisor, Alex Villalobos, Hays County Chief of Staff, and Sari M. Vatske, President & CEO of Central Texas Food Bank...
An Animal Control Officer’s Lesson in Empathy
The call was fairly routine, as animal neglect complaints go. The dog in question, a loyal companion to an elderly woman living alone, was in pretty rough shape. Rough enough that it was a pretty clear-cut case of neglect. The woman, who obviously loved her pet, seemed to be facing multiple struggles. She may never have intended to cause harm, yet her circumstances had led to a situation that, legally, could not be ignored. In my early career as a cruelty investigator for the City of Dallas, I was driven by a sense of duty to protect the...
HASS Launches First Ever Shelter Budget Calculator to Combat Underfunding
Supported by PetSmart Charities, the HASS Budget Calculator aims to arm animal welfare organizations with the data necessary to advocate for increased operational budgets (AUSTIN, TX) April 9, 2024–Human Animal Support Services (HASS), an international project revolutionizing the animal welfare industry by uniting human and animal welfare, announced today the launch of the HASS Budget Calculator. An initiative supported by PetSmart Charities®, the free-to-use tool is a new way for animal welfare organizations to more accurately...
Exploring the HASS Playbook
[embedded content] The HASS Playbook is a comprehensive collection of FREE how-to guides, programming, resources and research built rise above existing sheltering system challenges and increase the support animal welfare organizations can provide for pets AND people. Each HASS Playbook section is accompanied by an optional, self-paced questionnaire that, upon completion, produces instantaneous customized recommendations for your shelter to create new or enhance existing initiatives. Think of this option as on-demand animal welfare consulting...
Breaking Barriers: Insights into the Competitive Pet Placement Project
[embedded content] Over the last several months, HASS collaborated with a selection of HASS pilot shelters to identify any lingering shelter operation barriers to positive adoption outcomes as part of a formal Competitive Pet Placement (CPP) project. CPP is an initiative supported by PetSmart Charities that aims to make sure animal shelters are not making it harder for people to adopt and foster than it should be—and to make it easier for pets to get into homes. Watch Kate McHugh-Westfall, HASS Embedded Data and Implementation...
