Human Animal Support Services (HASS) Announces New Resource Center
(AUSTIN, TX) September 18, 2023–Human Animal Support Services (HASS), an international, collaborative project revolutionizing the animal welfare industry by cultivating a movement toward recognizing that human services and animal services are deeply intertwined, has launched an online Resource Center to meet the growing industry and public demand for support that meets the needs of people and pets equally. “HASS recognizes there’s no supporting pets without supporting people,” said Vincent Medley, Director of...
All About Transport: Moving Animals to Create Lasting Positive Impact
[embedded content] Want to learn how animal transport can make a massive difference for people and pets in your community, and beyond? This discussion-style webinar will cover how the strategic transport of animals saves lives while fostering stronger community bonds, alleviating strain on shelters, creating lasting positive impacts, and more. Experts Clare Callison, Director of National Operations for Austin Pets Alive!, and Lindsay Hamrick, Director of Shelter Outreach & Engagement for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will...
Lost and Found: Working with Your Community to Get More Lost Pets Home
[embedded content] How can we better engage community members in the lost pet reunification process, and get more lost pets home to their families instead of sitting in shelters? This is one of the most important and urgent challenges shelters face. Our panel of experts will help you develop ways to work hand-in-hand with your community, and reunite more pets with their owners. Tune in to hear from Gina Knepp, National Shelter Engagement Director for Michelson Found Animals; Heather Friedman, Chief Marketing Officer for LifeLine Animal...
Letter From Vincent: A Q3 Dispatch From the Director of HASS
I’ve spent this spring and summer visiting some of the HASS pilot shelters. Members of the Human Animal Support Services team and I visited Dallas Animal Services in Texas, Kansas City Pet Project in Missouri, and Riverside Animal Services and Los Angeles Animal Services in Southern California. We’ve got plans to visit more of our incredible pilot shelters in the fall, as part of our “road show” tour. The road show is a whole-team project, with the goal of providing direct onsite support—primarily by...
Beyond Enforcement: Insights into Community-Centered Field Services
[embedded content] Traditionally, field services or animal control roles have been dedicated to enforcement: impounding animals, tackling cruelty and neglect, getting unsafe animals off the streets, and issuing citations to people violating animal statutes. Field services roles are changing, expanding into community-centered practices to support people and pets through community outreach, supplies and food, helping pet owners access vet care, and getting lost pets home. What can these changes mean for your organization and community? Tune...
Animal Intake in the HASS Model: the Vision, the Myths, the Revolution
[embedded content] What does animal intake look like in the Human Animal Support Services model? Join us for an eye-opening webinar as we delve into the vision, the nitty-gritty, and common misconceptions about this model’s transformative and lifesaving impact. Dr. Ellen Jefferson, President and CEO of Austin Pets Alive!, and Vincent Medley, Maddie’s® Director of Human Animal Support Services, discuss this topic with Jorge Ortega, Animal Services Director for Guilford County Animal Shelter, a HASS pilot shelter. Viewers will...
Paws and Politics: What You Need to Know About 2023 Animal Welfare Legislation
[embedded content] State legislative sessions have ended (or are ending soon!) across the United States and it’s critical to understand how these sessions will impact people, pets, shelters, and rescues. Hear an overview of 2023’s animal-related bills, led by Katie Jarl, Director of Government Affairs and Policy for Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) and HASS, and Executive Director for Texas Pets Alive! (TPA!); and Lauren Loney, Staff Attorney and Policy Specialist for APA!, HASS, and TPA!. This dynamic duo discusses hot topics including...
New Analysis: Pets With Microchips Are THREE TIMES More Likely to Get Home
It’s long been known that lost pets with microchips have a higher chance of returning to their homes than those without. New analysis from the HASS data team shows that pets with microchips are in fact three times more likely to be reunited with their families as those without—but that the use of microchips could be so much more effective. Read on for tips on what shelters can do to have those chips more effectively work to reunite pets with their families. HASS Data Is Clear—Microchips Work, and They Could Work Even...
Inclusivity in Action: Strategies for DEI in Animal Welfare
[embedded content] The week of Juneteenth, DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion—is front of mind. But, how can we take action beyond one week and move toward a more diverse and equitable culture in animal welfare? Tune into this panel discussion with Mia Navedo-Williams, Manager of Multicultural Engagement for Best Friends Animal Society, Rory Adams, Senior Manager of Adoption Initiatives for PetSmart Charities, and Shakela Brown, Director of Community Services for Humane Rescue Alliance. Vincent Medley, Maddie’s®...
People, Pets, and Purpose: Kassidi Jones Adopted a Dog and Became an Anti-Racism Influencer
Kassidi Jones, a Ph.D. candidate studying 19th-Century African American Ecopoetics at Yale studying, always wanted a dog. Early in the pandemic, she visited a local shelter not expecting to adopt right away—and walked out with Ginger, who’d change her life. For a decade, Kassidi has studied race relations. As a Black woman, adopting a dog who most people identify as a pit bull, opened “another door,” she says, about “how else this is playing out every day in ways that so many people are able to gloss over.”...
