Original Article: http://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org/2020/09/maddies-weekly-roundup-pet-foster-stimulus-grant-recipient-story-access-to-veterinary-care-and-more/

Pet Foster stimulus grant recipient story access to veterinary care from Dr. Blackwell - Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: Pet Foster Stimulus Grant recipient story, access to veterinary care and more!

Below is a brief round-up of new blog posts and resources we’ve added over the past week.

How one Pet Foster Stimulus Grant recipient took the opportunity to transform their animal welfare organization, #ThanksToMaddie
Prior to COVID-19, Kent County Animal Shelter in Grand Rapids, MI, didn’t have a foster program in place, so when they received the pet foster stimulus grant, they went from 0 fosters to 100 (literally). They implemented their foster program in no time, including behavior dogs with specific needs. Namiko Ota-Noveskey, Program Supervisor, shared that… Learn More

Learn about access to veterinary care from the expert himself, Dr. Blackwell
Now, more than ever, low income families are struggling to find access to veterinary care due to COVID-19. Learn more about this important topic from Access to Care expert and the 2020 Avanzino Leadership Award recipient, Dr. Michael J. Blackwell, in the recorded webcast, Access to Care: A National Family Crisis. In the webcast, Dr.… Learn More

Want to learn more about HASS? Check out this article: Inside the plan to revolutionize animal shelters
In the spring, when it became clear that COVID-19 was going to dramatically alter society for the foreseeable future, many people went to the pound. Animal shelters across the United States saw adoptions rise and unexpected numbers of people sign up to foster animals in their homes. Pets became the go-to salve for a time of great uncertainty… Learn more

Join Best Friend’s Townhall: Keeping Families Together: Navigating the blurry lines between neglect, cruelty and lack of access to care
As we navigate the change to impounding only high-priority intakes, Animal Control Officers come across field cases where impounding an animal is necessary. But, there are also cases where providing the owner with resources keeps the pet at home and out of the shelter. Join this town hall where Best Friends Director of National Shelter Outreach (and NACA president) Scott Giacoppo, helps you define cruelty vs. resource deprivation to establish your own organizational guidelines for when to provide resources vs. impound an animal on October 1 at 3pm PT/6pm ET. Register Now

Apply for the Rachael Ray Save Them All Grant and the Rachael Ray No-Kill Excellence Grant
Best Friends Animal Society wants to make it easier for their Best Friends Network partners to save the lives of dogs and cats. Applications are open for both grants that will fund projects that have a measurable impact on making the country no-kill by 2025. The deadline to apply is October 23 at 4pm PT/7pm ET. Learn more

California Animal Welfare Funders Collaborative awards $200,000 in grants to animal shelters across the state
We are proud to be a partner in the California Animal Welfare Funders Collaborative, a new initiative to award $200,000 in grants to animal shelters across the state. Members include Annenburg Foundation, Annenburg PetSpace, Best Friends Animal Society, Maddie’s Fund and Michelson Found Animals Foundation. Learn More

Join #AdoptAFosterDog and celebrate Adopt a Shelter Dog Month with the ASPCA
This year’s ASPCA campaign will focus on educating shelters on how to elevate their Adoption Ambassadors program, particularly by leveraging virtual adoptions. The campaign hopes to empower shelters and rescues to train their foster families to facilitate the marketing and adoption of their foster dogs directly to adopters. Registration is open until September 30. Register Now

Help us learn how to improve the in-kennel welfare of dogs with this short survey
Maddie’s Fund® is sharing this survey on behalf of Allie Andrukonis, PhD student at Texas Tech University, studying animal science. If you work at an animal shelter or rescue organization, participate in this new study on in-kennel welfare in dogs. Take the survey

Register for The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement’s roundtable: Community relations during a time of unrest 
Barriers to community engagement isn’t a new challenge for animal services but a global pandemic and social unrest bring added burden to these essential employees. Hear from three animal services leaders guiding their cities through a difficult climate: Dallas, Greensboro, and Los Angeles. Tune in Thursday, October 1, from 5-6pm ET. Register Now

Join Maddie’s® Instructor Summits!
The AmPA! weekly Maddie’s® Instructor Summit offers shelters and rescues a chance to talk through the most current animal sheltering challenges! You’ll join the instructors from Maddie’s® Lifesaving Academy, as well as other industry leaders, but, more importantly, you’ll be able to engage face to face (digitally!) with people like you every Friday afternoon. Topics will change each week. Register Now

Want to learn more about how Human Animal Support Services are keeping people and pets together? 
Human Animal Support Services (HASS), a new animal welfare organizational model, will implement a new range of services for pets and people in 12 pilot cities, helping keep more animals in their homes and communities and reducing the number entering the shelter system through programs and resources. Read More

Need foster caregivers? GreaterGood.org can help! 
Through their nationwide #StayHomeAndFoster initiative, GreaterGood.org has over 80,000 people signed up to foster, but just 750 organizations to match them with. Register your organization so you can be matched with local fosters in your area! If your organization is not in need right now, you can still sign up so that everything is ready to go when you do need. This includes all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Learn More

Stay connected
As a reminder, we’ve created an emergency fostering and COVID-19 webpage that we are updating regularly as new resources become available. You’re also invited to join the Emergency fostering during the Covid-19/coronavirus pandemic group on Maddie’s® Pet Forum where you can ask questions, share resources and more.

Want to increase lifesaving?
Connect with us at Maddie’s® Pet Forum, use Maddie’s® Shelter Compass tool to increase lifesaving success and take advantage of free online training with Maddie’s® University!

Source: Chew On This