Stories and messages influence what people think is true. They trigger our brains to ask: What's the problem, who is responsible, and what's the solution? They power thinking about critical issues like overwhelmed shelters, access to care, cruelty, and pet ownership. The problem is that mainstream stories give us the wrong answers. We're stuck with stereotypes, shaming, villainizing, and burnout. We must messa...

Is there more to enrichment than just food and busy boxes? Join me as we discuss some simple changes and strategies to benefit welfare in your shelter, and help keep our kennels (and kitty cages) calm and quiet.Attendees of this session are eligible for one (1) credit for CPDT-KA.

Struggling to engage your employees and turn feedback into meaningful change? You're not alone. Many organizations face challenges in seeking, analyzing, and acting on feedback, yet engaged employees are more productive and committed. Join us as we explore the importance of empowering employee voices, featuring the Animal Rescue League of Boston's journey in making feedback central to their culture. Learn to develop a feedback-rich environment, analyze employee input, transform feedback into ...

We all want successful adoptions, and part of making that happen includes preparing not only the adopters but the animals, too. This important, but often overlooked, preparation helps reduce stress (and stress-related illnesses) when animals leave shelters or foster homes and move into new homes with new people. Happy, healthy, less-stressed, and better-prepared pets also mean happier adopters, fewer returns, and better chances for family bonding and positive life-long relationships. This ses...

In this presentation attendees will learn how to accurately age, assess and care for orphaned neonatal kittens. They will also learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of fading kitten syndrome and how to combat it. 

This session will delve into essential topics such as governance, strategic planning, fundraising, and board member engagement. Participants will gain insights into navigating the unique challenges faced by animal welfare organizations, fostering collaboration, and building a cohesive, mission-focused board that stays engaged and effective. We will discuss successful recruitment strategies, the critical role of organizational by-laws, and provide Executive Director...

We'll dive into a successful campaign that combines a modern approach with traditional best practices and show how it boosted revenue in a slow summer fundraising season. Attendees will leave empowered to create inclusive, compassionate campaigns without sacrificing revenue or lives saved.Topics include:Leading with empathy and inclusivityStrength-Based MessagingCompassionate StorytellingPositioning donors as partners, not saviors

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We'll introduce the concept of L.E.G.S. (Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self) and discuss how to use this model within the shelter to improve match-making for dogs, enrichment, handling, and more. Attendees will delve into why breed and genetics matter and how to better support both adopters and dogs in their care.

Shelters often run at full speed — juggling adoptions, events, appeals, and daily operations — leaving little time to think about major gifts. But transformational giving doesn’t have to wait for a big campaign or a full-time development staff. In this session, we’ll explore how simple, authentic conversations with your volunteers and donors can uncover leadership-level gift potential. You’ll leave with practical, low-lift strategies to connect your supporters’ passions with your shelter’s fu...

Are you struggling to make decisions for dogs when it comes to their behavior? Are you seeing dogs returned for serious behaviors, or worried you may be euthanizing dogs who could find homes? Do you struggle to figure out what behaviors you can work on in the shelter? You're not alone! This presentation will give you practical steps for building adoptability criteria, decision guidelines for euthanasia, and reasonable training and enrichment strategies for "gray area" dogs in your care.

In this session, we will have a panel led by Community Cats Podcast host, Stacy LeBaron, to share the story of how two Massachusetts communities have significantly reduced their cat population over the years. Executive Directors, Crystal Arnott(Lowell Humane Society) and Karen Glass(Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society) will share statistics and their experience on what programs and support was needed in orde...

This presentation thinks about the humans affected during behavioral euthanasia; staff, volunteers, and adopters.  The speakers will aim to reframe behavioral euthanasia through a lens of public safety, the emotional difficulties owners face making this decision themselves, and organizational responsibility. Dr. Carly will share her real-world experiences speaking to owners about the decision-making process and how they grapple with managing a dog with behavioral concerns.Attendee...

This presentation will delve into the critical elements that influence how to capture captivating pet photographs. By examining factors such as the inclusion of humans or children, accessories, setting, text overlays, photo quantity and quality, variety, and platform-specific nuances, we will uncover actionable insights to create captivating pet imagery. This research-based presentation will provide valuable g...

When organizations launch access to care programs like Pets for Life, we often think of them as standalone programs. The MSPCA and Wisconsin Humane Society have access to care programs that have impacted nearly every aspect of our orgs. In this session, we'll share how our outreach teams got to know people in our communities, that perspective and information spread across the organization. Bringing the community's perspective into our organizations has helped us to rethink organizational appr...

In this AVMA Wellbeing Educator presentation we explore why rudeness in the workplace is on the rise, how we can address challenging behaviors, and why attempts to control others’ behaviors at best aren’t effective. We will also share how to leverage and apply the superpowers veterinary and animal welfare professionals already possess when working with reactivity in animals, to difficult encounters with humans.  Participants can expect to learn about:Factors t...

Focusing on troubling times of increased population, this presentation aims to look at decreasing LOS with a focus on effectiveness and ease of using promotions and discounted adoption fee events to move your population. Hard and soft cost of these adoption promotions will be looked at and visitors should leave feeling like they have a roadmap to do an event at their facility.