Tuesday 19 March, 2024
Workplace culture and environment are critical components to animal lifesaving. It can be the difference between team members who are engaged or burned out, pet owners feeling welcomed or judged, volunteers working with or against us – all of these dynamics either positively or negatively impact animal outcomes. While Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become the mainstream ap...
AWOs and startups may sound very different from the outside, but on the inside, we look alike! We all have big goals and few resources to achieve them. We have impossibly long to-do lists. We operate in an environment where the only constant is change. From how we approach meetings, to prioritizing what work needs to be done now versus later, to staying focused on your goals in chaotic environments, this session will share practical st...
Do you struggle with volunteers who interact inappropriately with dogs? Are staff and volunteers often at odds over behavior or training? Is sharing a euthanasia decision with volunteers actively traumatizing them and you? This presentation will talk about how to build a strong dog volunteer program that gets everyone on the same team to help dogs without a toxic culture. Takeaways include concrete steps on recruitment, training, discu...
This panel includes representatives from the MSPCA, the Animal Rescue League of Boston, and Save the Unicorns. The panelists will describe how their organizations have rebooted their foster programs to engage more foster volunteers by specific foster need, break down barriers to fostering, increase training, and gain support for some animals that have been hard to find foster options for.
Caring for shelter animals involves making decisions, often challenging ones, day in and day out. Whether you're working in shelter administration, operations, medicine, or behavior (or all of the above), you've likely experienced the fatigue that comes with decision-making. Join us to recognize that we aren't alone and that we can implement strategies including effective communication techniques, collaborative decision-mak...
Have you ever been curious about what dogs do in the shelter when we’re not watching? How much are they sleeping, drinking, scratching, or even licking? We were too, so we put activity and health trackers (think Fit Bit for dogs) on thousands of shelter dogs to find out (and collected DNA samples too!). In this session, we’ll provide insights from thousands of data points collected. We’ll share how shelter dog behavior differs from in-...
Pet owners are working harder than ever to keep their pets as lifelong companions, yet few social services agencies have programs that support the bond between humans and animals. BestyBnB seeks to change that by partnering with social services agencies and animal welfare agencies to prevent unnecessary owner surrenders. In this session, you will learn steps toward partnering with social services agencies to create a holistic network o...
Caring for shelter animals involves making decisions, often challenging ones, day in and day out. Whether you're working in shelter administration, operations, medicine, or behavior (or all of the above), you've likely experienced the fatigue that comes with decision-making. Join us to recognize that we aren't alone and that we can implement strategies including effective communication techniques, collaborative decision-mak...
Animal welfare organizations and the veterinary field are facing the urgent need for improved access to veterinary care (AVC) for underserved populations. Harnessing the expertise of the AVC community we developed 20 questions to prioritize their research efforts on key topics that will have the greatest impact, ultimately advancing AVC efforts around the country. This session will open a dialog with attendees to discuss the relevance ...
The national dog crisis is impacting every community in our nation, and although it is overwhelming, a clear solution has emerged to help us combat this crisis - increasing adoptions. Learn how the MSPCA has pivoted since early 2023 to reimagine adoption programming for dogs to increase adoptions. The solution may surprise you as we have recycled the playbook from 2012 to supercharge adoption programming.
Enjoy delicious appetizers and drinks while chatting with other conference attendees. Tours will be offered for a behind-the-scenes look at the Rhode Island SPCA’s new facility which opened last fall.This event is being held at the Rhode Island SPCA which is located at 155 Plan Way, Warwick, RI.
