Animal Welfare Professionals

We recently hired someone who doesn't have a background in animal welfare. I'd like to give her a list of resources to learn all about the animal welfare movement, history of no kill, where we are today, what are best practices, etc. Any suggestions? 

Looking for blogs, books, websites, webcasts, and more. Please share your favorites! 

Thanks in advance!

Excellent question. I will follow the answers closely!

The first three I recommend to animal welfare newcomers are:

• Out the Front Door blog by Susan Houser (http://outthefrontdoor.com/)
• HSUS Animal Sheltering website (https://www.animalsheltering.org/)
• ASPCA Pro (https://www.aspcapro.org/)

But I'd really love to hear others' suggestions!

I recommend to anyone-at any stage in their animal welfare journey-to visit as many shelters as they can! I have learned so much by observing! 

The Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters is dense, but really informative as far as shelter best practices and operations. "Pit Bull" by Bronwen Dickey is a must read for everyone in animal welfare! "The Bond" by Wayne Pacelle is also a great one to kind of "get in the groove" of animal welfare thinking. 

Watching the "Shelter Me" series also gives an awesome idea and kick start to innovative programs happening around the country! 

Thanks, Emily! I haven't read Pit Bull yet but I'm so glad you mentioned it because it fell off my radar. I've heard great things about it. And I hadn't heard of The Bond or the Shelter Me series so they're new to me, too. Looking forward to checking them out! This is the Shelter Me series you're talking about, right? https://shelterme.tv/

Yep! That's Shelter Me-they release awesome new episodes about once or twice a year too! Always new great stuff from great innovators! 

Perfect! Thanks again, Emily!

Hi Kim,

Here are a few other blogs that may be helpful/interesting:

A Humane Nation (HSUS/Wayne Pacelle's blog): http://blog.humanesociety.org/subscribe

ASPCApro (ASPCA’s blog for shelter/rescue professionals): http://aspcapro.org/

Best Friends Animal Society: http://blogs.bestfriends.org/

Vox Felina (about free-roaming cats): http://www.voxfelina.com/ Subscribe link at the bottom of the page

Faunalytics (research and data in animal welfare): https://faunalytics.org/

And another great blog about non-profits (not specific to animal welfare) is Nonprofit AF (Nonprofit…And Fearless, formerly Nonprofit With Balls): http://nonprofitaf.com/

Great suggestions, Kelly! Thank you! I forgot about Faunalytics and Vox Felina -- such great resources!

I have put together a list for this very purpose! Here is a link: No Kill On Boarding

Rory, this is incredible! Thank you so much for sharing it!

Thanks everyone for sharing, we are about to hire two new part-time employees (I can't believe I'm typing the word employee!) at Fearless Kitty Rescue and I'm not sure one position (events coordinator) will necessarily include past rescue work.  I'm keeping all the information everyone just shared very handy.

Hi Kim, 

We ask teachers, volunteers and humane educators who take the RedRover Readers program to read Unti & DeRosa's (2003) Humane Education Past, Present and Future article. It is an introduction to the humane education movement with a historical timeline with how the major animal welfare support got started. 

http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=sota_2003 

Thanks, Karly. I've never seen this before so I really appreciate it!