Animal Welfare Professionals

Updated 1/30/24 at 8:15am: Recording now available to watch on-demand!

We hope to see you on Monday, 1/29/24 at 11am PT for our next Community Conversations call for a presentation on, "Shaping the Future of Veterinary Care: Cultivating Diversity, Trust, and One Health with VetREDI."

The pet, the parent, the vet, the adopter, the agency, the social media feed...everyone's got an opinion. But which one is "right" or who can you "trust"? CARE aims to rewrite that narrative and seek to understand why they all matter and no one opinion is right. When the animal industry intersects with the veterinary field, clashes of opinions can have significant impact on the health of the animals, humans, and the relationship with every medical professional. When it comes to interacting with the veterinary profession; however, each situation is unique and a spectrum of solutions should be explored. Unfortunately, that's not the message we see and hear, because of the severe lack of diversity.

Join Dr. Azalia Boyd and Dr. Raye Taylor, veterinarians from Companion and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE), to discuss the need for representation and cultural competency in the veterinary space and how starting there will lead to greater trust in the profession, more interest in it as a career path, and better health for our animals. They will introduce the development of a new certification for veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals that focuses on racial equity, diversity and inclusion, Vet REDI. Both Dr. Boyd and Dr. Taylor have extensive first-hand and personal experiences with a deep commitment to advancing the principles of cultural awareness, social justice, and racial equity within veterinary medicine and animal well-being overall.

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization

------------------------------
Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Thank you Maddie's for sharing space for us to speak with the amazing group of humans attending yesterday. We appreciated the conversation and energy of the group, it is clear that the people her have similar experiences and goals for animal welfare. What an honor to be surrounded by such energy! We are choosing forward, by lifting all voices and creating a conscious awareness of racial equity and the marginalized community within our professions. By creating a safer space, we know that more love will fill the animal welfare space and open more opportunities in loving homes, leading to true well-being.

Stay curious everyone and reach outside of the immediate animal welfare space (like into the veterinary space) and continue to advocate for change!

@Raye Taylor & @Azalia Boyd

Sign up for information here:  VetREDI

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization

------------------------------
Raye Taylor
Veterinary Medical Officer
CARE
MN
------------------------------

Thank you to the 193+ people and guest speakers who joined us on yesterday's Community Conversations call! The recording is now available to watch on-demand. Below you'll find a recap of the call, resources shared and highlights from the chat! If you have any questions or comments for our speakers Dr. Raye Taylor or Dr. Azalia Boyd, leave them on this thread for them to see and respond to. Have a great end of January and we'll see you next month! 

Call Recap

• Welcome from Hosts:
  • @Clare Callison, Director of National Operations, Austin/American Pets Alive!
  • Shannon Martin-Roebuck, Executive Director, Bridging Impact
    
    
• Question of the day: What accomplishment are you most proud of at your organization?
  • "Our Government Relations and the impact we are having on getting legislation changed here in the entire country!!!!" - Kathy Duncan
  • "Our no-kill status!" - Ashley Vargas
  • "Increasing adoptions from 483 in 2022 to 611 in 2023." - Beverly Paladinetti 
  • "11,223 Montenegrin cats sterilized since September, 2018." - April King
  • "Christy from betterTogether Forever LA, CA and most proud of all our partnerships" - Christy Schilling
  • "David Merrell - PAWS NY - We just celebrated training over 5,000 volunteers for our organization!" - David M. PAWS NY
  • "Providing support to families and animals fleeing domestic violence" - Laura Goodsell 
  • "Our small volunteer run rescue turns 25 years old this year!" - Tracy Horton 
  • "A multi-year rural vet medical grant I secured for access to care in 2017. I'm still so proud of our reach NoKill SC 2024!" - Lisa Pearce
  • "I am always impressed how hard our teams work together to save the most animals we can in shelter and provide outstanding care for community members' animals." - Michelle Schutz 
  • "Its hard to pick the most. We have been doing major overhaul and have made many many advancements that we are seeing great change in the care of animals, the length of stay and the impact for our community." - Alexsey Dobberstine
  • "With the longer length of stay for our shelter pets and overcrowded conditions within our two locations, Hawaiian Humane launched two short-term foster programs for dogs (Couch Crashers) and cats (Lap Crashers) that have made a huge difference in engaging the public as our partners for the benefit of our shelter pets and alleviating space constraints." - Brandy Shimabukuro 
  • "The BARCS Keeping Pets With Families program is doing really great "boots on the ground" work in Baltimore City" - Michelle Pease Kalaskey
  • "Our Outreach Program distributed almost 8,000 pounds of pet food throughout Middle TN in 2023! My computer doesn't have a mic. But, I am happy to share anything about the Beesley Animal Foundation for those interested." - Katie Beesley Animal Foundation
  • "Helping to save almost 8,000 dogs since 2017 at MatchDog Rescue!" - Molly Keith 
  • "One thing I'm really proud of is VetREDI !!" - Rachel Williams
  • "Québec has new animal regulations and in less than 2 weeks, declawing of cats will be illegal (amongst other improvements)" - Isabelle Côté 
  • "For me is our organization that Community in Charleston is hearing about our work and star asking about our project and programs. And last Saturday was our second annual meeting." - Myriam Martinez 
  • "https://www.kotorkitties.org And our top searches and pages listed each month in Google rankings are on our Montenegrin website:  sharing the GOOD NEWS of spay-neuter in a country that badly needed it!" - April King
  • "We have treated over 28,000 pets of people experiencing homelessness the across the country." - Genevieve Frederick 
  • "Proud to have launched (last year) our new program to support seniors and others experiencing difficulties in caring for their pets <3" - Alicia Curley 
  • "We are 10 years old this year! Brandi Priest - The Animal Cause, Inc. To celebrate we are launching another Program this year that will not only help us save more shelter animals in Texas but will help people in need as well!" - Brandi Priest
  • "Hey all! Celeste from CARE (Companions & Animals for Reform and Equity). I am the Senior Director of Research & Development here. So proud of everything our organization does, but SOOO excited about VetREDI!" - Celeste Morales
    
    
• National Updates
  • Humane Canada's Summit for Animals May 5-7, Halifax. Nova Scotia https://reg.eventmobi.com/summitforanimals

  • "Back Where They Belong" is a 2-day online event on 2/21 and 2/28.
    Learn more about the Back Where They Belong event and register now - www.ShelterSummit.com. Download a flyer (or share this link) about the Back Where They Belong event to share with your team - http://tinyurl.com/BWTB-Flyer

  • Maddie's Fund Monthly Giveaways!  Enter here for a chance to win CA$H:  https://www.maddiesfund.org/weekly-community-conversations-jan24-giveaway.htm Open to all who are watching live or on-demand! Be sure to enter each week you attend!

  • Maddie's Pet Forum Monthly Giveaway: Maddie's Fund® is giving away a $3,000 grant each month to one lucky Maddie's® Pet Forum member. You'll automatically be entered to win each month when you start a new discussion, reply to a new post. More info: https://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org/2022/11/new-monthly-grant-opportunity/ 
    
    
• Presentation: Shaping the Future of Veterinary Care: Cultivating Diversity, Trust and One Health with VetREDI - Weekly Community Conversations 1/29/24
  • Speakers:
    • Dr. @Azalia Boyd, Chief Veterinary Medical Officer, Companion and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE)
    • Dr. @Raye Taylor, Senior Veterinary Medical Officer, Rural Community Animal CARE 

  • Related Links:

    • Companion and Animals for Reform and Equity https://careawo.org/

    • Companion and Animals for Reform and Equity VetREDI https://careawo.org/vetredi/

• Highlights From The Chat
  • "In Seattle there are more dogs than children BUT MORE CATS THAN DOGS  :)" - Vickie Ramirez
  • "I'm in Humane Education and kids are surprised to hear that their animals should go to the vet like they go to the doctor. So much learning occurs with these kids." - Michelle Schutz
  • "Lack of transportation is a big challenge for many in our community" - Alicia Curley
  • "Many people can afford or do not understand why preventative care is important" - Amy Joshua
    • "and then are afraid of being judged when they do need to go for not coming sooner" - Candice Hinkle
    • "Yes, fear of judgment/shame is very real." - Alicia Curley
  • "Open admission shelters need the AVMA to support rotations for training. We welcome students in our shelter clinic but others need them too." - Lisa Pearce
  • "and those 4%/ 3% is a lot of people if you think about the entire population of the USA" - Maria S
    • "AND that is just 3% of the people AVMA could get in contact with for that survey" - Sloane Hawes
  • "and what about all the people who FIND pets or are given pets by someone else? They just want to help the pet. Is it really better to take the pet away from the home it has?" - Maria S
  • "Hello, this is River Tate, with Seattle Veterinary Outreach. I worked alongside the Humane Society in California, along with another rescue, for over 20 years. A couple years ago I found myself a displaced caretaker after my son passed. That is when I came in contact with Seattle Veterinary Outreach for the first time. I had a sick 15-year-old cat that had the best healthcare and home her whole life. I was not about to give up my baby." - Rachele Raj
    • "SVO is a fantastic organization!" - Shelby Wade
  • "Animals are family. They promote health. Animal Resource Centers and Pets for Life are equity programs. They/we/HSUS have been addressing social justice barriers for years. Housing pets for those in transition, DV, veterans and the Covid unhoused who need help with companion animals. Open admission shelters address these pet- loving clients every day." - Lisa Pearce
  • "We sponsor Wellness Clinics" - Genevieve Frederick
  • "Provide a spectrum of care" - Isabelle Côté 
  • "We sponsor free vaccine clinics." - Tracy Horton - Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation 
  • "Our organization, PAWS NY, helps vulnerable people and their pets, ensuring that humans and animals stay TOGETHER. We help low-income individuals who also face barriers (disability, illness) with pet care, veterinary care, pet pantry, and more. Our extensive volunteer network make house call visits, for many older adults whose main bond is their pet. We also help substance abuse recovering individuals who have the peace of mind that their pet is cared for while they enter a 30 day recovery program." - David M. PAWS NY 
  • "Hello this is Michele from Reducing Animal Stress. We partner with Modern Animal veterinarians to offer discounts to anyone adopting a new pet at our adoption events" - Michele Robinson
  • "The REDI course was great!  I wish we could convince our European leadership of our group to take the course. They think of racism and lack of equity, diversity, as an exclusively American problem.  I look at the Roma populations in Europe and see the exact same problems.  People don't even want to "waste our hard-earned funds" to spay their cats!  It's heart-breaking." - April King
  • "Big Stone County Animal Rescue is working with a local vet clinic to offer a decreased cost neuter program." - Regina Wixon
  • "Do you have experience with medical sterilization (ex. by injection) to decrease cost and increase access?" - Isabelle Côté 
  • "And we would need a special program to even do outreach--so many of them lack phones, lack cars, and have no way to find out about our free spay-neuter, much less call for an appointment or transport their pets." - April King
  • "This is going to be a game-changer! ❤️" - Zoraida Cordero
  • "Fosters are the lifeblood of housing pets temporarily outside the shelter. Volunteers can help with so much. Crowdfunding on FB or neighborhood pet supply drives.  A nonjudgemental food pantry that gives a bag of kibble or food once each month can mean the difference between surrender or keeping families whole. No grandma should have to give up her beloved kitty in order to pay a light bill. There are many solutions that don't cost much. Public support of the shelter grows from good allies!" - Lisa Pearce
  • "The community should always be the first stop." - Vincent
  • "Thanks so much for your time on this meeting, doctors." - Lori Leberman
  • "Thank you so much for a great program and such information." - Myriam Martinez
  • "Purrfect Peaches Cat Rescue  Would love any information. Our barrier is financial for the community. Vets say use Care credit or one of the other credit companies. We need affordable care and have vets give vaccines without charging for a vet visit." - Beverly Paladinetti
  • "How can we encourage the vets in our community to offer a spectrum of care?" - Emily Wood
    • "VetREDI has a huge section of that! We are hoping to perpetuate that importance as it is slow coming from the veterinary boards" - Dr. Raye Taylor
  • "HSUS International and Greater Good Charities are good places to start too. Dogs Trust USA may also be an international resource." - Lisa Pearce
  • "Are you connected to the AVMA - I'm on a committee there and could serve to introduce" - Julie Smith
  • "They have student loans and private practices to consider too. Partner with your nearest vet school to offer rotations in shelter medicine." - Lisa Pearce
  • "There are also just not enough vets. Even full paying customers have trouble getting appointments :(" - Maria S
    • "Yes - Arkansas is 49th state in vets per cap.  Vet desserts throughout our rural state" - June Thomas
    • "Even in places where there are vets everywhere, it's still impossible to get spay/neuter sometimes" - Maria S
    • "We've had an ER facility cut hours because of lack of staff. They don't take customer from Thurs through Sunday. Weekends are most likely time for emergencies too. It's hard." - Penny Leisch
  • "We are advocating for Spectrum of Care to be taught at the Vet Schools here in Canada." - Kathy Duncan
  • "Thank you for this very important discussion." - Claire Wilson

------------------------------
Charlotte Otero
Community Strategist at Maddie's Fund
she/her
------------------------------