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I'd love to take a look at it. Send your email to catspawjamasrs@gmail.com and I'll send any feedback to you directly. ------------------------------ Michelle DePrima Cats Pawjamas Rescue Society Olathe KS ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hey, I run a similar program at Animal-Angels Foundation in Central Alabama. We call our equivalent The Bridge, with crisis foster as a sub-program. We have hit this exact wall a few times in our first year and the answer has gotten clearer the more we run it. The contract is the answer. You already have it. The families had two months plus two extensions. Four months is the maximum the program can absorb because every month past four is a month another family with a real 60-day crisis cannot get help. The animals in your program are not getting served by indefinite extensions either. Four months in temporary foster is not temporary anymore. It is housing instability dressed up as foster placement, and the animal is paying for it in attachment turnover and uncertainty. What I would do differently from a pure surrender framing is offer them a graceful pathway out. Tell the two upset families you understand the crisis has not resolved, and that you have a path that protects the animal. The pet transitions out of Shaina's Safe Haven into your rehoming pipeline, you find them a permanent placement, and the family knows the animal landed with people who can care for them long-term. That is functionally a surrender, but it reads as continuity for a family in real crisis. You are not abandoning them. You are doing the part they cannot do right now. On the social media backlash, two things help. Put the maximum stay on the public-facing program description if it is not already there: ... View Discussion

Julielani, Yes, I did mean the tools you suggested, envisioning them on a shelf on the wall. However, I much appreciated your expansion of "outside the kennel" as the place to start working on the transition. That's easy for me to do as a volunteer. I will continue to share this discussion with shelter staff who are aware of the return-to- kennel problem in a subset of dogs. They can institute a strategy for return-to-kennel procedures by the staff. We might be able to track informally length of stay to see if adding protocols help. Thanks for your quick follow up. I really appreciate having someone with whom I can share my thoughts and strategies. ------------------------------ Augusta Farley ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Augusta, Thank you for trying the plan and for sharing the observation because I actually think it highlights something important about the emotional side of kennel return. My impression is similar to yours: the food may have helped the dog enter the kennel, but the kennel itself may not yet have enough positive emotional value for the dog to want to remain there comfortably. So I think you are identifying a real competing element: outside still emotionally outcompetes the kennel. This is important because the goal is not simply " get the dog into the kennel" but make it so the dog feels safe enough to want to stay there. I'm also wondering if by "treat tools" you meant things like: Kongs LickiMats frozen enrichment chew items snuffle enrichment or longer-lasting food activities because I actually think that may be one of the missing pieces here. If starting completely at Level 1 is not realistic in a shelter setting, I wonder if part of the solution is creating more of a transition zone around the kennel return itself. For example: return toward kennel briefly play "Find It" outside the kennel toss food inside the kennel allow the dog to move in and out calmly a few times then eventually leave the enrichment inside This practice may soften the emotional contrast between outside freedom and kennel confinement. Instead of: "outside ends → kennel begins", the kennel area itself becomes ... View Discussion

Hi! We run a program called Shaina's Safe Haven, named after a volunteer who sadly passed away. The purpose of this program is to offer temporary foster care for people who are in a situation that does not allow them to care for their pets temporarily, such as a hospitalization, eviction, house fire, etc. We ask the people how long they think they will need to use this service and most say a month or so and we always arrange the agreement for 2 months. Rarely are they able to take their pet back at the 2 month deadline. I allow 2 extensions of a month each. Currently, we have 11 cats and 2 dogs in this situation and one dog and 9 cats are now at the 4 month mark with the families being granted 2 extensions. 4 months is too long for these pets to be in limbo and, obviously, takes space from us helping others. I talked to all the families a few weeks ago and told them that they had until June 1 to get their pets, or per our contract, they would be considered surrendered and we would find them new homes. They had multiple warnings over the last month that June 2 was the absolute final deadline (if they were able to provide me proof that they would be in a new location on X date that was just past June 1 I would extend to that deadline). Today when I discussed it with 2 of the families, they both became upset and said they needed more time. So far, I am not agreeing as it is not fair to their pets. However, I do feel bad for the people and I dread the possible back lash on social ... View Discussion

The New York Times reported today that HUD is circulating an internal memo that would dramatically narrow Fair Housing Act protections for assistance animals. Emotional support animals would be largely excluded. Service animals would face tighter scrutiny too. The justification HUD is using is the ESA certificate mill industry, which is real. The policy response is a blunt instrument. I want to flag what this means for shelter intake, because most of the policy coverage I have seen so far is missing it. Housing is the number one or number two driver of pet surrender depending on whose data you pull. Pizano's Go-To Guide, Best Friends data, PIHI data all converge here. Lose housing, lose the pet. The same families who lose ESA accommodation under this memo are the families who end up at the shelter door. The people who lose are not the $50 certificate buyers. The certificate mill customers will find a workaround. They always do. The people who lose are the veterans with combat PTSD, the disabled tenants on fixed income, and the people on multi-year service dog waitlists who got a shelter dog to bridge the gap. On what is at stake clinically: a 2024 NIH-funded clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open (O'Haire lab at Purdue in partnership with K9s For Warriors) found that suicidality in the service-dog group dropped from 55 percent at baseline to 35 percent at follow-up. The wait-listed control group dropped 1 percent. K9s For Warriors reports a suicide mortality rate ... View Discussion

Karen, the history you laid out is real and worth respecting. Spay/neuter is the biggest prevention win the field has ever produced. From 17 million dying in shelters in the 1980s to under 500,000 today, that is decades of work and it is the playbook everyone points to. Here is where I want to push back. Spay/neuter is at an all-time high and we still saw 5.8 million community intakes in 2025 (Shelter Animals Count 2025 Annual Report). So spay/neuter cannot be the only lever, and the story that the field figured out prevention and then got crushed by COVID does not quite match the math. We solved the supply-side problem. Fewer unwanted litters. We have never solved the demand-side problem. The demand side is the surrender drivers. Housing. Vet costs. Behavior. Financial crisis. Landlord restrictions. A neutered dog still gets surrendered when the family moves and cannot find a pet-inclusive lease. A spayed cat still gets surrendered when the owner cannot afford the dental. That is where the 5.8 million is coming from, and that is the layer the field has never built at scale. COVID did not break prevention. It exposed how much of it was never built. The retention and access-to-care programs you named came late, ran small, never had the cultural and funding muscle that spay/neuter had, and got cut first when capacity tightened. Those are the programs that have to come back, scaled up, networked across orgs, with infrastructure that does not collapse when one shelter has a ... View Discussion

I couldn't agree more: prevention absolutely works better than repair. But what I'm seeing now in animal welfare isn't a field that hasn't figured out prevention. It's a field in crisis. And when people or systems are in crisis, prevention can become out of reach. For someone worried about their car being repossessed, an oil change is the last thing on their mind. A family that can't afford their pet's emergency surgery isn't thinking about vaccines. You're right that we have a problem, but from where I sit, the issue isn't that animal welfare hasn't figured out prevention. Our industry actually has an impressive track record with prevention. Consider what we did with spay/neuter, an industry-wide, funder-supported movement that changed cultural attitudes and transformed access. We started with voucher programs and neutering-before-adoption, built shelter-based and standalone clinics, introduced pediatric and High Quality High Volume Spay/Neuter, and increasingly used data to target programs and measure impact. In the early 1980s, about 17 million pets were dying in shelters each year. By the millennium, it was under 5 million. Today, it's about half a million. What we did with spay/neuter made that possible. As shelter intake declined, we moved on to retention and shelter diversion programs: dog training classes, help desks, microchip clinics, etc. Then, moving further into the 2000s and 2010s, that evolved into access-to-care. We even started providing ... View Discussion

Socially Conscious Sheltering is a real framework that came out of real practitioner experience trying to balance resource constraints with animal welfare commitments. The No Kill movement is also a real framework that came out of real practitioner experience trying to push the field past a euthanasia-default mindset. Both responded to gaps that existed. The thing I keep noticing in these conversations: the SCS vs No Kill debate is entirely about what happens AFTER an animal enters the shelter. What policies, what outcomes, what definitions of treatable, what allocation of resources, what alignment with community values. All of that is real. Almost none of it touches what happens BEFORE the animal enters the shelter. The 2025 Shelter Animals Count report showed national intake dropped by 121,000 animals year over year. A real win for the work the field has been doing. The same report showed the system year-end population grew by 147,000. Even with intake reduction, the sheltered system added animals faster than it could place them. That gap is the surrender pathway. Roughly 30 percent of national intake (1.74 million animals a year) is owner surrender. Per Sara Pizano's municipal services research, 77 percent of those surrenders are cost-driven. That is 1.34 million animals a year whose families would have kept them if their families had not run out of options. That bucket is not addressed by SCS or by No Kill. SCS makes the post-intake decisions more pragmatic. No Kill ... View Discussion

Every AI tool I tried for my own nonprofit produced something that sounded like a regional auto insurance company. The donor thank-yous were generic. The grant LOIs needed three rewrites. The board update drafts had to be tossed. I spent the last six months figuring out what actually fixes that. The fix is not a better prompt. The fix is teaching the AI your voice once, then never explaining it again. The pattern is called a Claude skill (works in ChatGPT too, with a slightly different setup path). I have been documenting the patterns in a weekly free Substack called AI for Nonprofits. Every post ships with the actual working file you can install in 15 minutes. No paywall on the working files. No tool roundups. No affiliate links. No upsells to anything but the paid tier of the newsletter itself, and the paid tier is not even active yet. Free for any 501(c)(3) to use, edit, and version. No attribution required. What is in the archive so far and coming in the next few weeks: The donor thank-you skill (the first AI workflow every nonprofit should build, drops 8 to 15 minute thank-yous to under 5 minutes per donor, file included). The grant pre-screening skill (drops 30 to 90 minutes of guideline reading per alert to under 5 minutes of triage, file included). The brand voice skill that makes every AI output sound like your org instead of generic AI (the prompt-to-skill upgrade). The AI Use Policy template (19 sections, plug-and-play for any 501(c)(3), built on Kristen ... View Discussion

H Kristina: As a foster, I completely understand that concern. I've worked to make Foster Kitten as affordable as possible at $2.99/month, while still providing secure cloud storage, offline persistence, health tracking, medical photo tagging, and AI-assisted tools for foster caregivers. Foster Kitten is not a profit-making project. I work full-time as a healthcare administrator, my labor on Foster Kitten is unpaid, and I currently pay about $400/month out of pocket to keep the app running. It is very much a labor of love. My long-term goal is to secure grant or sponsor funding so the app can be free to fosters and rescue organizations. If you're open to it, I'd be happy to offer you a free account for a year so you can explore it without any cost or commitment. Kind Regards, Daniel ------------------------------ Daniel Wenger Founder Foster Kitten OR ------------------------------ View Discussion

Yes, good advice. Unfortunately there have been several large scale raids in California in the past few months; Villa Chardonnay in Julian and Rock n Pawz in Lake Hughes are also under investigation for cruelty and neglect of hundreds of animals. ------------------------------ Sincerely, Johanna Spielman Founder of Jamie Brianna's Legacy Fund https://jamiebriannaslegacyfund.org/ ------------------------------ View Discussion

How are your Community Microchip Scanners Working? If your organization has community microchip scanners, please take a few minutes to complete our short survey . HASS is gathering insights on how scanners are performing when it comes to reuniting pets. Thank you! #ReturntoHome(LostPetReunification) ------------------------------ Elkie Wills Director of HASS HASS - Human Animal Support Services TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

Karen, This is exactly the kind of answer I was hoping the thread would surface. Every one of those removed requirements maps to a gate the field has treated as untouchable for decades. Two of yours land hardest for me. The proof-of-financial-need removal for spay/neuter is the same call we made when we designed our SNIP program at AAF. No income test on the service. Recovery support payment goes to enrollees of qualifying assistance programs, which is documented enrollment, not proof-of-need theater. The framing we used internally was the gun buyback model: no questions, no shame, just remove the barrier. Anyone who walks in the door gets the surgery. The conversation replacing the application is the bigger structural shift in your list. Most of what we have built operationally at AAF runs on the same logic. Our Pet Help Desk is a triage conversation, not a vetting interview. The Bridge program responds to what the family needs that week, not to their financial history. Our adoption process for crisis-rehomed animals (Bessemer 20 was the most recent) replaces the application with the same kind of "what are you looking for, what support do you need" frame you described. The conversations close cases the applications would have lost. The resistance you flagged is where I see most of the field stuck right now. Sole-operator orgs do not have it. Bigger orgs do. The change management piece is the part the prevention argument keeps running into when it scales. If you ever ... View Discussion

This sounds like an amazing concept! However, my only hesitation is the cost structure. We try to keep fostering completely cost-free, so I'd prefer not to introduce a resource that requires our fosters to pay a monthly subscription fee. ------------------------------ Kristina Calvanico Director of Operations PupStarz Rescue NJ ------------------------------ View Discussion

So many! We removed t he requirements for adoption applicants to provide ID, information on prior pets, information on ability to pay for vet care not have previously surrendered pets to us have existing pets in the home sterilized and up-to-date on vaccines (we offered services to help, if appropriate) not have other cats or have only FIV-positive cats in order to adopt an FIV-positive cat We replaced those requirements with conversations about what they were looking for in a pet and questions about what support they needed from us. We removed requirements for spay/neuter program participants to prove their financial need, and when we built our programs that provided other financial support to keep pets with their families, we never made this requirement. We waived surrender fees when they were an obstacle for people bringing pets to us. We worked to remove barriers wherever we could, from eliminating education requirements for jobs (other than where legally required) to making our website font easier to read. The negatives of making these changes were resistance from some staff and volunteers. We did very intentional change management which helped prevent this, but there are always people who will fear removing barriers. It's people who need help with animals and people who give help to animals. Animal organizations are most effective when we engage the greatest portion of our communities. I believe we should consistently look for and implement ... View Discussion

As a grant writer for a 501(c)(3), I've reached out to our local grocery store chain, and they've been incredibly generous. Additionally, Costco, Whole Foods, and Kroger (plus sister stores) offer grant programs and product requests. Walmart Spark Good can be used to purchase food items, and Target has a (up to) $500 gift card program that can be used to purchase whatever is mentioned in your proposal. Good luck! ------------------------------ Bailey Evans Grant Writer Animal Allies Humane Society MN ------------------------------ View Discussion

Try your local grocery store for gift card donations or food donations to purchase party trays, etc. We also have a very supportive board of directors who will sponsor a lunch for staff or volunteers from time to time. Many people are willing to help if you just let them know there's a need. Try Raising Cane's if there's one in your area. They love to support animal charities. ------------------------------ Sandi Mercado Shelter or rescue director Citizens for Animal Protection Houston TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

Thanks so much! Looking forward to watching it! Vickie ------------------------------ Vickie Ramirez Program Manager University of Washington, One Health Clinic WA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Michelle: I realize this thread is several years old. I am a software engineer and solo developer. I created Foster Kitten, an iOS and web app. It includes a socialization checklist generated each day and dynamically adjusted based on the kitten's age. Socialization data is stored in the cloud and summarized as the kitten grows. If this is something you are still looking into, I would love to have your eyes on it for testing and feedback. Kind Regards, Daniel Foster Kitten https://fosterkitten.app/ ------------------------------ Daniel Wenger Founder Foster Kitten OR ------------------------------ View Discussion

Thanks for posting the link @T' Fisher !! I had missed the webinar, but will happily watch the recording of it. Also, for those of you who may be interested, the Ontario Veterinary College (located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada) has also recently put together some resources around Pet Loss which can be found here: https://pettrust.ca/pet-loss-support ------------------------------ Kathy Duncan Humane Canada Ottawa ON Canada ------------------------------ View Discussion

Thank you, Julielani, for sharing your flyers. Just yesterday, while volunteering at the local shelter, I had a dog that reluctantly approached its kennel. I was able to use the circle, reset, repeat method to get it to walk in willingly, but once in, it wanted out. The food I had was not to its liking once in the kennel. I shared your flyer with administrative staff and suggested having some of the treat tools on hand each time staff returns d ogs to their kennels in that special ward. That would make it easier for the dog, the volunteers, and staff. ------------------------------ Augusta Farley ------------------------------ View Discussion

I agree with most of what BJ Adkins says here. My entire career was in health care fund development, so I've had a lot of experience in researching, cultivating and asking. I'm a volunteer grant writer for a small NPO cat rescue now. We developed our grant-seeking program in 2023 with a goal to augment our current on-line donations. BJ is correct that it is vitally important to "do your research!" The more you can find out about your potential grantor (or individual donor too) the more likely you are to have success and not waste time applying to foundations that don't match your mission. Cultivation is also important, but that can be daunting to a small NPO, but maybe you can find a tech-savvy volunteer who can send updates to potential grantors that you've at least contacted. We've had a fair amount of success with grants received from coast to coast and also multiple grants from the same grantors. In the past 36 months we've received 19 grants from 11 different foundations and corporations ranging from $2K to $12K and again multiples from several. We're NOT a national charity, just a small group in TN, who have been rescuing cats for 23 years. So we are packaging our needs carefully and wisely to be able to attract these new funders. It is very wise to check the 990's of your prospective grantors to see how many, how big and geographic area they support. I also look for "connections" by doing "thumbnail" searches on the trustees to find any connections. For example, ... View Discussion

Yes @Vickie Ramirez . You can watch the recording at https://tiny.utk.edu/HonoringTheBondWebinar . Warmly, T' ------------------------------ T' Fisher, Director of Operations Center for Pet Family Well-Being ------------------------------ View Discussion

Thanks so much for your input. Based on the shelter I volunteer at, I can see how there just isn't enough time or people to create and maintain such a thing. Although it might take me a while, I think it's worth working on, though. ------------------------------ Jennifer Stefaniak Dakin ------------------------------ View Discussion

This year we have seen a drop in donations overall. But that's to be expected with the state of the economy. It's hard as people have to move into assisted living situations. Some places allow pets. But even then, that can still be a difficult situation for the pet owner. I've been facing one of those situations. My mom is close to having to make one of those moves. She's down to one cat. But trying to figure out what to do if she can't bring the cat with her is always on my mind. I have 10 in a small home. And they won't accept an older cat and her cat won't accept them. The struggle is real. We do what we can. We make space if we can. We are a home based foster rescue. So it's not like we have extra space just hanging around. But most times, we figure it out. We are lucky to have a couple of cat cafes and a PetSmart location that we can move cats to. ------------------------------ Corinne Forzano Fundraiser Director Billy the Kidden Rescue VA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi everyone — I’m Chris Roy, Founder & CEO of Doobert and host of the Top Dog Podcast . We recently launched the podcast to spotlight leaders in animal welfare who are creating meaningful change in shelters, rescues, community programs, and advocacy work across the country. We release new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday featuring conversations with “Top Dogs” — the leaders, innovators, and changemakers helping shape the future of animal welfare. The goal is simple: share ideas, lessons learned, and real-world strategies that can help all of us improve outcomes for animals and the people who care for them. Our first few episodes include: • Stacy LeBaron, Founder/Head Cat of Community Cats Central, discussing the evolution of the community cats movement and the importance of humane, community-based solutions. https://doobert.com/stacy-lebaron-leading-the-community-cats-movement/ • Esther Mechler, Founder of United Spay Alliance, sharing why prevention and accessible spay/neuter programs are critical to solving pet overpopulation. https://doobert.com/esther-mechler-why-prevention-is-the-only-way-to-solve-pet-overpopulation/ • Casey Shook, Executive Director of Homeward Bound Pets Humane Society, talking about leadership, prevention, and building stronger community-centered animal welfare programs. https://doobert.com/casey-shook-building-community-solutions-through-leadership-and-prevention/ We’d also love ... View Discussion

Wow, thank you so much for bringing this up! I volunteer with a rescue too, and we've definitely seen a similar uptick in returns this year. From what we've seen, the top reasons are usually unexpected vet costs (people just can't keep up with emergencies anymore), housing changes that don't allow pets, and honestly, a lot of post-pandemic adopters realizing they underestimated the work that goes into cat care. It's so hard to see, but I really appreciate you asking the community for insights. Sending so much love to you and your team at Fearless Kitty Rescue for all you do! 💟 ------------------------------ Rose mauve 无 无 ------------------------------ ... View Discussion

Hi Brittany-first, I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter's service dog, Gunner. What a heartbreaking experience, and what a powerful way to turn that pain into a mission that helps other families and pets. Your focus on prevention, education, and reducing shelter intake really resonates with me. I'm currently developing Adopt-a-Heart , an AI-assisted storytelling tool designed to help shelters and rescues turn pet details into emotional adoption/social media stories faster-especially for pets that risk being overlooked. After helping bring visibility to a long-stay shelter dog through storytelling (he has since been adopted), I became convinced stories can help bridge the gap between pets and potential adopters. Would love to connect and hear your thoughts as you build Gunner's Mission. ------------------------------ Serena Brown author creator MeMe JJ and Friends, LLC GA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Brittany, welcome. Rural prevention work is one of the hardest lanes in animal welfare and one of the most needed. Glad you're stepping into it. A few things that might help based on where we are at Animal-Angels Foundation (Central Alabama, 7 counties, 501(c)(3) approved March 2026, sole operator at launch). Take what fits, ignore what doesn't. On the rural piece first. Dr. Lori Jervis and Dr. Laura Bray at University of Oklahoma published a study in February 2026 called "Underserved and Overburdened" (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2026.1793261). Their data is the most honest read on rural sheltering I have seen. Rural counties take in roughly 25 animals per 1,000 population versus 10.7 in urban. They name the "shelter desert" problem and document that no-kill numbers in rural areas often happen through limiting intake or out-of-state transport, not actual prevention. If you have not read it, read it. Kay Stout at PS Consulting in Oklahoma is the practitioner connection here. She ran rural rescue from scratch and built an out-of-state transport line of 40 dogs a week. Real-world fluency. On the clinic startup. Sara Pizano's Go-To Guide for Animal Services (2026, 40 pages) has a software section that lists the major options (24pet, animalsfirst, shelterbuddy, sheltermanager, shelterluv). The honest read is that none of them do prevention or network coordination well. Pick the one that fits your data structure and budget for now, expect to outgrow it ... View Discussion

Here's a reply you can paste: Roxanne, this is the question I keep coming back to with our fundraising coach. Here's what's been working for us at Animal-Angels Foundation in central Alabama. We are early stage (501(c)(3) approved March 2026, sole-operator launch), so this is built in the trenches. Identification first. We stopped chasing dollar size and started reading the last three years of grants on every prospect's 990. The pattern tells you who they actually fund, not who they say they fund. If a foundation's last twelve grants went to rescue operations and adoption events, our prevention infrastructure pitch will lose every time, no matter how well written. We sort prospects into three buckets based on portfolio match: aligned (apply), adjacent (cultivate without pitching), and wrong fit (skip). Saves the energy you would have spent writing an LOI nobody was going to read. Engagement before the ask. The biggest shift has been leading with the work instead of leading with the ask. We send funders our published research (we run a Substack and have a 190-page book on prevention infrastructure), our impact math, our case studies. They get something useful before we ever request a meeting. By the time we do request a meeting, they already know our voice. The conversion on those meetings is much higher than cold outreach because the relationship has already started one-way. Cultivation as the long game. Two practical moves. First, treat declines as the start of a 12-month ... View Discussion

Yes. We are seeing the same pattern in central Alabama, and our intake forms read identical to what you described. Returns of dogs that have been in their homes three, five, eight years. Not adoption failures. Not behavior problems. Long-tenured owners who have hit a wall financially and have nothing left for vet care, food, or pet deposit on the next apartment. Our working theory is that the long-tenured owners are running out of margin first because they have been absorbing rising costs the longest without a buffer. The inflation curve on pet food, vet care, and housing has compounded over five-plus years, and the families that have been carrying those costs the whole time are the ones who tap out before the newer-adopter cohort even notices the pressure. The return is not a relationship failure. It is a financial failure with no upstream catch. Two things that have helped us actually move on this: First, we route those calls to a Bridge program before they get to intake. Food assistance, deposit help, emergency vet payment, gas to the appointment. Most of these families need $100 to $300 to get past the immediate crisis. The math works. $100 to $300 versus the $400 to $500 it costs to process the intake plus everything downstream. Second, we changed our intake reason coding on long-tenured returns. We split "owner surrender" into "owner crisis" and "owner choice." That data is showing us the pattern that was getting buried before. If you have the staff time to do something ... View Discussion

Brynnadele, thanks for amplifying the village point. That one matters because the operational truth underneath it is harder than the social media surface makes it look. You cannot post "fostering is supported" if your actual support stack is one volunteer coordinator answering DMs at 11 PM. The content has to be a true reflection of the system, or you are recruiting people into a promise the org cannot keep. For smaller rescues building toward this, the practical move is to document the support system you already have, even if it is small. A vet partner who returns calls within 24 hours is a system. A trainer who does free intake assessments is a system. A board member who answers behavior questions on Wednesday nights is a system. Most rescues already have these relationships and never put them in front of the foster. The recruitment content writes itself once you can name three to five people the foster will actually hear from in their first week. On the defined-duration point, the framing that converts hesitant fosters is not the duration itself. It is the visible end of the story. "Two weeks while the owner recovers from hip surgery" is a story with an ending. "Until adoption" is open-ended in a way that even seasoned fosters find heavy. Even when the actual duration is two months, naming the end milestone shifts who says yes. ------------------------------ Join The Shift To Prevention. BJ Adkins Founder/Director Animal-Angels Foundation Pinson, AL calendy.com/animal-angels ... View Discussion

Lee Asher/The Asher House operates as a "rescue/sanctuary" but it's all for show. The Facebook page, JusticeforChevy3, has a ton of information on what's really going on there. ------------------------------ Sincerely, Johanna Spielman Founder of Jamie Brianna's Legacy Fund https://jamiebriannaslegacyfund.org/ ------------------------------ View Discussion

This is such an important distinction and honestly one I think a lot of rescues are starting to realize in real time. Social media can absolutely help move dogs into homes, but building a sustainable foster movement requires a completely different type of storytelling and infrastructure behind it. The point about showing fostering as part of a support system instead of "solo heroism" especially resonated with me. I think one of the biggest barriers for potential fosters is feeling like they'll be doing it alone or expected to have all the answers immediately. Showing the village behind the foster matters. I also love the idea of more defined-duration foster opportunities. So many people say "I can't foster," when really they mean they can't commit indefinitely. Breaking that down into manageable, supported opportunities could open the door for an entirely new group of people to say yes. Really appreciate this perspective and the thought put into it. There's a lot here rescues of all sizes can learn from. ------------------------------ Brynnadele Norton Board Member Save-A-Mutt ------------------------------ View Discussion

Bonnie, thank you for naming this so plainly. The behavior you described, owners dumping the dog or calling animal control claiming a stray when they hear about the waiting list, is happening everywhere it gets reported and probably twice as often where it does not. You and your team are not imagining it. The trap is structural. When intake is gated, owners route around the gate. Tighter gates produce more route-arounds. Looser gates produce more volume than the shelter can hold. There is no setting on the intake gate that solves a capacity problem, because the gate is not the problem. The gate is the symptom. The real lever is upstream of the gate. If you can intervene before the owner ever makes the surrender call, the gate stops being the bottleneck. The thread question asks what requirement we removed that surprised us. The honest answer for AAF is the income test on the front end. We removed it from SNIP service access and from Bridge food and supply assistance. The minute the gate came off, the same families that would have ended up at the surrender call started using the upstream services instead. We pay much less for the front end than the shelter pays for the back end, and the dog stays home. The "got a second dog and the two are not getting along" call you mentioned is the exact case that does not have to become a surrender. That is a trainer referral and a two-week behavior plan. If your county does not have a trainer who works on sliding scale or volunteers a ... View Discussion

Hi Corrine, Thanks so much for your insight. I think our return requests tend to come in waves as well. We are in a community with an older median age, so many of our recent requests have involved people aging out of being able to care for their kitties. Financial hardship has also been a commonly noted factor, although we do not require a reason on our intake forms. We are actively trying to reduce these numbers and help keep cats in their homes, but times are tough for many people right now. Unfortunately, our food bank efforts have not had as much participation as we had hoped. Thanks again, ------------------------------ Meghan McHugh Adoption Center Manager Fearless Kitty Rescue AZ ------------------------------ View Discussion

I heard something about asher house. What happened with him? Con artist? Did he even rescue? *Thank you for considering a Rescue!!* Terry Executive Director Tired Dog Rescue P.O. Box 10751 Gulfport, MS 39505 www.tireddogrescue.org www.facebook.com/TiredDogRescue < http://www.facebook.com/tireddogrescue > "Saving one dog may not change the world, but it certainly will change the world for that one dog." - Author Unknown On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 5:55 PM Johanna Spielman via Maddie's Pet Forum < Mail@maddiesfund.org > wrote: Terry, I'm glad you had a positive experience, 26k is nothing to sneeze at! As far as him needing to pay for the travel, etc., he asks for... -posted to the "Animal Welfare Professionals" community Animal Welfare Professionals Post New Discussion Post New Discussion via Email Manage Profile Re: Beware of Jordan's Way Reply to Discussion Reply to Discussion via Email Reply Privately to Author Reply Privately to Author via Email May 20, 2026 3:53 PM Johanna Spielman Terry, I'm glad you had a positive experience, 26k is nothing to sneeze at! As far as him needing to pay for the travel, etc., he asks for donations for that, and he's not legally allowed to do that. Britt and anyone else looking for something LEGIT, what I would say is beware ... View Discussion

HI Meghan, We are also a cat-only rescue. We seem to go in spurts where we get calls for owner surrenders. Last month we had a few come back. Most people are quoting financial reasons or moving. We are in Virginia in a large military area. So there are times where they are unable to take their pets with them when they move. ------------------------------ Corinne Forzano Fundraiser Director Billy the Kidden Rescue VA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hey animal welfare friends, We want to hear from you! Home To Home, a non-profit dedicated to supporting pets going from one home to another, is conducting a short 5-question survey (click here) to understand how animal welfare organizations view community-led, shelter-supported rehoming. Your insights will help shape the support we provide. Thank you!! Survey Closes June 3, 2026 Survey Link https://forms.gle/9bYierHeXxGxJ1PH8 #AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement) #Rehoming ------------------------------ Mandy Evans Better Together Animal Alliance Ponderay ID ------------------------------ View Discussion

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous A large municipal shelter in the Midwest recently moved to a new building with double sided kennels. Each side of the kennel is separated by a guillotine door. In the old shelter, dogs were removed by kennel staff for cleanings and taken outside, so dogs were walked and had human contact every day at least once. In the new shelter, dogs are put on the other side of the guillotine door to clean and staff do not take them out. Only a small fraction of lucky dogs might go out per day but most do not. What are your thoughts on this? One staff member said they researched this and it wasn't harmful for dogs' socialization and getting used to handling, but I've not been able to find any authority to support that. #Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment View Discussion

What are the most effective and sustainable strategies for identifying, engaging, and cultivating relationships with funders for animal welfare initiatives, particularly foundations and corporate partners. I am especially interested in approaches that go beyond initial outreach and focus on long-term partnership building. #FundraisingandDevelopment ------------------------------ Roxanne Eligio Development Houston Pets Alive! TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Ann, I appreciate your response. Due to no engagement on various advertisements for over a year from Linkedin and NextDoor I wanted to try hear. I also have made some great friendships here. No, I didn't hit them up, not yet anyways. I posted on here to find someone that would be interested in either one of the roles. I don't know what Idealist is, but will check out. Thanks! ------------------------------ Nancy Ramirez Animal Rescuer (Not Registered, asterisk asked) Percy's Crew TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Sheila and community, I'd love to suggest a future Community Conversations topic around the role of storytelling in increasing adoption visibility for shelter pets-especially long-stay or harder-to-place animals. As a storyteller and creator currently developing an AI-assisted tool inspired by real rescue advocacy, I've seen firsthand how emotional storytelling can help people stop scrolling, connect, and take action. One long-stay dog I helped advocate for through storytelling has since been adopted. I'd love to explore a conversation around questions like: What makes an adoption story emotionally compelling? How do shelters balance storytelling with limited staff time? Can tools or workflows help shelters tell more pet stories efficiently without losing authenticity? I believe this could create a valuable discussion for shelters, rescues, and animal welfare teams working to increase pet visibility and adoptions. Thanks for considering! - Serena Brown https://memejjandfriends.com/adopt-a-heart ------------------------------ Serena Brown author creator MeMe JJ and Friends, LLC GA ------------------------------ View Discussion

The recording is now available for our May 20 webinar, . Watch here: https://tiny.utk.edu/HonoringTheBondWebinar Pet loss grief is real, meaningful, and often under-recognized. This session explores the human-animal bond, common grief responses after the loss of a pet or animal companion, and ways veterinary, mental health, medical, and social service professionals can work together to support people through these losses. We invite you to watch the recording and continue the conversation here in the One Health Community. How do you see pet loss grief showing up in your work, community, or field? ------------------------------ T' Fisher, Director of Operations Center for Pet Family Well-Being ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi! Within my role, I manage our shelter renovations at Greater Good Charities. We always feed our volunteers lunch at our renovation projects, we have found success in putting out volunteer requests specifically for providing lunch. We have had people donate catered meals, and we have had local businesses and restaurants donate catered meals and even gift cards! Often times posting in local Facebook Groups could be helpful. I hope this helps! ------------------------------ Gabbie Vilanova Senior Program Manager, Family and Pet Renovations Greater Good Charities ------------------------------ View Discussion

Try your local restaurants and ask if they would like to partner with you in this effort. Make them feel a part of the event. ------------------------------ Bonnie Clark President TNR Mecosta MI ------------------------------ View Discussion

I volunteer at our county animal shelter. The surrender intake has had to become quite a process as they were finding that when the owners heard that there was a waiting list to get the dog in, they would abandoned the dog. Or, they would call animal control and say that they had found the dog. ( Then the shelter has to take it.) Therefore, now, when someone calls, they have to send information about the dog and pictures before the owner is told the process. Then, once that has been done, the owner is told the process of bringing the dog in for an evaluation and then that there is a waiting list. If the dog is then 'found' by someone else, they can trace it back to the owner. It is sad, but a reality in a small rural area where the animal shelter can take only a certain amount. It is so sad when owners call and want to surrender a dog that they have had for years, because they got another dog and the two aren't getting along. I also see the torment of the employees because they want to help all of these animals but can only do so much in our small shelter. ------------------------------ Bonnie Clark President TNR Mecosta MI ------------------------------ View Discussion

I registered but had a conflict! Was this by chance recorded? ------------------------------ Vickie Ramirez Program Manager University of Washington, One Health Clinic WA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Results of when the social pressure to be "no-kill" on the part of the shelters meets avarice and lack of compassion. ------------------------------ Candace Huskey ------------------------------ View Discussion

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous Return rates have more than doubled comparing Jan-Apr of 2025 to the same time frame in 2026. I work in a large municipal shelter serving a struggling urban community. I review every single canine intake form for prevention purposes- and I'm noticing that a lot of returns are for animals that have been in their homes for years, and owners no longer have the resources to care for them. This is in the southern mid-atlantic region, is anyone else noticing a similar trend? If your return rates for dogs are up, why do you suppose that is? #AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement) View Discussion

I am a volunteer. Can I apply for grants? ------------------------------ Melinda Beattie Volunteer Brandywine Valley SPCA DE ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hello everyone! My name is Brittany and I'm the founder of Gunner's Mission in rural Northeast Texas. Our organization is currently working toward opening a low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine clinic to help address the growing overpopulation crisis in our community. It wasn't until after my daughter's service dog was stolen that we noticed the overwhelming need for something like this out where we live. We are focusing heavily on prevention, education, and accessible veterinary care to help families keep their pets while reducing shelter intake and abandonment. I'm excited to connect with others in animal welfare, learn from experienced organizations, and gain insight into startup clinic operations, software, equipment priorities, grant opportunities, and sustainable community programs. Looking forward to learning from everyone here, and we're always praying Gunner finds his way home! #AccesstoCare #AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms #CommunityPartnerships* #PetSupportServices* ------------------------------ Brittany Hughes Founder/CEO Gunner's Mission & Pet Sanctuary TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

We did a grant application through Walmart once for money to provide lunch and snacks for a university group that was volunteering at our shelter. Local Walmarts have their own grant money to award. They gave us $300 for a one day event. It's through Walmart Spark Good. Becki Clouthier Shelter Manager Copper Country Humane Society www.cchumanesociety.com 906-487-9560 On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 19:01 Johanna Spielman via Maddie's Pet Forum < Mail@maddiesfund.org > wrote: Has anyone ever applied for and/or received a grant to help feed volunteers at a specific event? I need to provide lunch to approximately 25... -posted to the "Animal Welfare Professionals" community Animal Welfare Professionals Post New Discussion Post New Discussion via Email Manage Profile Grants to feed volunteers? Reply to Discussion Reply to Discussion via Email Reply Privately to Author Reply Privately to Author via Email May 20, 2026 3:59 PM Johanna Spielman Has anyone ever applied for and/or received a grant to help feed volunteers at a specific event? I need to provide lunch to approximately 25 people per day for 3 days, so I'm looking for probably about $750-$1,000. My local community is not helpful in that regard. #FundraisingandDevelopment ------------------------------ Sincerely, ... View Discussion

Hoping to boost this one more time to get any insight any rescues have on recent return adoption rates. Thank you! ------------------------------ Meghan McHugh Adoption Center Manager Fearless Kitty Rescue AZ ------------------------------ View Discussion

You're invited to join the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association (MCVMA) for another installment of Beyond the Page , a webinar series that brings the authors behind the first comprehensive, openly accessible DEI publications in veterinary medicine into conversation with the profession. This session features Dr. Sohaila Jafarian, discussing her chapter, The Value of Qualitative Research in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion . Together, we'll explore how qualitative research helps surface lived experiences, deepen understanding of inequities, and inform more responsive, effective approaches to care, education, and leadership. Dr. Jafarian, a DVM/MPH and PhD candidate in Social Work at Colorado State University, brings a unique interdisciplinary lens shaped by her work in community and shelter medicine, veterinary social work, and community-based participatory research. Her work centers on the sociological, economic, and cultural factors that shape access to care and the human–animal bond, as well as the experiences of marginalized communities within veterinary medicine. Dr. Jafarian's article, part of Elsevier's two-volume Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice – DEI in Veterinary Medicine series, is made permanently open access by MCVMA through support from Maddie's Fund®. This webinar will invite attendees to engage directly with the ideas shaping a more equitable future for veterinary medicine. Join us on May 28th at 7pm ET / 4pm PT for a thoughtful ... View Discussion

Hi Joahnna, I've been a part of a couple companion animal-focused organizations that received the grants below (or similar ones that are no longer available) to cover food for events. One of the companion animal organizations I'm currently affiliated with adopted a vegetarian policy for all their events as a result of funding like this. Animal Place Vegan Event Grants - The Vegan Event Grant is a one-time reimbursement of food costs up to $1,000 for your organization's first fully vegan event. Menus for Change Plant-based Event Grants - The Plant-Based Event Grant provides up to $1,000 to help cover food costs for your organization's first fully plant-based event. (Applications are currently closed) ------------------------------ Melody Martinez Executive Director Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association (MCVMA) ------------------------------ View Discussion

Has anyone ever applied for and/or received a grant to help feed volunteers at a specific event? I need to provide lunch to approximately 25 people per day for 3 days, so I'm looking for probably about $750-$1,000. My local community is not helpful in that regard. #FundraisingandDevelopment ------------------------------ Sincerely, Johanna Spielman Founder of Jamie Brianna's Legacy Fund https://jamiebriannaslegacyfund.org/ ------------------------------ View Discussion

Terry, I'm glad you had a positive experience, 26k is nothing to sneeze at! As far as him needing to pay for the travel, etc., he asks for donations for that, and he's not legally allowed to do that. Britt and anyone else looking for something LEGIT, what I would say is beware of anyone or any organization that uses hype and hyped-up social media videos and lives; YouTubers, TikTokers, etc. are more about attention and followers than they are about real rescue. And ALWAYS do your research! If someone is claiming to be a nonprofit, check them out with the IRS and any state agencies that require registration. Lee Asher/The Asher House is another huge social media presence and an even bigger fraud. ------------------------------ Sincerely, Johanna Spielman Founder of Jamie Brianna's Legacy Fund https://jamiebriannaslegacyfund.org/ ------------------------------ View Discussion

This is extremely upsetting to hear and see. We are always looking for ways to raise money, awareness, volunteer help, foster help. We would really love to do a marathon fundraiser, but getting started is expensive(for our little non-profit). Since my time here at our local cat shelter, we have changed a lot of the bad reputation the previous directors/managers created for the RC name. I hope there are other, LEGIT, opportunities like this for us to utilize for fundraising in the future. ------------------------------ Britt Roberts Animal Care Coordinator River Cities Humane Society for Cats LA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Thank you, Taylor! ------------------------------ Alison Gibson Media Projects Manager Maddie's Fund ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Farrah - My name is Ryan, and I'm the founder and CEO of GetBuddy and I can assure you GetBuddy is real :) Before starting the company, I spent years volunteering with different rescues in the Bay Area and NYC, fostering animals, and have adopted many pets myself (my last is a wily German Shepherd, named Charlie, who I got from Ark Charities in CT. All of this gave me a real appreciation for how much organizations like yours take on every single day. Based on this, I saw that there was no real functional technology to run rescues, and the pet listing sites everyone uses are antiquate, owned by Nestle and Mars and are capitalizing on pet owners and rescues. Over the past couple years, my team and I have built out a full rescue management solution and fully mobile and pet listing service - both are totally free. We now work with thousands nationwide. We're a B Corporation and our mission is aligned with all shlelters and rescues. Id love to connect to understand your rescue's needs and see if GetBuddy can be helpful. ------------------------------ Ryan Howard Founder, GetBuddy.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhoward/ ------------------------------ View Discussion

We had the same thoughts for our rescue. Plus, the additional cost he places on the shelters is smarmy to the moon & back. ------------------------------ Erica Wages Lead Foster Coordinator Lost Our Home Pet Rescue AZ ------------------------------ View Discussion

Loved the About cats it vary informative ------------------------------ taylor Leach ACA2 Jpaws LA ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hello! The Dog Health Fund (new nonprofit) is looking to create quarterly education series on all things dog health. Please give us some topics you think we should cover. Appreciate your feedback! #AccesstoCare ------------------------------ Eduardo Plata President The Dog Health Fund NJ ------------------------------ View Discussion

Love this-Dental Health Month is a good reminder to stay on top of the basics like brushing, flossing, and regular checkups. It's easy to let things slip until there's an issue. I've also seen people mention Instasmile when talking about quick cosmetic fixes while they're still working on longer-term dental health goals. Definitely not a replacement for proper care, but interesting as an option in the meantime. ------------------------------ Tyrone Pierce Veterinarian Maryland Hospital MD ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hello. The Dog Health Fund is looking to host quarterly webinar topics related to canine health, as it relates to our mission. What are some topics you think would be beneficial to dog owners? Thank you! ------------------------------ Eduardo Plata President The Dog Health Fund NJ ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a cautionary update regarding Miranda's Rescue in Fortuna, California. According to local reporting and a public statement from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, the rescue is currently under active investigation involving allegations of animal abuse, cruelty, fraud, and conspiracy. A search warrant was reportedly served, and the investigation is ongoing. At this time, it would be wise for community members and rescue partners to pause any monetary donations , animal transfers, or other support until there is an official resolution from law enforcement or other verified authorities. Several local animal groups have also reportedly paused services or are reviewing their involvement while the situation is investigated. If anyone has direct information relevant to the investigation, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office has asked the public to contact the Major Crimes Division or the Crime Tip Line. I'm posting this as a precaution so rescues, fosters, and donors can make informed decisions and avoid unintentionally supporting a situation that is still under investigation. Sources: https://friendsofoas.org/2026/05/foas-update-about-mirandas-rescue/ Friendsofoas FOAS update about Miranda's Rescue Together with our partners at Oakland Animal Services (OAS) and with all of you, we are anxiously awaiting further news about the situation at Miranda's Rescue. The Humboldt ... View Discussion

Hii! Check out the webinar I did on this last year! https://forum.maddiesfund.org/viewdocument/creating-a-movement-the-beginning?CommunityKey=afce7f7a-fd5a-431e-9f2a-aaedc46a03d6&tab=librarydocuments ------------------------------ Stephanie Jackson Public Information Officer Louisville Metro Animal Services Louisville, KY ------------------------------ View Discussion

We hope you can join us today! *Now approved for 1 Continuing Education (CE) credit through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)!** This webinar explores the human-animal bond, grief following the loss of a pet or animal, and the role of interdisciplinary support. Pet loss can result in profound grief, yet this type of loss is often misunderstood or under-supported. Participants will examine how the human-animal bond is formed, common grief responses after pet loss, and distinct types of grief associated with these relationships. The session will also explore collaboration among veterinary, medical, mental health, and social service professionals to better support individuals navigating pet loss. **Learning Objectives:** Participants will learn to describe the human-animal bond and its significance; identify common grief responses; define and differentiate types of pet loss grief; and discuss interdisciplinary support opportunities. Participants seeking CE credit must attend the full webinar and complete any required evaluation or attendance verification. ------------------------------ T' Fisher, Director of Operations Center for Pet Family Well-Being ------------------------------ View Discussion

Every org has requirements. Income documentation, residency proof, pre-existing spay/neuter status, surrender fees, foster ownership minimums, age limits, breed restrictions. They make sense on paper. They protect resources. They filter for serious applicants. They keep the workload manageable. But sometimes a requirement is the exact thing that filters out the people the program was built to help. The family that needs the most help is often the family that cannot produce the documentation, cannot make the appointment, cannot pay the fee. I'm curious which requirement you removed from your services and what happened next. The income test on your low-cost spay/neuter. The surrender fee. The breed restriction on adoption. The volunteer history requirement before someone could foster. The address proof for food assistance. A few questions: What was the requirement? Why was it there originally? What changed when you took it off? Did the volume of "people taking advantage" actually materialize, or was that mostly a fear? What did you put in its place, if anything? The honest answers help all of us figure out which requirements are real safeguards and which ones are the wall between our work and the people we built the work for. #AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement) #OrganizationalManagement ------------------------------ BJ Adkins Founder/Director Animal-Angels Foundation Pinson, AL bjadkins@animal-angels.org animal-angelsfoundation.org ------ ... View Discussion

Brynnadele's reframe (marketing dogs vs. building a movement) is the actual unlock in that thread. Katy's specificity-and-vetting point is right too. Draft reply that lands AAF's angle without stepping on either of theirs: Brynnadele, your reframe is the actual unlock here. Most rescue social media is marketing individual dogs to individual adopters. That work matters, but it is not the same thing as building a foster movement. They are two different goals that need two different content strategies. What converts followers into fosters in our experience: Real stories from real fosters, told by the foster. Not polished. The "I was nervous and almost said no" moment is what brings the next person in. Polished marketing makes fostering look like a brand activity. Behind-the-scenes content makes it look like something a regular person can do, because the foster on camera IS a regular person. Defined-duration foster types lower the activation barrier. We run four: foster-to-train, finder-to-foster, temporary crisis (medical emergency, hospitalization, displacement), and regular foster. When someone says "I can't commit to a foster," what they often mean is "I can't commit to an open-ended foster." A two-week crisis placement during someone's hospital stay reads differently than "until adoption." One of our active cases is a woman whose neighbor caregiver bailed during her recovery from hip surgery. The foster knows the timeline. The dog goes home. The story has an ending. ... View Discussion

This sounds like an operations problem dressed up as a screening problem. The screening you use shapes who applies, but the bigger lever is how the shifts themselves are structured. A few patterns that work: Require a minimum weekday commitment to qualify for weekend slots. One weekday shift per month, or one per quarter. The volunteers who walk away over that requirement were probably not going to stick. The ones who accept it have signaled they value the work. Match shift type to availability. Weekend volunteers do work that is weekend-heavy by nature: adoption events, off-site fairs, public outreach, foster meet-and-greets. Weekday volunteers handle kennel care, dog walking, intake support, foster prep. The roles are different. Stop training them as if they are interchangeable and the schedule rebalances on its own. Recruit specifically for weekday availability. Retirees and second-shift workers are the demographic you are missing. Faith communities, Rotary clubs, women's groups, and corporate volunteer days fill weekday slots in ways high schoolers cannot. Cap weekend shifts at the application level. If your weekend shifts are at capacity, mark them closed in the application form. A weekend-only applicant who hits a full schedule will either find another time slot or move on. Letting them apply anyway overbooks your training pipeline for no return. For the high schoolers specifically, some districts run service-learning or career exploration programs that let students ... View Discussion

This is such a great point, especially about the balance between visibility and genuine commitment. I completely agree that the more we can share about a dog's real personality, behaviors, routines, and experiences, the more approachable fostering becomes for people who may otherwise feel intimidated by the unknown. I also appreciate you bringing up the "double-edged sword" side of social media. I think one of the biggest challenges moving forward will be figuring out how to turn online engagement into sustainable, educated, long-term foster involvement… not just momentary reactions. Thank you for such a thoughtful perspective! - Brynnadele ------------------------------ Brynnadele Norton Board Member Save-A-Mutt ------------------------------ View Discussion

I am definitely not saying there isn't something going on there. There have been a lot more people coming forward with bad experiences and that is definitely concerning but there is money to be made. It just seems if they aren't going to make a lot of money the feel it isn't worth it to them and that is sad for the places that are counting on them. ------------------------------ terry Maguire Executive Director Tired Dog Rescue MS ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Rose, consistency is so important for dogs who thrive on routines and patterns which give them familiarity. They get super confused when we add new things or improvise. They do what work for them. Thank you for bringing up consistency in handling methods. ------------------------------ Julielani Chang The Life of Kai: Compassion Connections Inc. Davis CA ------------------------------ View Discussion

This is such a fun graphic! I will have to show it to our staff. 😃 ------------------------------ Caitlin Brown, CSB-C Behavior Enrichment Coordinator Sacramento SPCA Sacramento, CA ------------------------------ ... View Discussion

This is a great question. My nonprofit is a grantmaking organization, not a rescue, but we do use Instagram to help raise awareness and promote dogs we've supported. I know it can be a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but I think one thing that tends to get more foster offers on posts we've made is when there are as specific as possible notes about a pet's behavior/personality, in a home or the shelter. Of course, that's not always possible and is part of WHY fosters are crucial, to gather that information! But when a post mentions a volunteer, previous foster, vet, or previous guardian's experience with the pet, I think it helps promote them as an individual and give the foster a better idea of what to expect. As I'm sure others have experienced, social media posts that gain a lot of attention are a double -edged sword. Sometimes they can help you find the person you need, but there are also always offers from folks who may not be trustworthy or won't genuinely follow up besides their comment that they would foster. Not a reason not to use social media as a tool, but definitely a new problem that it introduces and something to vet for - are people making this offer to look good on social media or because an influencer made fostering look trendy, or are they really committed to the animal and the process? ------------------------------ Katy Herman President The Hansel Foundation IL ------------------------------ View Discussion

Good afternoon, I am looking for templates/examples of job descriptions for a low cost clinic manager and a medical director (DVM). I have a clinic manager established and a list of DVMs in our network to interview, but need the proper documentation for the hiring process. I am also interested in protocols for fractious dogs/cats. Any guidance or help is appreciated! Email - allabouttheanimalsfoundation@gmail.com #AccesstoCare #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization #OrganizationalManagement ------------------------------ Maria Putnam Founder/CEO All About the Animals Foundation ------------------------------ View Discussion

For years, rescues relied heavily on traditional volunteer outreach, word of mouth, and emergency pleas to recruit fosters. While those methods still matter, social media has completely changed the way people connect with rescue and animal welfare. But lately, I've been wondering… are we only using social media to market dogs, when we could also be using it to build an actual foster movement?! Some of our biggest successes in foster recruitment haven't come from formal campaigns. They've come from storytelling. Showing the real moments. The messy moments. The happy endings. The transport arrivals. The "I was nervous to foster and now I can't imagine not doing it" moments. People don't just want to see adoptable dogs anymore. They want connection. They want purpose. They want to feel like they are part of something meaningful and achievable. I think one of the biggest shifts happening in rescue right now is that followers are no longer just passive supporters . When social media is used intentionally, followers can become: fosters volunteers adopters donors transporters long-term advocates At the same time, many rescues are struggling with foster burnout, compassion fatigue, and declining volunteerism. So I'm curious: Have you seen social media directly increase foster recruitment for your organization? What types of content actually motivate someone to foster? Are authentic, behind-the-scenes posts more effective than polished marketing? ... View Discussion

The Community Conversation on Monday, May 25 is cancelled in observance of Memorial Day. We look forward to seeing you again for the next Community Conversation on June 1. #EducationandTraining View Discussion

In my experience, pet therapy partnerships with welfare agencies vary a lot depending on the city-some places have really structured collaboration, while others keep it more informal and volunteer-led like what you described in Louisville. What you're doing with children's education around dog safety and consent sounds especially valuable, especially since not every community has a dedicated humane educator. I've also seen people look up resources like PetsWelcome phone number when trying to connect with local pet-friendly services or programs, so having clearer networks between therapy groups and welfare organizations could really help bridge that gap. ------------------------------ Tyrone Pierce Veterinarian Maryland Hospital MD ------------------------------ View Discussion

I guess the one thing that bothers me is the monthly patreon "dues" they get people to sign up for. The way it is presented it seems that the only is for the dogs but it goes to his company. If the shelters have to provide te supplies and everything for the live events then the monthly "dues" are for his overhead/salary ------------------------------ Diane Beaver Administrator Assistant Road Trip 4 Paws TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

We did an event last year and our experience was positive. We raised 31k and walked out with 26k. I thought the amount they took was kind of high for trying to help struggling non-profits however there is no way we could raise 26k on our own especially not in 3 hours with not much work on our end. Also they do have to make money to pay for their travel, employees. So for us they were a huge help. We were also at the Wichita Falls event. That was a bust for sure. There are definitely many things they should have done differently but it was their first year so I figured it was a live and learn situation. Terry Executive Director Tired Dog Rescue Gulfport, MS ------------------------------ terry Maguire Executive Director Tired Dog Rescue MS ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi, Curious about how other organizations manage dogs who guard resources? Join us on Thurs May 28, 2026, for a free webcast at noon PT/3 pm ET, where we'll learn from @Tom Candy . Participants will learn how to recognize and assess resource guarding safely, understand the factors that contribute to the behaviour, and interpret guarding signals in a shelter context. The session will also cover practical management strategies to reduce risk for both dogs and handlers, alongside evidence-based behaviour modification approaches that can help improve welfare and adoptability. Learn more or register for Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection! Access previous recordings on the MMBC page on Maddie's Pet Forum. #AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms #Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment #CaseManagement* #Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts #EducationandTraining #FosterPrograms #PetSupportServices* ------------------------------ Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist Director of Shelter Solutions Maddie's Fund Pleasanton CA 9258608284 ------------------------------ View Discussion

Many thanks to everyone who joined in! ------------------------------ Jay Garza BIPOC in Animal Well-Being Collective TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

If your veterinarian is an ASV member, make sure they visit the ASV's Protocol Repository...there are intake protocols for deworming and diarrhea protocols there! If they're not a member, encourage them to become members and join the community. You almost never have to "reinvent the wheel"! There are also resources available from programs like UC Davis' Koret Shelter Medicine program, Dr. Scott Weese's Worms and Germs Blog and the ASV's Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters. ------------------------------ Rachel Powell DVM ASV Board of Directors Director of Surgery Greenhill Humane Society Eugene, OR ------------------------------ View Discussion

Thanks to the 107+ folks who joined us on today's call with our co-hosts Shafonda Allen and Rachel Lim! The recording is now ready . Watch and then ponder today's reflection question: How does your current work reflect the needs of the community you serve-and where might there be gaps between what is offered and what is actually needed ? You can find a PDF of our presenter Jay's slides attached. ------------------------------ Alison Gibson Media Projects Manager Maddie's Fund ------------------------------ View Discussion

Ours wasn't quite as bad as what yours sounds like as we didn't need remediation, and unfortunately I can't speak to whether or not there are grants or funding sources available to help, but what ended up helping us was having our own working cat in the garage where we store our food. Nothing has worked so well as having her there. We haven't seen mouse droppings since she was introduced and nothing has gotten chewed through. Night and day difference! ------------------------------ Sam Maurice Humane Society of Jefferson County Jefferson WI https://hsjc-wis.com ------------------------------ View Discussion

@Tami Harbolt thank you for sharing this. Your work is such a strong example of One Health in action-supporting children, families, and dogs by teaching safety, consent, body language, and respectful interaction. I especially appreciate the connection you are making between animal welfare, animal-assisted education, and community health. Partnerships between shelters, rescue groups, therapy animal teams, schools, and public health educators can help prevent bites, reduce fear, build empathy, and strengthen the human-animal bond in a way that benefits both people and pets. It would be wonderful to hear from others in the community about whether their local animal welfare agencies partner with pet therapy groups or support animal-assisted education. There may be great models we can learn from and adapt across communities. Welcome to the community, Tami. Your experience and perspective will add so much to this conversation. ------------------------------ T' Fisher, Director of Operations Center for Pet Family Well-Being ------------------------------ View Discussion

I currently work with a Pet therapy group in Louisville, KY. We are independent but on great terms with AAAIP and follow best practices. I was wondering how many animal welfare agencies work with pet therapy groups/individuals in their communities. I also wonder how many conduct animal assisted education together or in agreement. We do not have a true humane educator in Louisville, and I am a CHES through the Academy of Prosocial Learning. I conduct summer and after school programs for children and teach them dog safety through consent and body language. I do this as a volunteer and as an aspect of my research. I am excited to be part of this community. I am happy to see the changes that have developed over the past 40 years. I started shelter work in 1995 and wrote an early book about it. I continue to be amazed by the growth of this industry since then. Thanks! Tami Harbolt ------------------------------ Tami Harbolt Assistant professor University of Louisville KY WAGS Pet Therapy of KY Inc. specevents@kywags.org ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Jessica, Sending you a private message so we can set up a time to connect and learn more about each other's work! Anna ------------------------------ Anna Stout Executive Director AlignCare Health Inc CO ------------------------------ View Discussion

Eva and Jessica, both of you are working on threads of the same problem and AAF is the third thread. We run prevention infrastructure in Central Alabama and operate from the same mission frame as SAFE Pet Partners: helping pets by helping people. Eva, your "based on models of other successful prevention first organizations" framing tells me you're past the "let me invent something from scratch" stage. That's the right place to start in this field. The folks already doing prevention well are the ones to learn from. If either of you wants to connect, my Calendly is open: https://calendly.com/animal-angels . Either a three-way call or one-on-one, whatever fits your timeline. Best, BJ ------------------------------ BJ Adkins Founder/Director Animal-Angels Foundation Pinson, AL bjadkins@animal-angels.org animal-angelsfoundation.org ------------------------------ View Discussion

Please refer to this presentation by Drs Hurley and Newbury for the latest recommendations for neonates: Before Four Weeks: Updated Vaccination Recommendations for Neonatal Puppies and Kittens . ------------------------------ Erika Shaffer Instructional Designer Maddie's Fund ------------------------------ View Discussion

If our adult dogs have negative fecal test and firm stool, we do not give panacur unless directed by a veterinarian. All of our puppies start panacur as close to 6 weeks as possible. We generally use a 3-day protocol unless our vets recommend longer. ------------------------------ Susan Chippi Treasurer Active Paws Rescue, Inc TX ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Jody, Thank you for reading and for the kind words. Means a lot coming from someone who's done this work hands-on. The 20% exit rate detail caught me. That's a brutal place to do animal welfare. The fact that you stayed in the field after seeing what intake-prevention can do tells me you're working from a different place than most of the sector. The folks who saw those numbers and either burned out or accepted them as normal are the majority. The ones who stayed and tried to change the equation are the minority the field needs more of. I'd love to hear more about Dove Road and the work you're doing now. The sanctuary and safe haven framing reads like you're working a different lane than most shelters. My calendar is open if you'd ever like to talk: https://calendly.com/animal-angels Best, BJ ------------------------------ BJ Adkins Founder/Director Animal-Angels Foundation Pinson, AL bjadkins@animal-angels.org animal-angelsfoundation.org ------------------------------ View Discussion

Shelter vet here- it is recommended to start vaccinating at 4 weeks of age. Modified live should always be used whenever possible as it elicits the immune response quicker than killed vaccines. The ASV shelter guidelines has a table for recommended vaccination schedules. ------------------------------ Amy Schad Lead Veterinarian Kansas Humane Society KS ------------------------------ View Discussion

You might want to take a look at ASPCAPro for a current suggested vaccine schedule. As I understand it, starting at at 4 weeks with killed virus FVRCP and switching to live modified virus for subsequent vaccinations is recommended currently. This is the protocol both our vets follow. ------------------------------ Diane Metz Board of Directors, Volunteer, and Foster Mom Orange Street Cats, Inc. Albany NY ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Jessica, Would love to connect with you and the work your foundation is doing. Sounds amazing! Our organization is also focused on prevention and the human side of animal welfare. Our mission is Helping Pets by Helping People. We are a fairly new organization but based on models of other successful prevention first organizations. Is there a possibility of connecting to learn and chat more? Thanks! Eva Perrigo, CTC, CSAT SAFE Pet Partners www.safepetpartners.org safepetpartners@gmail.com ------------------------------ Eva Perrigo Co-Founder SAFE Pet Partners NM ------------------------------ View Discussion

Hi Dear BJ, I just looked at your website. What an absolutely wonderful program you are doing for the communities in Alabama! Surrender Diversions/Intake Prevention is dreadfully needed by every shelter. I used to be involved in doing it, when my local shelter had only around 20 % intakes that exited. ------------------------------ Jody Beskin (i) President/Founder Dove Road Sanctuary & Safe Haven Rockvale, TN ------------------------------ View Discussion