Hello friends,
I wanted to make this post about non profits and for profits working together to find the best solutions for pets in our community. Mid year last year I went from working in a non profit shelter/clinic environment to working for a for profit ,corporate specialty and emergency pet hospital. While I can say there are both many differences however there are some things that we have in common such as abandoned pets and good Samaritans bringing in pets that have been found.
In my role as practice manager I still find my experience in the shelter world still serves me great purpose. Lately we have seen a huge spike in the amount of pets that are abandoned by their owners, or pets that have been brought in by " Good Samaritans". Once these pets are abandoned the hospital policy is to call animal services and have the animal picked up. This seems like the right thing to do from the outside looking in however coming from someone who has worked in the shelters I understand that this is not the best solution. Being a person that understands the state of the shelters right now I have started to take a few steps to show my organization the reason that this is not always the best solution. Here are some of the things that I am working on.
1. Contacted the shelter to schedule a meeting to see if we could have all the managers and hospital administrators in our market actually go and tour the shelter so that they have a real life, real time view of what the reality is in the shelters.
2. Actively compiling a list of rescues that are willing take custody of abandoned pets or help owners cover some of the financial costs so that the pets are not abandoned. Also getting a copy of their surrender form to use when needed.
3. I have made myself a point of contact for our market when their is an abandoned pet or good Samaritan pet so that I can reach out to rescues to see if I can find placement for the pet without it having to go to the shelter.
I feel that if the managers were able to tour the shelter and see what it is really like they would be more inclined to try to find placement and do everything that they could do before calling animal services. I feel that these small steps will help us to become more of a community partner.
I'd love to hear any ideas anyone may have or any shared experiences.
#AccesstoCare#AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment#CaseManagement*#CommunityCatManagement#CommunityPartnerships*#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts#DataandTechnology#DisasterRelief#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice#EducationandTraining#FieldServicesandPublicSafety*#FosterPrograms#FundraisingandDevelopment#LawsandPublicPolicy#MarketingandSocialMedia#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization#OrganizationalManagement#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)#PetSupportServices*#Rehoming#RemoteCustomerService*#ReturntoHome(LostPetReunification)#TransfersandTransport------------------------------
Marissa Reid
Assistant Practice Manager
Blue Pearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital
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Access To Care Specialist
Clinic Management Specialist
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