Small & Mighty Organizations

Good morning, friends!

Any other small NYS organizations out there starting to gear up for the upcoming Companion Animal Standards Act? I'd love to hear how you're preparing!

So much to do!

Hi Diane,

We care for cats and dogs (the surge in cats has crowded out our pocket pet abilities). We care for far more cats than dogs, and adopted out just over 100 dogs in 2023. One thing we are doing is working to improve our record keeping for visitors and volunteers so we have a better record of enrichment.

As in the past, each person who comes to the shelter is asked to sign in a general log sheet. In addition, people who are volunteering with the dogs have a book in which they record the dog they visit, the time they get the dog from the kennel, the area they take the dog, and the time they bring the dog back. They are also asked to complete a simple report on each dog they work with. We have levels of training (Green, Orange, Pink), trainings for each level, and reports for each level. The reports are very basic and give us info not just about the animal, but prompt the volunteer to notice more : )

Those who visit the cats also sign in and out of a book with the time, and it is optional to write a comment about a cat or cats. 

And I should add that I was hired in January part time (10 hours a week) to specifically help the shelter build capacity to address the new regulations.

Of course, other things . . . Which areas of the new regs are you focusing on? 

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Eudora Watson
Staff
Potsdam Humane Society Shelter
New York
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