Maddie's Insights are a series of webinars about the latest research in animal well-being and how you can use the findings in your shelter and community.
Foster Care and the Human-Animal Bond was recorded on Thursday, January 11, 2024
WATCH THE RECORDING HERE
Program Description
It is commonplace among those who provide foster care for animals to have a recurring conversation with those who do not. Upon hearing that one is an animal foster parent a frequent response is, "Oh, I could never do that. I would not be able to give the animal up." But this is precisely what those caring for animal fosters are called to do. The ability of animal shelters and rescues to provide critical care through foster homes depends on volunteers who willingly and temporarily take animals into their homes and lives. Studies of foster volunteers has indicated that they find taking care of animals with medical, and particularly behavioral, issue to be stressful. And, volunteers that do not feel that their shelter is providing them sufficient emotional support are more likely to think about quitting. Given these two realities it becomes important for shelter staff to understand the emotional aspects of providing foster care and to identify ways to better support volunteers so that they are satisfied and more likely to continue to provide this service.
The presentation addresses these issues with the following learning objectives:
- What is the nature of attachment (human-animal bond) between volunteers and their foster animals?
- What emotions do volunteers experience when their fosters leave their care?
- What coping and resilience strategies appear to reduce the stress of providing foster care?
- · How can animal shelters help foster volunteers cope with the stress inherent to fostering?
This one-hour webinars has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association. It also been submitted for approval for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) approval.
Maddie's Fund does not share registration information.
About the presenter
Dr. Laura Reese is a professor in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on issues of animal welfare policy and shelter management. She wrote the book, Strategies for Successful Animal Shelters, and has published numerous articles on local animal ordinances, dog bite risks, animal cruelty, compassion fatigue, animal foster programs, and animal shelter volunteer satisfaction. She is the president of Professional Animal Welfare Services which provides consulting services to animal shelters and rescues and founded The Un-Shelter a foster-based rescue in Michigan. Dr. Reese also volunteers in and provides foster care for local animal shelters in the Charleston, SC area.
Coming up (register once for all in the series)
Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 12 noon Pacific
The Influence of Field Trip and Sleepover Programs on Shelter Dog Welfare with Dr. Lisa Gunter, Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare, Virginia Tech
On March 14, we’ll hear from Greg Miller and Debra Olmedo about research on increasing engagement in kitten fostering programs.
On April 11th, Lexis Ly will discuss her research about diverting dog and cat shelter intake.
On May 9th, Dr. Sara Bennett and Jamirelis Carrero will share their research about the impact of using treat buckets on shelter dog behavior.
#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts
#EducationandTraining
#FosterPrograms
------------------------------
Alison Gibson
Media Projects Manager
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------