the Intake

Hill’s Pet Nutrition just released their 2024 State of Shelter Adoption Report, with data suggesting there could be gains in exploring our messaging to potential volunteers around foster opportunities.

The Association’s Katherine Shenar sat down with three animal welfare professionals who have headed exemplary foster programs that have seen big successes. Listen in as she talks about everything from removing barriers to volunteering to the value of short-term fostering with MSPCA-Angell’s Jacquie McKay, Emilee Smith from Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control, and Suzy Clayton, who created programs at both nonprofit and municipal agencies.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition just released their 2024 State of Shelter Adoption Report, and you may be surprised to learn that 1 in 3 people would be more likely to adopt if foster-to-adopt were an option at their shelter, or that 64% of respondents would foster if their costs were covered.

To capitalize on these insights and learn how to grow your foster program, listen in as The Association’s Katherine M. Shenar sits down with Kelly Furnas and Stephani Coe of Carrollton, TX-based Operation Kindness, who will offer tips and techniques they used to increase their foster program by 35% in a year.

The Association’s Katherine Shenar hosts Brian Jorgensen of MetLife Pet Insurance and Atlanta Humane Society’s Michael Robbins for a talk about an untapped strategy for improving access to care. Learn about partnerships between shelters and pet insurance providers that can change the way shelters help their communities, and hear some common myths about pet insurance busted.

It's true that intake numbers are still below pre-pandemic 2019, yet animal shelters are over capacity. And the numbers show that interest in adoptions is waning.

There is a potential solution...

But why aren’t more organizations prioritizing it?

The Association’s Katherine Shenar sits down with Abbie Moore and Kristen Hassen of Petco Love Lost to discuss RTO strategies to reunite lost pets with their families. It’s time to stop judging owners who’ve lost their pets, amp up in-house resources, and instead try cool tools for dramatically increasing outcomes, like Petco Love’s nifty new workbook.

Taking a dog’s or cat’s temperature with a traditional rectal thermometer in a clinical or shelter setting… Wish it could be both more efficient and less stressful for the animal? Well, it CAN. Find out how in this conversation between The Association’s Katherine M. Shenar, Jamie Driscoll of Mella Pet Care, and Alex Schechter, DVM. Informed by the Fear Free philosophy that aims to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress in pets, this first-of-its-kind health monitoring tool can be used by shelter veterinary teams, as well as by volunteers and foster parents in the home.

Heard the one about the foster volunteer with the sick kitten calling the foster coordinator at 2 am on a Sunday morning, and the foster coordinator then calling the vet to see if it’s an emergency? This all-too common scenario can lead to staff burnout , work-life imbalance, and inefficient processes that drain organizational resources. The Association’s Katherine Shenar sits down with Greenville County Animal Care to find out how the South Carolina agency solved this problem by taking a chance on Vidaah, an innovative new teletriage program.

For more information, visit Vidaah

P.S. Shelters, you'll be in good company--almost 100 agencies are using this groundbreaking service.

With rents increasing as much as 25% across the nation, Dianne Prado, eviction attorney in Los Angeles, helps us understand what we need to know if we rent with a pet. We learned a lot from Dianne and know you will, too.

She's an #animalwelfareshero to many of us working in animal shelters -- Joann Fuller, the person responsible for Hill's Food, Shelter, Love program and champion of #ClearTheShelters 2022, has rolled up her sleeves to make August the best adoption promotion in its 7-year history. Thanks to the support of #NBC and #HillsPetNutrition, thousands of animals will find new homes throughout the month of August. She also shared the history of the Food, Shelter, Love program and why Hills began supporting nearly 800 animal shelters across the United States 20 years ago. 

Dr. Anne Kimmerlein, Veterinary Epidemiologist for VCA Animal Hospitals, tells her story of becoming a shelter veterinarian and why she thinks relationships are changing between shelters and private practice veterinarians.