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Muzzle Training a Dog

Outdated policies prevent shelters from partnering with the public to save lives

Saving senior pets from shelters is expensive and challenging and an area of lifesaving where the need outweighs the amount of available help. Compared to the total number of rescue organizations coast-to-coast, only a fraction focus solely on saving this highly at-risk group of animals.

We all experience defining moments in our lives. Events such as marriage, kids, losing loved ones, career changes can all shape who we are, often on profound levels. This week's guest, Heather Owen, says her experience of watching heartbroken families surrender pets was a defining moment for her - w…

This week we honor these front-line heroes by sharing a story of how officers in Sacramento, California, are doing their part to save lives - of both the two and four-legged kind. The chief of animal services for the Front Street Animal Shelter, Jace Huggins, tells us about a partnership with their …

Before he was known as the Cat Daddy, Jackson was a shelter employee, working for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Colorado. He worked in several roles, including the front desk supervisor, interfacing with the public who came in to surrender their pets. It was during that time that his knack…

A far cry from the days of being seen as the “dogcatchers,” today’s highly skilled animal care and control officers are on the front lines in our communities, helping animals in need. In the last few years, as sheltering has seen progress towards connecting lifesaving to public safety, there’s a nee…

To catch up on what’s been happening around the country since our last episode, we contacted the Chief Program Officer for Best Friends, Marc Peralta. We discussed what’s happening regarding intake and outcomes in animal shelters and dug into the details around some less-than-helpful news articles t…

Neonatal kittens are one of the most vulnerable populations in animal shelters. The resources necessary to save them haven’t always been available but that has changed over the last few years. An ever-growing, committed group of volunteers has offered a lifeline to newborn kittens. Hannah Shaw amass…

If you're feeling more overwhelmed than usual, you are not alone. The year-to-date shelter data shows that intake is up - but not by much compared to the last "normal" year of 2019. Instead, it's mostly driven by a dramatic drop in adoptions which are down roughly 20% from 2019.