2009 Michigan Partnership
for Animal Welfare Conference
Session Descriptions

Compassion Fatigue: We’ve All Got It
(Elizabeth Strand, Ph.D., Founding Director of Veterinary Social Work Services at The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine) This highly interactive and lively discussion will bring conference participants together to discuss something that affects us all:  compassion fatigue.  Whether you work in a shelter, volunteer for a rescue group, practice veterinary medicine or just care about animals, you won’t want to miss this new group session which kicks off our sixth annual Animal Welfare Conference

1. Volunteer Recruitment and Retention - Part I
   (Betsy McFarland, HSUS)
   This two-part session offers a practical manual for building/improving a volunteer program in an animal care environment.  Sound volunteer management techniques such as building staff respect, creating rewarding volunteer assignments, practicing good risk management strategies, and more, all set in situations unique to animal care organizations are discussed.
2. Veterinary Forensics
   (Robert Reisman, D.V.M., ASPCA)
   This session will cover the use of science to investigate animal abuse, including the role of a veterinarian in animal cruelty reporting, investigation and prosecution. Examination of the crime scene and animals, available forensic testing, unique findings in animals, and packaging the case will be presented.  
3. Cats are Not Generic
   (Kit Jenkins, PetSmart Charities)
   This session will address one of the identified pieces of the cat problem: the public’s perception of cats and how we can start changing it.  We’ll look at ways to draw attention to the cats in our care as individuals, using accurate and intriguing descriptions (for databases, kennel cards, and websites) as well as tips for effective website photography.
4. Pawsitive Start: A New Twist on Shelter Animal Behavior Programs
   (C.J. Bentley, Michigan Humane Society)
   Exercise… it’s not just for bodies anymore!  We all understand the importance of giving our resident animals physical exercise.  But what about exercising that all-important “brain muscle”?  Come learn about an innovative program that teaches shelter animals to problem solve and helps rebuild their trust in humans.  Pawsitive Start goes beyond just “sit” and “down.”  Discussion includes training techniques, tricks, and tips for building an incredible volunteer team to make it happen.

1. Volunteer Recruitment and Retention - Part II
   (Betsy McFarland, HSUS)
   Continuation of Part I - see description above.
2. The Latest News on Feline URI
   (Kate Hurley, D.V.M., Koret Shelter Medicine Program, UC-Davis)
   Keeping up with the latest strains of feline upper respiratory infections can be a challenge for non-medical personnel.  This session will explore what’s new, what’s working and what’s not working in handling cats with URI.
3. Tweet, Twitter and Friends: How Social Networking Can Help You
   (Carie Lewis, HSUS)
   You don’t have to be a teenager to appreciate what social networking sites can do!  Whether you are tech-savvy or just learning how to navigate in cyber-space, come learn about how to put these tools to work for the animals!
4. Motivating and Keeping Good People in Animal Welfare
   (Kit Jenkins, PetSmart Charities)
   With low (or no) pay and high stress, most people choose animal welfare work because of their passion for the cause.  But burnout is high, and we often let our brightest and most talented jump ship because we don’t know how to keep them motivated. This workshop addresses reasons for retention problems and presents some practical strategies to create an environment that keeps people on board.

1. The Great Debate: Animal Transport Programs
   (Christie Smith, Potter League for Animals)
   Is animal transport a great way to save more lives, or are shelters using imports to satisfy public demand at the expense of less appealing animals?  Do shelters need puppies and small dogs to get adopters through the door?  Is it a better use of resources to save 100 easy-to-place pets rather than saving 10 hard-to-place ones?  Should we save the lives of all the healthy and treatable animals in our own community before taking in animals from other areas?  What are the newest trends and issues in moving animals around the country?  Come ready to share your experiences.
2. Veterinary Social Work
   (Elizabeth Strand, Ph.D., University of Tennessee)
   This session explores the link between veterinary medicine and social work, as veterinary social work provides counseling and outreach services to the community focusing on four areas: exploring the link between human and animal abuse, offering support to people grieving the loss of a pet, using animal-assisted interventions to take pets into varied settings in the community, and helping individuals cope with compassion fatigue that arises from the stresses of their jobs.
3. Grant Writing in the Online World - A Can't Miss for Fund Raisers!
   (Paul Jolly, PETCO Foundation)
   Like everything else, grant writing in the 21st century has gone paperless!  The PETCO Foundation now accepts grant applications via the worldwide web, so come learn about this new twist to an old fundraising tool.  And by the way, once again, the Foundation will be awarding several grants to participants in this session!
4. Developing a Foster Program
   (Linda Reider, Michigan Humane Society)
   Lots of animal welfare organizations have foster programs, but are they working for or against you?  This session will take a fresh look at how to revamp your foster program to meet the needs of the animals, the foster families and your organization.

1. Implementing Protocols for Animal Welfare Organizations
   (Kate Pullen, ASPCA)
   Are you frustrated with how things are done in your agency?  Are there inconsistencies from day to day relating to how animals are cared for or how the public is engaged or handled? Do you have trouble ensuring your staff are getting the work done correctly?  Are you looking for ways to provide better oversight to your staff?  Many agencies have some form of Standard Operating Procedures but are often not using them correctly, or they are not current, which leads to more confusion.  This workshop will identify the need for SOPs, how to engage your staff in developing your own SOPs and how to use the document after completed.  You will work with a template and we will show you how to add, change and delete from this template to create your own SOPs.
2. Kennel Cough, URI and Dogs: What’s New?
   (Kate Hurley, D.V.M., Koret Shelter Medicine Program, UC-Davis)
   Come learn the latest on what’s going around shelters these days, what you can do to help limit what your dogs are being exposed to and much, much more!
3. Dangerous Dogs: Why Canine Profiling Doesn’t Work
   (Ledy VanKavage, Esq., Best Friends Animal Society)
   A dog attacks and legislators (as well as the public and media) react.  Learn how to control irresponsible owners and their dogs through effective public safety ordinances and statutes, not breed specific legislation.  Find out what works and what doesn’t.
4. Using Statistics to Better Manage Your Operations and Meet Your Strategic Goals
   (Steve Zeidman, Pethealth Inc.)
   Description unavailable, please check back soon.