Best Friends Town Hall: Shelter Operations
The first in a series of Best Friends Town Halls focused on these topics:
- Lifesaving Operations when shelters are closed or modified-open
- Handling staffing and volunteers during COVID-19, and having a staffing and back-up plan
- Organizations supporting one another
The following panelists joined us to lend insight and expertise:
- Sue Cosby, senior director of Lifesaving Centers at Best Friends Animal Society
- Michelle Dosson, shelter director at Norfolk Animal Care Center
- Bethany Heins, directors of operations and strategic projects for national programs at Best Friends Animal Society
- Makena Yarbrough, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regional director at Best Friends Animal Society
Click the timestamps below to skip to that portion of the town hall:
- Introductions to the panel: 1:59
- Topic overview 5:26
- How have the changes in your normal operations progressed? 6:19
- What are some lifesaving programs to incorporate during the pandemic? 14:52
- How can we make sure essential sheltering functions continue with limited staff? Is it safe to include volunteers in normal operations? 20:20
- What is the best way to connect with & support other organizations in our community without putting your own operations at risk? 30:58
- How is Best Friends helping on-the-ground during the pandemic? 39:15
- Is Best Friends currently adopting out pets that are not spayed/neutered due to lack of access? 42:00
- What do other organizations that are doing emergency fostering think about the risk of animals being returned due to foster parent illness or hospitalization? 46:45
- What is the status of pet food banks? 50:07
- What are your recommendations for rescue organizations/non-shelters in regards to safe handling of animals taken in from communities as owner surrenders? Do you recommend bathing all animals on intake at this point? 52:30
- What are your thoughts on continuing multi-state transports? 55:53
VIDEOS, WEBINARS, & PODCAST
- Profiles in Leadership podcast
- Ask the Expert - How are shelters handling home checks for fosters?
- Adoption without spay/neuter video: 10 Minutes With The Experts - Shelter Medicine 3-23-2020
DOWNLOADABLE PDFs, PLAYBOOKS, & SOPs
- Best Friends Shelter in Place Shelter Guidance
- American Pets Alive! - Animal Shelter Preparedness Guide
- Foster Programs Training Playbook: contains sample procedure and program information documents
- American Pets Alive! - Emergency Foster Protocol
- American Pets Alive! - Open Fostering: Removing Barriers to Fostering During the COVID-19 Pandemic
READY TO GO TEMPLATES
- Press release template on communicating about COVID-19 and pets
- Community Kindness Card: Help keep pets at home and safe. Use these cards to ask your community to be part of solution. This template allows you to add your own logo and contact information as well. We recommend saving as a PDF before distributing.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & INFORMATION
- National Animal Care & Control Association guidelines
- Maddie's Fund - COVID-19 and Emergency Foster Care Resources
If you enjoyed this town hall, you can find our complete catalog of town halls here.