The Best Practice Playbook for Animal Shelters outlines proven best practice strategies to keep pets with their families, engage communities to action on behalf of pets in need, create responsible public policy and place pets who do enter the shelter quickly into homes or back to their original homes. This book is a 'must read' for anyone interested in recreating and supporting a compassionate animal welfare system in every community.

Strategies for Successful Animal Shelters is the first book to assess the relationship between shelter traits, activities and critical outcome variables, such as live release or save rates. This book provides a data-based evaluation of shelter processes and practices with explicit recommendations for improved shelter activities. Using a survey of licensed animal shelters, case studies, and data on state inspections, complaints, and save rates, this book provides an assessment of the activities, processes, and procedures that are most likely to lead to positive outcomes for a variety of animal shelters. The book also contributes to community debate around animal sheltering and provides best practices, methods and means to assess local shelters to ensure the highest level of animal welfare. It is a valuable resource for animal shelter professionals and rescue groups, as well as students in disciplines such as animal science, animal welfare and shelter medicine. Offers best-practice recommendations and how they are used in animal shelters Analyzes which shelter traits, programs and activities are most strongly associated with optimal outcomes, including live release rates Includes an assessment of future research and activities to optimize animal welfare within shelters

Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff, Second Edition is the premier reference on shelter medicine. Divided into sections on management, species-specific animal husbandry, infectious disease, animal cruelty, shelter programs, behavior, and spay/neuter, the new edition has been reformatted in a more user-friendly design with briefer chapters and information cross-referenced between chapters. Maintaining a herd health approach, new and expanded chapters address issues of husbandry, infectious disease management, behavior forensics, population management, forensic toxicology, animal cruelty and hoarding, enrichment in shelters, spay/neuter, and shelter design. Now in full color, this fully updated new edition delivers a vast array of knowledge necessary to provide appropriate and humane care for shelter animals. Veterinarians, veterinary technicians and shelter professionals will find this to be the go-to resource on the unique aspects of shelter medicine that help facilitate operating a modern, efficient, and humane shelter.

This book is the first of its kind to discuss in detail the actual management of local animal control programs as opposed to the care of the animals. It covers financial, personnel, legal, health, and safety issues that animal control directors and management staff need to know in providing direction and oversight of animal control programs. Chapters examine selected topics in which the author assesses strengths and weaknesses and offers new insights and strategies for more effective management. For example, the two chapters on contracting discuss the steps in the process, strategies, and suggested provisions in the written agreement to make the program more effective. The animal law chapters explain the basis for the laws, and highlight those provisions, that if enacted into law, can strengthen enforcement options. In addition, the author discusses and assesses interacting with the public and the media, liability issues, wildlife problems, and the politics of animal control.

Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff presents and evaluates the available research and programs that address both animal and human behaviors associated with the intake, management and rehoming of dog and cats. Introductions to dog and cat behavior relevant to any animal professional Reviews behavioral reasons for the relinquishment of dogs and cats Describes intake and assessment protocol, shelter design, training and enrichment programs that reduce stress and enhance behavioral well-being Concepts to improve the adoption process and support the human-animal bond post-adoption

For years, animal shelters have been hearing a similar message, "You need to use your data!" But which pieces of data should be monitored? How often? And to what degree of detail? Every Nose Counts: Using Metrics in Animal Shelters is a guide book that seeks to answers these questions, and many more. It all starts with a simple question: "What are your goals?" From here, we walk you through examples of metrics you can use to track progress toward your goals. Along the way, we offer insights to help you better display your data and breakdown the math behind the metrics to help give you a deeper and broader understanding of exactly what your numbers are telling you -- and what they're not! This guidebook is geared toward anyone working in or with an animal shelter or rescue group. Shelter directors, managers, staff, and veterinarians will all glean insights. From intake to outcomes and all points in between, we aim to offer a practical, accessible approach to using data. We hope that doing so will assist you in guiding the important decisions you make every day in your work serving animals and people in your community.