Explore Humane Canada’s Summit for Animals 2024 Programming

Population rounds are a population management strategy to ensure that each animal receives the care and attention they need to move as efficiently as possible through your shelter. Rounds identify and resolve outcome barriers and are an excellent addition to any organization's pathway planning toolkit. Population rounds also improve individual welfare and decrease overall animal length of stay (LOS); this, in turn, decreases shelter crowding, reduces the spread of illness, and improves animal care.  

Join this session to learn what population rounds are, who should be on your rounds team, and how to develop actionable items to move animals in an outcome-based decision-making framework. 

Key learnings 

• Develop a standard operating procedure for rounds in your organization. 
• Identify common barriers to animal flow. 
• What outcome-based decision-making looks like in practice for shelters and rescues. 

The BC SPCA provides Municipal Animal Services for regional districts, municipalities and First Nations of various sizes. Our organization has shifted to an "education before enforcement" model incorporating outreach programs such as the pet food bank, low-cost spay and neuter, and the BC Pet Registry. During their interactions with the public, BC SPCA Animal Services Officers recommend these programs to those in need and provide educational pamphlets, collars/leashes, and basket muzzles as needed. Basic animal welfare concerns are also addressed through Municipal Animal Services, often avoiding escalation to the Animal Protection Services department. All BC SPCA Animal Services Officers are Fear Free certified and employ low-stress animal handling techniques.  

This change in approach has enhanced the human-animal bond in our communities and allowed more animals to stay with their families.  

While many members of the public traditionally see Municipal Animal Services as "Animal Control" (aka dogcatchers), we are working to change this perception by successfully offering a community oriented, One Health service model. We want to share our successes and challenges in the hopes that you may bring this approach home to your communities. 

Key learnings

• The attitude of Municipal Animal Services Officers and managers needs to shift to "education before enforcement." Be curious and ask questions! 
• Approach each dispatch call with an outreach mindset, keeping extra supplies and pet food in your vehicle along with educational pamphlets. 
• Seek out Fear Free and low-stress handling training options for Animal Services Officers, and equip vans with lots of treats, covered kennels and slip leads. Avoid ketch-poles unless necessary! 

Join us at the exclusive Humane Canada Learning Lab specifically designed for leaders in your sector. This unique half-day offers an exceptional opportunity for meaningful peer-facilitated discussions and innovative idea generation to enhance your work. Dive deep into critical topics such as risk mitigation across finance, reputation, and human resources. Moreover, engage in sharing strategies to build personal resilience. This gathering is a prime chance to connect with fellow leaders, broaden your perspective, and equip yourself with the tools to thrive in challenging environments. Take advantage of this empowering experience that inspires and fortifies your leadership journey.

It goes without saying that we do this work because it is our passion which provides value and meaning. That said, we don't do this work without ingesting all aspects, some of which are less desirable. This work unequivocally impacts us emotionally, socially, psychologically and spiritually and, as such, carries a high risk of leaving us feeling stressed and experiencing burnout, fatigue, or, even more deeply, experiencing vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress. This presentation addresses these challenges by offering strategies for building resilience and promoting well-being. This presentation is for those seeking ways to better cope with the unique stressors of a profession in animal welfare and improvement in overall well-being. Participants will be introduced to the role of social work in animal welfare and how social workers can play a pivotal role in culture and wellness. In this working session, attendees will be invited to engage in exercises to explore their current wellness and create action plans based on these findings.

Key Learnings

• To engage in exercises to explore one's current state of wellness and resiliency
• To learn practical tools and knowledge to enhance resiliency to manage occupational stress and create an action plan to prioritize well-being
• To learn about veterinary social work and how this type of support may bring improved outcomes for your facility

Customer Service training in Animal Welfare has often been an afterthought.

We seldom see curriculum on this topic at most conferences; when we do, it's nothing new. We all assume everyone knows how to be nice, but it's not about being nice; it's about effectively communicating with one another, volunteers, customers, and anyone else we encounter throughout our work. It's about legitimizing the feelings of others, finding words that impact the psyche and leaving the other person feeling cared for, even when our answer might be no.

This session will inspire attendees to evaluate the training given to all staff/volunteers on interacting with others. Often, we presume customer service is something our parents should have taught us, but that is not always the case. We will walk through common day-to-day conversations that we often fall short in having. This session will provoke conversation, thoughts, and action

The Capacity for Care (CFC) management model improves the quality of life for sheltered animals while increasing overall efficiency. By reducing the number of animals within a shelter, more resources become available for each animal's care. This approach has successfully improved key metrics such as adoption rates and length of stay, ultimately allowing shelters to assist more animals over time. As a result, it has been widely recognized as the best practice for animal shelter management.  

However, the traditional application of CFC is often shelter-wide, assuming all animals require the same level of resources. This assumption can become problematic as shelter populations change. Shelters may end up with many animals requiring extensive medical or behavioural support, placing undue strain on veterinary and training departments. To address this issue, a tiered system accounting for the varying resource needs of animals in different categories is essential. This approach ensures that each department within the shelter operates within its specific CFC.  

This presentation will introduce a method for calculating CFC tailored to demands and resource availability. This approach allows flexibility in adapting to changes in staffing levels or task completion times. Attendees will learn to create tiers reflecting levels of care, quantify the staff time necessary for each tier, calculate the time allocated to non-capacity-based tasks, and determine the remaining staff time available. This valuable information can then guide shelter managers in efficiently managing intakes ensuring the well-being of sheltered animals while optimizing resources.  

Key learnings  

• Understand that as shelter populations change, the Capacity for Care model may need to be adapted to reflect that the resources required by complex medical and behavioural cases are vastly more significant than average.  
• Calculate their Capacity for Care for complex behavioural and medical cases using a tiered system reflective of the level of resources required for each tier compared to the resources available for the animals' care, allowing intakes to be managed more efficiently.  
• Create a tiered Capacity for Care calculator by breaking into small groups, accounting for the resources available and the tasks that must be completed to care for animals with a range of needs.  

This session will delve into the critical topic of the vital role community engagement plays in animal control. Animal welfare is not just about the animals; it’s about fostering a compassionate and responsible community that actively creates a safer, more humane, and healthier environment for our pets. We’ll explore successful engagement strategies, partnerships and innovative initiatives that have made a tangible difference in animal control efforts nationwide. From local grassroots projects to larger-scale community programs, we can create a positive change. Involvement in our communities is the key to sustainable change that addresses the root causes of animal-related issues.  

Key learnings  

• The vital role community engagement plays in animal control.  
• Communities are the key to sustainable change that addresses the root causes of animal-related issues.  
• Fostering a compassionate and responsible community that actively participates in creating a safer, more humane, and healthier environment for our pets.  

Join us at the exclusive Humane Canada Learning Lab specifically designed for leaders in our sector. This unique half-day offers an exceptional opportunity for meaningful peer-facilitated discussions and innovative idea generation to enhance your work. Dive deep into critical topics such as risk mitigation across finance, reputation, and human resources. Moreover, engage in sharing strategies to build personal resilience. This gathering is a prime chance to connect with fellow leaders, broaden your perspective, and equip yourself with the tools to thrive in challenging environments. Take advantage of this empowering experience that inspires and fortifies your leadership journey.

In the demanding world of animal service organizations, where compassion and dedication are prerequisites, fatigue and burnout can be all too common. This session aims to equip animal service providers with the essential tools to combat fatigue and cultivate resilience. We will explore how adopting a trauma-informed approach enhances interactions with people who entrust us with their beloved companions and support team members and organizations. Join us for this engaging session, where you'll gain valuable insights and strategies to enhance your well-being and effectiveness as an animal service provider. Learn strategies you can apply right away to help manage your compassion fatigue, prevent burnout, and build a more compassionate and resilient community for the animals we care for and the people who love them.

Key Learnings

• Understand how building resilience and tackling fatigue aligns with trauma-informed care can benefit staff members, organizations, clients, and their companion animals by fostering a more empathetic and supportive environment.
• Learn practical self-care techniques tailored to the unique challenges of animal service work, including strategies for setting boundaries, managing stress, and preventing compassion fatigue, ensuring that you remain effective and resilient in your role.
• Explore the power of building connections within your team and the broader animal service community, including how these connections can serve as vital sources of support and inspiration, helping you navigate the emotional challenges of the field with greater strength and resilience.

Volunteerism in Canada has been experiencing large-scale, fundamental shifts since the pandemic, and we, in the animal welfare sector, have certainly felt the impact that these shifts have had in our sector. Recruiting volunteers and finding foster homes is becoming more difficult in an environment where 65% of non-profits are reporting volunteer shortages on top of an increased demand for services. Current volunteers struggle with burnout and compassion fatigue and may be contemplating a break to care for their mental and physical health.  

It’s a pivotal moment for voluntary organizations - one that requires a willingness to meet volunteers where they are right now and to focus on the retention of their current base. It’s also an opportunity for strategic transformation of volunteer engagement that will future-proof our programs.  

Join volunteer management expert Lindsay Baker and your peers nationwide to learn, discuss, connect, and collaborate in this interactive session. You’ll explore current and emerging trends in volunteerism and learn through real-life stories and case studies how others are adapting to them. Together, you will workshop creative solutions to some of the most common and challenging volunteer engagement trends in the animal welfare sector.  

Leave the session with a new mindset, a dose of inspiration, and an action plan to help you better attract and engage volunteers in the post-pandemic reality.  

Key learnings  

• Understand how current and emerging trends are impacting volunteer engagement since the pandemic.  
• Learn how to adapt to these trends through real-life examples and case studies from various countries and sectors.  
• Identify changes they need to make in their volunteer programs to recruit and retain volunteers in the future effectively.  

Cats make up a large percentage of animals admitted to shelters yearly, and their overpopulation brings about many challenges. One such challenge is the difficulty in offering them an environment suited to their needs and finding adopters for more complex cases.  

We can count many cats presenting behavioural issues who have difficulty adapting to the shelter environment. To help them, we can implement several strategies and innovative ideas to increase the number of live outcomes and reduce their length of stay. One of these ideas is the implementation of an enrichment and behavioural modification program.  

Enrichment helps reduce stress and anxiety, increase the mental and physical health of cats and have a positive impact on adoption outcomes. Putting in place a specialized program for cats with volunteers able to train them, socialize them and enrich their daily lives can be a great asset to reducing the length of stay, improving the quality of life of the cats in your care and multiplying your success stories.  

In this session, we'll discuss why every shelter should create an enrichment and behavioural program for cats and emphasize how to implement this type of program step by step and track data so it can concretely help cats thrive and measure your progress. We will also look at how to create clear guidelines and provide suitable training to our volunteers so the program can be successful without being high maintenance for the shelter team.  

Key learnings  

• How to meet cats' needs in a shelter environment  
• How to structure a strong enrichment and behavioural modification program to help cats progress  
• How to recruit and train volunteers to provide enrichment and training to the cats in your care  

We will explore how animal control agencies can utilize process improvement techniques to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their operations. From responding to emergencies to managing animal care, this session will provide valuable insights into streamlining workflows, reducing response times, and maximizing resources while upholding the highest animal welfare standards. The session will cover understanding the principles and methodologies of process improvement and how they can be adapted to animal control settings, analyzing common challenges faced by animal control agencies, such as resource constraints, response delays, and administrative bottlenecks, and conducting comprehensive process mapping to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement within animal control operations. In addition, the session will cover fostering a culture of continuous improvement by involving frontline staff in identifying opportunities and implementing solutions.

Key Learnings

• Process Improvement Techniques in Animal Control

• Efficiency and Effectiveness

• Fostering a culture of continuous improvement by involving frontline staff in identifying opportunities and implementing solutions.

The business of keeping pets and people together is tough, overwhelming and also rewarding, so is simply being human.  Put these together and it’s one heck of a ride!  It’s not uncommon to feel that the weight and breadth of this work is such that no difference can be made despite our best efforts and yet we fear what will happen to ourselves, our teams and our organizations if we leave.  How can we stay in this business in a way that makes a meaningful difference for people and pets, is fulfilling and doesn’t come at the sacrifice of our own physical and mental health? 

Join us to share in our journeys and experiences to understand the importance of looking back, looking within, and rethinking so that moving forward we can experience our work differently.  We often have to exist in contradiction and it is critical to realize that most things are not binary, nor usually as they appear.  Together through our discussions about this we will explore effective, evidence-based strategies for coping, enhancing personal and professional functioning in the service industry, and cultivating resilience, including learning about the Five Freedoms of human welfare. 

You all deserve this.  We look forward to sharing this space with you. 

Key Learnings

• Feel seen, heard, and know that you matter an awful lot 
• Recognize the early signs of stress induced responses within one's self so that action can be taken 
• Understand the importance of curiosity and empathy over judgement and the impact this has on how we show up and our ability to be resilient 

Animal welfare organizations often ask many volunteers to meet their operational needs. Let's explore how we can balance utilizing our volunteers in a practical way while also managing volunteer emotional investment and burnout. It can be challenging to take care of the well-being of a volunteer workforce – how can we do this well while also maintaining our sanity? By exploring what leads to volunteer burnout, what volunteers need to feel supported, and what we do as volunteer managers that might improve these things (or worse), we can enhance volunteer well-being and expectations and, in turn, increase volunteer engagement and retention.  

Key learnings  

• What causes volunteer burnout and over-investment? How do we, as animal welfare professionals, contribute to the problem?  
• How can we help volunteers maintain a balance between their well-being and their passion?  
• How can we practically address heightened situations with volunteers once they occur?

Many wildlife species have successfully adapted to urban ecologies across North America. However, their relationship with humans is complex. Myths, fears, and misinformation commonly arise, which places wildlife at risk. Achieving coexistence can allow us to benefit from wildlife's ecological services while reducing our fear of encountering them in urban spaces. Doing so requires tackling the social elements of human-wildlife conflict to champion humane coexistence programs. It also promotes a collaborative approach between stakeholders, including community groups, institutions, experts, and service providers.  

In this session, Erin will combine their complementary environmental conservation and research backgrounds to promote wildlife coexistence. Topics of focus include the importance of wildlife coexistence in urbanized areas, common reasons for misinformation and myths surrounding certain species, and strategies to provide meaningful and scientifically accurate education.  

Key learnings  

• Review the importance of environmental coexistence and why this is important from a community, operations, and animal welfare perspective.  
• Learn how wildlife coexistence programming can dispel myths and misinformation about wildlife through scientifically accurate and data-driven public education.  
• Understand wildlife coexistence education strategies, and we can implement them. 

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

There are many financial, geographic, cultural, and disability-related barriers to accessing animal healthcare within communities that have been underserved traditionally by veterinary medicine. These barriers can impact animal welfare, human health, and the human-animal bond. To date, most knowledge on these topics is from research outside Canada. There is a need to understand better how service providers partner with underserved communities across Canada to improve access to care. We need access to information such as: 

• Which services are being offered and where? 
• How are barriers being mitigated? 
• Any program impact measure is necessary to evaluate how organizational community partnerships influence peoples’ access to animal healthcare. 

This presentation will share results from web data mining, followed by a national survey of service providers, to discuss regional trends in outreach and service provision and address this need for Canadian-specific data. This research sets the groundwork for evidence-based solutions to addressing animal welfare and care service gaps and strategies to mitigate them most effectively through strong community partnerships. Finally, we will share applications of this research in the Kim and Stu Lang Community Healthcare Partnership Program at the Ontario Veterinary College, which strives to equip student veterinarians with skills to address systemic and inadequate access to care by partnering with underserved communities. We intend to highlight opportunities for meaningful collaboration and resource prioritization across Canadian animal welfare organizations and veterinary service providers and future integration opportunities from human service sectors.   

Key learnings   

• How data can help us identify existing resources, tools, gaps, and needs for animal healthcare in underserved communities.  
• The potential for community partnerships in addressing animal welfare in underserved communities. 

The animal welfare sector lags behind other industries when it comes to digital transformation. Hence, the creation of "Purple Up Panjim," a pioneering initiative from Goa, India, where many stakeholders united for a singular purpose: improving animal welfare using a digital identity.  

Our panel will delve into this groundbreaking initiative, highlighting how GoChip's Unified Digital Identity (GUDI) became the keystone in effectively caring for over 1,000 dogs and how this was made possible through strategic collaborations with Mission Rabies, PAWS, and the Panjim municipality.  

Hear from global and regional experts Adam Turnbull (GoChip), Andy Gibson (World Veterinary Services), Valli Fraser-Celin (Canadian One Health expert) and Sweta Sardessai (Panjim Animal Welfare Society) as they shed light on challenges, triumphs, and the impact of marrying technology with animal welfare. In this session, you will not just witness a success story but also glean insights on replicating similar successes across different cultural and regional landscapes.  

We will delve deep into the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, learning how alliances between diverse stakeholders can forge transformative outcomes in animal welfare, showcased through the lens of the "Purple Up Panjim" success story.  

In a world eager for scalable solutions, "Purple Up Panjim" is a testament to collaboration, innovation, and the sheer will to create positive change. We are reimagining the relationship between people, cities and animals because we believe that at the intersection of pixels and paws lies a future that is humane, sustainable and scalable. Join us!  

Key learnings

• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Understanding the power of cross-sector partnerships and how collaborations between tech startups, global veterinary services, and on-the-ground community stakeholders can lead to transformative results in animal welfare.  
• Tech's Role in Animal Welfare: Gleaning insights on how technology, specifically digital identity systems, can revolutionize animal welfare practices, from tracking to health management, and set a gold standard for other regions to emulate.  
• Navigating Cultural and Regional Landscapes: Learning the nuances of implementing tech-driven animal welfare initiatives across different cultural and regional backdrops, focusing on the unique challenges, triumphs, and best practices from the "Purple Up Panjim" campaign.  

The animal welfare industry is perpetuating several inequities that negatively impact the health and safety of racialized communities and their pets. These inequities include disproportionate rates of animal policing and enforcement, the absence of pet-inclusive housing, insufficient access to veterinary and preventative care, and the underrepresentation of racialized communities in the animal welfare industry. Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE) partners with proximate leaders and nonprofit organizations across the U.S. to promote racial equity and human and animal well-being (HAW) through community-centred investments, research, and storytelling that center racialized community wisdom and lived experiences. CARE is researching to document the racial disparities in the animal welfare field and measure the impacts of organizations focused on advancing HAW.  

The Racial Disparities in Animal Welfare (RDAW) study partnered with the University of Tennessee in four U.S. communities (Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Dallas, Texas) to explore racial disparities in animal control practices and adoption policies. CARE also conducts community-based participatory research (CBPR) to identify HAW needs and priorities in racialized communities. This presentation will include a discussion of the research findings, including the importance of integrating participatory research methods as a part of cultivating agency and trust within an organization's outreach and integration strategy. We will also discuss practical applications of the findings, including how human and animal well-being organizations can challenge systemic inequities and promote comprehensive well-being in partnership with racialized communities and their pets.  

Key learnings  

• Discuss research findings on the impacts of the animal welfare industry on racialized communities.  
• Highlight the importance of participatory research methods in an organization's outreach and integration strategy.  
• Discuss practical steps for human and animal well-being organizations to challenge systemic inequities and promote comprehensive well-being for racialized communities and their pets.  

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

Whether it's education, adoption efforts or emergency response, communication in animal welfare is vital to organizational success. In this session, we will explore key marketing techniques to help tell your story and make a greater reach with your message. Our communities are changing, and as such, we must adjust our strategies. This session will cover media strategies and how to address the importance of consistency in your voice, messaging and branding. Participants will learn how the Calgary Humane Society has developed marketing strategies that are inclusive, flexible and nuanced in our modern landscape.  

Key learnings  

• Best practices for social media, including scheduling, brand voice, photography, videography, and working with the mysterious algorithms of Instagram and TikTok.  
• Explore how showing vulnerability can offer a competitive edge in appeals.  
• How to craft connections within your community to create a deliberate and thoughtful approach to marketing.  

In the wake of the post-COVID surge in animal populations and the ongoing veterinary shortage, numerous remote areas grapple with severely limited access to veterinary services. Simultaneously, the costs of veterinary care, with increased operational expenses and inflation, are rising. Consequently, animal shelters are increasingly burdened with higher intake rates, often linked to unaltered animals and their offspring. Tackling these pressing challenges demands a community-based approach prioritizing accessible veterinary care, mainly surgical sterilization.   

Compared to American counterparts, Canadian communities in need are often more widespread and distant from urban centres, have smaller populations, less non-profit funding, and less favourable legislation in some provinces. As a result, high-efficiency, accessible spay/neuter programs have been slower to develop in many areas.   

Innovative strategies for managing animal overpopulation encompass various programs offering accessible spay/neuter surgeries. Adopting high-efficiency techniques and processes reduces the cost of spay and neuter surgeries and increases the number of sterilized animals. Models for the provision of services include: 

• High-quality, high-volume stationary clinics. 
• Mobile clinics. 
• Pop-up temporary or recurring surgical facilities within communities. 

Some programs are shelter-initiated, while others are for-profit or non-profit veterinary practices or collaborations.   

This panel discussion aims to delve into how different organizations address the provision of accessible and efficient surgical sterilization for companion animals. The discussion will encompass various facets, modes of reaching animals in need of accessible care, the development and implementation of programs, funding models, follow-up care, and ensuring continuity of services. 

Key learnings  

• Animal welfare organizations have devised a plethora of strategies to bolster capacity. This panel will offer a comprehensive review and comparison of the diverse approaches and program types to curb pet overpopulation through spaying and neutering.  
• Streamlining processes and using high-efficiency techniques are instrumental in increasing access and surgical efficiency.  
• Ultimately, preventing reproduction in companion animals will not only contribute to reducing shelter surrender rates and animal abandonment but also enhance access to veterinary care, thereby keeping animals with their families. 

Discover the untapped power of collective fundraising for animal shelters. It's time to shift our perspective and realize that fundraising is not just the responsibility of a single department but a collaborative effort involving everyone in the shelter. From your communications team to your adoption and foster programs, each team member can contribute to expanding your shelter's fundraising capacity and ultimately save more lives.  

Join me in this inspiring session, where we will delve into the current animal funding landscape in Canada and explore a wide range of ingenious tips and tricks to integrate fundraising into different shelter departments seamlessly. I'll share my personal success story of how I significantly boosted the acquisition and retention of monthly donors through innovative fundraising tactics.  

We'll also uncover the transformative power of relationship-based fundraising, fostering a community of loyal supporters and attracting major donors to your cause. Let's unlock the magic of storytelling to elevate donor engagement, making your shelter's mission resonate deeply with your supporters.  

Let's build a stronger, more resilient fundraising strategy, leading to more saved lives and a brighter future for our furry friends.  

Key learnings  

• How to integrate fundraising into different shelter departments  
• How to increase the acquisition and retention of monthly donors  
• How a relationship-based fundraising approach builds community loyalty and fosters more major donors  
• How to mobilize the power of storytelling to increase donor engagement  

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

The Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre (SJDAWC) at the Atlantic Veterinary College exists to promote animal welfare by generating and disseminating impartial and scientifically based knowledge and understanding of animal welfare issues. Our vision is "to be nationally and internationally recognized as a centre of excellence that advances animal welfare through research, service, and education." In this session, our objectives are to describe the research, outreach and educational opportunities provided by the SJDAWC. The session will begin with a description of our mission and activities, including outreach activities relevant to audiences across Canada interested in animal welfare issues. Current researchers funded by the Centre will then present vignettes of their specific research projects; examples of research projects include social science approaches to understand equine welfare, using physiological and behavioural measures to define developmental trajectories for canine and feline behaviour, investigating factors that affect the natural behaviour of dairy calves, and a "One Welfare" approach to understanding the link between veterinary student mental health and their perception of the quality of life of animals used for teaching. You can find more information about the SJDAWC at our website: https://awc.upei.ca/  

Key learnings

• Describe the research activities at the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre  
• Explore the outreach opportunities available through the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre  
• Explain the educational opportunities provided by the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre  

Whether your organization is foster-based or has a brick-and-mortar facility, community-based and in-person adoption events are a proven way to showcase your animals to a new audience of potential adopters, fosters, donors and volunteers. Events can be small and intimate or large and full of excitement. They can feature one organization or be a part of a collaboration. This session will discuss how organizations of all sizes can organize, promote and execute offsite adoption events to increase outcomes for animals in your care.  

Key learnings  

• You will receive practical tools to rebuild your organization's capacity for offsite events.  
   
• The millennial generation now represents the plurality of pet owners. You will learn how offsite events align with the experience that millennials and gen-zers seek when acquiring a pet.  
• Learn how to recruit & train volunteers to support offsite adoption events.  

Building on Dr. Jane Goodall's ethos that "every individual can make a difference," you're invited to engage in a TACARE ("Take Care") workshop session to build out your organizational and individual capacity to manage relevant and impactful animal welfare initiatives in non-White and diverse communities. Launched by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in 1994, the TACARE approach provides a framework that can be adapted to multiple cultural contexts and is a key step in improving the ability to successfully support and collaborate with communities that are not your own. In this session, participants will engage in community mapping (either real or imaginary) to work through the TACARE system of community-centred programming. You won't want to miss this session if your goal is to develop a holistic and sustainable approach to improving the lives of animals in BPOC, underserved, Indigenous, and other diverse communities! 

Key learnings  

• What the Take Care (TACARE) approach entails its history, and benefits when working with diverse communities.  
• How to utilize the TACARE approach in animal welfare programmatic planning and development.  
• Developing a framework for community mapping in either a real or imagined community.  

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

Work to improve the lives of farmed and wild animals presents an opportunity for systemic change that can positively impact the lives of countless individual animals. From animal care facilities addressing calls of human-wildlife conflicts to indirect interactions with farmed animals when we serve food at fundraisers, our work is entwined with the welfare of these animals.  

During this session, you will learn how any organization – including those focused on companion animals – can make small changes that result in significant results for animals. Hear from two organizations working to ensure the welfare of wild and farmed animals and discuss practical ways to cultivate relationships that drive meaningful progress in animal welfare.  

Learn how the Animal Welfare League of Arlington has worked to include wildlife in their mission and gain insights into actionable steps your organization can take to do the same.  

Gain insights on farmed animal welfare and how any organization can expand its reach exponentially with only small steps.  

Join us to explore how the welfare of farmed and wild animals interacts with your current and future work and better understand your connection to these animals.  

Key learnings

• The how and why of integrating wild and farmed animals into your mission  
• How to utilize a multidisciplinary approach to benefit all animal health and wellbeing  
• An overview of tactics used to raise awareness, build relationships, and make change 

How do we reduce relinquishment to animal shelters? In the U.S. and Canada, approximately 25-30% of animals that enter shelters are surrendered by owners. Currently, many animal shelters use data collected at intake, such as surrender reasons, to create programs that aim to support pet owners to keep their pets. However, despite many shelters and rescues providing various pet support services for the past few decades, there needs to be a more demonstratable reduction in owner-surrendered animals.

First, this presentation will outline the current gaps in our understanding of intake diversion. For example, given our reliance on surrender reasons to understand how to prevent surrender, how reliable is this data? Second, this presentation will propose a new model of understanding pet rehoming using systems thinking concepts. Systems thinking recognizes the interconnections and behaviour of characteristics within a complex network. Complex systems often include various potential stakeholders; however, in pet surrender, only some players outside animal shelters have been identified and investigated to understand their relationship to shelter surrender.

This presentation will outline research into animal shelters, pet-owning communities, self-rehoming platforms, and pet owners to demonstrate the complex system of pet surrender. You will learn new ways to collect and understand information to help divert animals from shelters.  
 

Key Learnings

• Standardization, operational definitions, and improved relations with community members can improve animal shelter data. 
• Connecting animal shelter data to community-level demographic data can help understand the risks of surrender. 
• Information from other pet support services, self-rehoming platforms, and pet owners is vital to mapping the system of pet surrender. 

Until recently, we have had little objective data about access to veterinary care (AVC) in Canada, which has changed due to three important national studies.  

The first examined trends in factors relevant to AVC from 2008-2020. It showed a steady increase in veterinarian numbers, fewer clients per veterinarian, and cost increases that consistently exceed inflation.  

The second was a 2022 survey about access and barriers to care. Eighteen percent of respondents could not access needed preventative care for their pets, 12% could not access sick care, and 8% could not access emergency care. In the 2018 U.S. study on which this one was modelled, 23% could not access preventative care, 14% sick and 8% emergency care. The largest barrier to care in the Canadian study was the inability to afford care or obtain an appointment. Factors most consistently associated with barriers were the younger age group, lower income and being a recent immigrant. The third study is still in the pipeline. The authors have published a map of the U.S. showing a Veterinary Care Accessibility Score for each county. They are planning a similar map for Canada, which will demonstrate where the most substantial problems lie.  

These studies provide a foundation for understanding the lack of access to veterinary care in Canada. They provide evidence to present to veterinary associations and regulators, government agencies, corporate groups and funders; help to target interventions; and provide a baseline against which to assess their impact.  

Key learnings  

• Three recent studies provide foundational data to understand and address gaps in accessible veterinary care in Canada.  
• Currently, a large number of pets lack access to care. Multiple geographic, socioeconomic and veterinary sector factors play into this, and the problem will likely grow unless targeted interventions are applied.  
• A proposed AVC map will show areas of greatest need across the vast geography of Canada. With the other national studies, this will allow us to target interventions better and measure their impact.  

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

Cultivating trust is paramount for effective community outreach. However, trust often falters when animal welfare organizations impose their vision of the human-animal bond on culturally diverse communities. To foster sustainable, generational change, we must acknowledge the historical issues in animal welfare's engagement with racialized communities and adopt an inclusive, equity-centered approach. CARE's Community Animal Care (CAC) is an innovative, community-driven program designed for and by community members to prevent and solve persistent challenges to Human-Animal Welfare (HAW). CAC aims to shift the paradigm from outreach to "community inreach," which empowers community members to design and execute the program, centring their wisdom and leadership. CAC cultivates grassroots partnerships facilitating mutual aid, capacity building, resource distribution, and HAW support, encompassing but not limited to access to care, behaviour and enrichment support, compliance awareness, and surrender and economic euthanasia prevention. The core belief is that underserved communities can care for their pets' well-being with the right tools, and well-informed communities make sound choices for themselves and their pets. Join us for a panel discussion with CARE's CAC program directors, who will explore how CAC transforms the animal welfare landscape by prioritizing community leadership and equity, ushering in a new era of community-centric engagement.  

Key learnings  

• Discuss the limitations of the current approach to outreach in racialized communities.  
• Identify practical strategies for shifting from outreach to inreach.  
• Discuss practical steps for human and animal well-being organizations to challenge systemic inequities and promote comprehensive well-being for racialized communities and their pets.  

Women experiencing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) face an inadequate system of support that has additional barriers for women with animals. The majority of women's shelters do not take in animals, and women often face the impossible choice of leaving their companion(s) behind or staying and enduring more violence. To address this critical dimension of the Violence Link, Humane Canada launched the ACT (Awareness, Collaboration, Tools) Project for Women with Animals Experiencing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in December 2021 with generous funding from Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) Canada.  

Survivors with animals who experience GBV often encounter a system that does not offer solutions for their animals as survivors flee violence. Through cross-collaboration between human and animal service organizations, innovative and creative solutions have been built to support survivors of GBV and their animals. Over the past two years, the ACT Project has worked with cross-sector organizations across Canada to develop the ACT (Awareness, Collaboration, Tools) To Keep Families Safe Model to guide program development and emerging practices that support survivors experiencing gender-based violence with animals. This model aims to help organizations better support survivors in overcoming barriers toward securing a violence-free future.  

The session will highlight key opportunities to participate in this initiative through:  

1. Raising awareness and increasing communication about the Violence Link;  
2. Engaging in cross-sectoral collaboration and the importance of building networks and partnerships and  
3. Accessing education, tools, and resources to support organizations responding to women with animals experiencing GBV.  

Key learnings  

• Understand the complexities of leaving an abusive relationship and the increased barriers to securing safe, affordable, and animal-friendly shelter or housing for survivors of gender-based violence and their animals.  
• Learn about Humane Canada's ACT (Awareness, Tools, Collaboration) to Keep Families Safe Model and utilize the model's information and tools in their work to support survivors of gender-based violence and their animals.  
• Learn the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration and partnership building and the opportunities on the ACT To Keep Families Safe Online Learning Centre to learn how to develop networks and partnerships to support work with survivors of gender-based violence and animals.  

Animal Welfare leaders often struggle to develop and operationalize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Although studies show that DEI is critical for organizational success and sustainability, many leaders still need help getting buy-in and maintaining momentum. Moreover, DEI efforts have been recently targeted as divisive and polarizing initiatives that should be disbanded, further complicating how leaders leverage data and research to build stronger, culturally responsive organizations.  

This session uses a case study to demonstrate the - real-life needs and challenges when it comes to establishing and maintaining effective diversity, equity, and inclusion practices for animal welfare organizations. Using findings from the 2021 Animal Welfare Audit sponsored by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement coupled with research from MSM Global Consulting; the presenters share strategies to implement a strategic DEI plan effectively.  

Key learnings  

1. Discuss challenges affecting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in animal welfare.  
2. Explore lessons learned from developing and operationalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion.  
3. Identify strategies to create sustainable practices that foster diversity, equity, equity and inclusion among animal welfare organizations.  

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

While the love a family has for their pet knows no bounds, the unfortunate reality is that the financial security of these families often becomes a significant hurdle to accessing essential veterinary care. Improving access to care is not limited to the subsidized/non-profit setting: Veterinary practices and shelters are members of a broader ecosystem of service providers that support pet-owning families. This lecture invites attendees to explore opportunities to reimagine how they might contribute to expanding access to veterinary care. By working together and offering a range of evidence-based diagnostic and treatment options, there are opportunities to build trust, help bridge the access-to-care gap and effectively serve more pet-owning families that current financial models of care currently underserve. This lecture will review the current realities related to access to veterinary care and emphasize the pivotal role of collaboration among veterinary practices, shelters, and various stakeholders in creating a network of local resources to collectively narrow the gap in access to care. As we explore different strategies for care, let's collectively strive to transform our practices, build collaborative networks, and make a tangible difference in the lives of pet-owning families.  

Key learnings  

• Understand the implications of current financial models for providing veterinary care on animal health and wellbeing.  
• Strategies that permit expanded access to veterinary care to help narrow the current gap of access to veterinary care for pet families.  
• Communication strategies enable shared decision-making to identify and agree on an approach prioritizing patient comfort and quality of life.  

We are repeatedly warned that catastrophic natural disasters will likely become more frequent, creating a sense of urgency to better prepare for disaster animal response. This urgency, coupled with the integral role that companion animals occupy in peoples’ lives, presents an opportunity to plan for better coordination of animal rescue during natural disasters, including mandatory evacuation orders.  

This session will share the results of stakeholder perspectives gathered during the summer and fall of 2023 on the status of integrated and collaborative approaches to disaster animal response, as well as insights on what formal protocols could accomplish. The primary focus of the research was to gather the perspectives of Nova Scotians after the May 2023 wildfires that resulted in significant loss of property and companion animals. The research also includes responses from some jurisdictions across Canada and national animal welfare agencies.  

Now more than ever, many view companion animals as family members, and they occupy a central role in peoples’ health and well-being. A lack of coordination for animal rescue continues to add confusion and panic for companion animal owners facing emergencies. It jeopardizes the safety and well-being of people, their pets, and, in some cases, first responders. Studies on lessons learned from similar disasters warn that treating animals the same way as property disregards the depth of care people have for their companion animals and the lengths they will go to protect them. 

Key learnings 

• Inform conference attendees on the results of research that explores protocols governing animal disaster response  
• Encourage discussion on ways to improve disaster animal response  
• Motivate action in the area of disaster animal response to prevent animal suffering and save lives. 

Remote communities often experience barriers to accessing veterinary care, especially spaying and neutering. As a result, there is often a dog overpopulation in many remote communities, leading to public health and animal welfare concerns. Temporary community-based surgical spay/neuter clinics can be costly and challenging to offer regularly.

Deslorelin acetate hormonal implants are a quick, non-surgical sterilization option for male and female dogs. They do not replace surgical sterilization but have advantages including ease of administration, minimal equipment needed, minimal staff required, can be used in any climate, quick to administer, may be more accepted in some communities that have little exposure to veterinarians and are much less stressful on the animal compared to surgery.

On the other hand, hormonal implants have their disadvantages, such as access, cost, storage, reporting, potential medical side effects, slow absorption and temporary efficacy. The Winnipeg Humane Society started offering hormonal implants to remote, fly-in communities in 2019. This presentation will provide an overview of barriers to accessing veterinary care for remote communities, what hormonal implants are, their advantages and disadvantages, and their potential use to increase access to veterinary care in remote communities.  

Key learnings  

• Attendees will learn about barriers to accessing veterinary care in remote communities. 
• Attendees will learn what hormonal implants are and their use as an option to address barriers to accessing veterinary care in remote communities.  
• Attendees will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of hormonal implants as a non-surgical sterilization option.

This session room is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Canada.

To embrace the one welfare model, we must understand that animal welfare agencies will be better equipped to help more animals when there are systems and resources in place to help the people. With a robust network of social services connected, animal shelters could increase their impact, with the potential to decrease unnecessary surrender, fall abandonment and neglect, all the while being an agency that is educated and empowered to connect individuals to the support they need. In short, no animal or person would be left behind.  

As the Calgary Humane Society moves into its next strategic plan, we are pivoting and growing the organization to be the center of that robust social services network, including: 

•  Implementing technology to develop a sustained stream of data to identify factors that lead to surrender,  
• Developing targeted and meaningful intake diversion that is proactive through education and the creation of resources and  
• Connecting to human social service agencies in the community to identify intersection points and determine opportunities for collaboration to lead to sustainable change.  

Learn how the Calgary Humane Society is working towards this incredible initiative and the potential for systemic change it poses!  

Key learnings  

• Why animal shelters should embody the one welfare model by developing connections with human social service agencies.  
• How technology can be pivotal in identifying and creating resources for intake diversion.  
• How this approach has the potential to decrease intake while connecting people to lifesaving support.  

Animal welfare organizations are continually asked to assist with feral cats. These organizations need help managing these requests, including financial concerns, the availability of vet appointments, high numbers of cats at one location or knowledge of trapping and working with feral cats. Because of these barriers, a common scenario in our field of work is groups intaking kittens without spaying and neutering the adults and addressing the entire colony. Unfortunately, this leaves caregivers, communities, and municipalities feeling frustrated and defeated as they don't know who to ask for help. But we know that the longer it takes for assistance, the larger and more severe the problem gets, which results in a call for help with a crisis. We want to address some of these barriers and share our knowledge and experience in effective management and the components of our programs for feral cat colonies, which we call "Community Cats."  

Community cats have always been on our radar, and the pandemic allowed us to implement our Community Cat Care and Management Programs as the restrictions still allowed us to assist while staying socially distanced. We opened a volunteer-driven, temporary spay/neuter facility where we have helped over 4,200 cats and spayed/neutered nearly 3,000. Our programs target municipalities (rural, small towns) and private homes (farms, rural properties). We continue to receive requests almost daily and are working through a waitlist of over 100 groups of cats.  

Key learnings  

• Recognizing the importance of community cat programs with community support and engagement.  
• Explore efficient and effective setup and delivery of cat programs.  
• Understanding various models and learning to adapt to different scenarios, both onsite and offsite.