Next-level fostering from Maddie’s Idea Lab and American Pets Alive!

What do the American Pets Alive! Conference and Maddie’s® Idea Lab project results have in common? They both offer actionable, lifesaving advice that you can use in your community! And our very own Director of Research, Dr. Sheila D’Arpino, will be presenting some of those actionable findings during her session, Maddie’s® Idea Lab: Saving Lives… Learn More

Finding homes for cats pulled from a euthanasia list

Do cats pulled off the euthanasia list have a harder time getting adopted? Are they returned more often? Absolutely no to both, said Monica Frenden, cat program manager for Austin Pets Alive! At the 2015 American Pets Alive! No Kill Conference, Frenden gave a presentation on the organization’s success with cats pulled off the euthanasia… Learn More

How shelters and rescue groups should use email

In these days of social media, some rescue groups and shelters forget just how important an email strategy is. Does your organizatation have one? “Email is something that you’re always testing. It’s never solved,” said Amy Starnes, online fundraising manager for Best Friends Animal Society. “One important thing to remember, no matter what kind of… Learn More

Writing and photography for great cat adoption profiles

Ever wonder what makes a great cat adoption profile? Or better yet, how to acquire all the materials needed for one? “There are two main details that are significant and controllable from a marketing standpoint,” Ashley Ferry, cat foster manager for Austin Pets Alive!, said at the recent American Pets Alive! No-Kill Conference. “The cat’s… Learn More

Blueprint for creating and sustaining a dog foster program

A strong foster program can be the single factor that finally brings a community to no-kill. Just ask Ann Lindholm of Austin Pets Alive!, who took their foster program from a one-person operation to a team of more than 35 volunteers. In only three years they were supporting a network of over 1,200 foster parents… Learn More

Better photos and profiles for long-stay shelter dogs

Can one photo save the life of a long-standing pup? Absolutely, says Summer Huggins, volunteer photographer for Austin Pets Alive! But not just any photo will do. How about beginning a dog’s profile with an abbreviation? Not likely, says Elizabeth Doyle, senior creative copywriter for Best Friends Animal Society. At the American Pets Alive! 2015… Learn More

dog walk

Run those dogs right into new homes!

So you think your shelter’s already doing everything it can to get its dogs adopted. Maybe there’s one new trick you can learn from a bunch of dedicated runners! RuffTail Runners is an Austin, Texas, based running group that teamed up with a local sportswear store to get shelter dogs out for some exercise and… Learn More

Defining ‘customer service’ in animal shelters and rescue groups

The phrase “customer service” doesn’t always roll off the tongue of people in animal adoption circles. The people we interact with are adopters, not customers, and the pets in our care aren’t a product or service, but living beings. Right? Of course that’s true. But it doesn’t mean we can’t serve pets better, and save… Learn More

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