April 17, 2019
Categories: Announcements, Continuing Education, Events, Grants, Conferences

We’re having a blast at Humane Society of the United States Animal Care Expo in New Orleans! We’ve just started celebrating our 25th anniversary and we’re so excited to be sharing it with Good Humans, like you.

We kicked off the week with Foster is the Future Learning Lab, hosted by some of the best in the industry. Dr. Sheila Segurson, Kelly Duer, Kristen Auerback, Kristi Brooks and Sarah Aguilar led an insightful day-long session that got wheels turning.

For example, Kristi Brooks, the director of operations for Cat Adoption Team (CAT), shared that they move their socialization kittens (those that are between eight and sixteen weeks) every two weeks to different foster homes in order to improve their socialization skills.

Comedian Hal Sparks and founder of Marley’s Mutts, Zach Skow brought both humor and heart to their speeches on Monday afternoon.

Dr. Michael Blackwell’s keynote speech on Tuesday was nothing short of inspiring and hopeful. He spoke about the importance of not dismissing someone if they have a bad idea. The fact that they spoke up is important, and you don’t want to prevent people from doing so in the future. He added the importance of understanding different communication styles, and that you can have all the good intentions in the world, but “tone is everything.”

Tuesday saw the return of Foster Family Feud, hosted by our own Dr. Michael Greenberg. We had so much fun with this session last year, that we had to bring it back. Who hasn’t wanted to play the fast money round??

 

Our mini workshops on foster care and Maddie’s University were short-n-sweet, but not short on information. We made the most of 15 minutes.

 

 

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Because the learning doesn’t stop here… Thanks @maddiesfund for telling us all about Maddie’s University! When do I start? #animalcareexpo

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Of course, we have been having so much fun at the booth, meeting new people and seeing old friends. Our take on the popular game Plinko from The Price Is Right has been a huge hit. Congratulations are in order for all the organizations who have won grants thus far. There’s still time to play! See you all in a little bit!