Madi R. Hawkins, Director of Habersham County Animal Care & Control in Georgia, loves cats. She especially loves being in charge of a shelter that’s committed to saving them — even though it hasn’t always been that way. “The polices in place when I first started, especially in regards to feral cats, were heartbreaking,” she… Learn More

“Every cat counts.” That’s the motto of our funded Million Cat Challenge, and it’s one Maddie’s Fund® wholeheartedly believes in. That’s why, from April 29 to May 31, 2016, we gave 596 grants totaling $617,500 to shelters that joined the Challenge, and to Challenge shelters that referred new participants. The Million Cat Challenge was launched… Learn More

When you hear the word “technology,” do you think it has nothing to do with your efforts to save animals? Does the word itself leave you cold? Next month, Maddie’s Fund® CIO Lars Rabbe will be launching a series of posts on how technology is the missing link in finding homes and habitats for the… Learn More

One of the greatest obstacles to developing animal welfare leaders is the very thing that brings people into the field in the first place: compassion. Unfortunately, unless people who work with animals learn how to keep themselves emotionally healthy and balanced while doing this important work, they’ll be at high risk of leaving their job,… Learn More

Lynda Foro, who in 1995 created the original No Kill Conference, passed away on December 27, 2016. Foro was an animal lover and not part of the humane movement when she first heard of the concept of “No Kill” in 1992. After visiting an animal sanctuary and educating herself on what was then only a… Learn More

Do you want to reduce shelter intake by 20 percent in one year at your local animal shelter? Try providing underserved communities with the resources they need to keep pets in their homes. That’s exactly what Saving Sunny, Inc., did in a community in Kentucky. Co-founders Maureen Keenan and Kelsey Westbrook shared their story of… Learn More

There’s renewed interest in identifying shelter dogs not by breed but by their physical and personality traits. What’s prompted that, and is it an idea whose time has come? The idea itself isn’t new. Some adoption organizations did away with breed labels long ago, with some simply calling them “All American Shelter Dogs.” In fact,… Learn More

Is not knowing what we don’t know hurting the animals in our care? Recently, APSCAPro published a blog post, “We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know.” It was about how shelter dogs pegged as having “behavior problems” often didn’t have those same behaviors in a foster home. They turned out to be shelter-specific behaviors, and… Learn More

Community cats: If you’ve got them, Best Friends wants to help. They’ve written a book covering everything from the ABCs to the rocket science of community cat management, and they’re giving it away as a free download! Topics covered include: The history of the TNR movement The importance of leadership Who in your community is… Learn More

Why would we tell you not to think about the animals? Because as counter intuitive as it may seem, you’ll probably find that spending less time thinking how to do a better job helping animals and more time doing and thinking about nothing in particular can create space for the very insight you need to… Learn More