The Best Friends Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Cultivating Resilience May 08, 2020

Show notes

Stress and adversity are part of life. How we deal with it is what matters most. How do we stay gritty, persevere, and show up as our best selves even amid a pandemic?

By building our personal resilience, we increase our ability to cope, and that allows us to face adversity head-on and stay in the driver's seat. An important goal when the animals are depending on us.

Another in a series of episodes that focus on wellness, we spoke with Lyn Christian of Soul Salt, an expert who is helping people develop resiliency during difficult times. We also dropped in on Minneapolis, where the shelter director talked with us about her resiliency skills from 25 years in the field.

When the Budgets Get Tough, the Tough Get Going May 05, 2020

Show notes

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming clearer for municipal governments, and the projected revenue shortfalls are causing across the board budget cuts. Animal services in communities large and small are facing decisions on how to do more with less. How do you keep up lifesaving while also providing necessary services to the public when your budget is cut by 15%?

It will take community-wide collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to the animals and each other like never before.

We spoke with Ed Jamison of Dallas Animal Services as he leads his team, and community through this time of economic uncertainty.

Guests this week:

Ed Jamison, Dallas Animal Services

Compassionate Badassery Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

The work in animal welfare, municipal sheltering, and field services can be emotionally, mentally, and physically taxing. The emotional peaks and valleys affect us all differently but over time, the impact of them must be acknowledged. The evolution of our profession has spurred a heightened recognition of the need to care for ourselves and each other so that we can continue our lifesaving work.

This is the first in a series of episodes that will focus on wellness.

The conversations and discussions can be triggering or difficult, but we must care for ourselves and each other in the most authentic and compassionate way.

This week we hear from Amanda Paris, a shelter manager who is realizing the impact ten years in the field has left on her, and Jessica Dolce shares her expertise on how you can practice "compassionate badassery."

Norfolk, Virginia - Your Time has Come Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

Virginia is on the precipice of no-kill statewide but one of the cities that has not yet crossed the 90% threshold is the city of Norfolk, a coastal community in the Hampton Roads metro area.

A recent change in leadership converged with the need for community collaboration as the pandemic set in, and the results were nothing short of magnificent. If it was ever Norfolk's time, it's right now.

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Volunteers - Powering Lifesaving Everywhere Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

Feeling a little blue? The Pitt County Animal Shelter just might have the cure… if you're game enough to let it all hang out!

And it’s National Volunteer Week! We visited with a volunteer in Philly who hasn’t let a pandemic slow down her support for her local shelter. And a conversation with Gina Knepp, former director of the City of Sacramento Animal Shelter and now the Director of Shelter Outreach with Michelson Found Animals, who says trust is what matters the most when working with volunteers.

Guests this week:

Michele Whaley & the Pitt County Animal Shelter Dance Crew
Rachel Lawbaugh, Volunteer for ACCT Philly
Gina Knepp, Michelson Found Animals Foundation

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Chicago - A Story of COVID-19 Collaboration Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

There are communities around the country that are thriving during what is a very difficult time. What makes them so successful and what lessons can we all learn from them?

We'll be looking at some of those communities on The Best Friends Podcast and we're starting with Chicago. It's the 3rd largest city in the country and Chicago's municipal shelter, CACC, has not had the best reputation in the past for transparency and collaboration. There have been big improvements in collaborative lifesaving solutions over the last several years between the municipal shelter and rescue community and it couldn't have come at a better time.

A united front has helped rally the entire animal-loving public to step up in ways once thought unimaginable.

This episode features:

Jenny Schlueter, Chicago Animal Care and Control

Nicole Quattrocki, Fix Chicago

Heather Owen, One Tail at a Time Dog Rescue

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Front Line Lifesaving during COVID-19 Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

It's National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week and now, more than ever, we must appreciate the crucial work they do to save lives each and every day.

Animal control is always an essential service, especially during a pandemic, which means field services teams are shifting what they do and how they do it to ensure they're still providing services to the community in the face of social distancing while keeping both animals and people safe.

You'll hear three different perspectives on how COVID-19 is impacting the work of animal control officers, the front line ambassadors of animal services.

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Pivot on a Dime to Make a Buck Apr 14, 2020

Show notes

More than 16 million Americans have filed for unemployment… so far... and we don't know what the future will be. Adapting, pivoting, whatever you want to call it, doing it well gives us the best chance to get through this.

Saving lives takes money, so fundraising is always an integral part of what makes us successful. With a recession looming (and a potential depression), shifting your tactics to pivot on a dime is the only way you'll make the bucks you need to not only survive, but thrive.

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Julie Castle Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Necessity is the mother of invention” is a mantra that Best Friends CEO Julie Castle deeply believes in. It’s a mantra that established her position in animal welfare decades ago, and it’s a mantra that ignites her leadership of an industry that was suddenly dismantled and reassembled overnight. COVID-19 has meant the end of animal sheltering as American society has known it since the 19^th century. As an industry, we’ve experienced steady incremental progress over the last two centuries; in the last few weeks, we’ve experienced a complete paradigm shift.

Julie is not alone in her leadership at this pivotal moment, and she’s the first to both celebrate and be humbled by that fact. On this episode of the Best Friends Podcast, Julie talks about what she believes is the future of animal care and sheltering, the critical yet forgotten power of neighbors, and why she thinks that “the best of us is showing right now.

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Welcome to The Best Friends Podcast Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

An animal welfare professional’s typical day includes unparalleled joy and heart-wrenching despair, often in equal measure. Small triumphs are huge, huge losses are expected. The burn out is real but it’s the hard-won progress that sustains us.

This is the launch of the Best Friends Podcast. We'll bring you stories from the front lines of lifesaving. You’ll hear from leading experts on topics that impact all of us. These are stories that matter to shelters, rescue groups, and the animal welfare organizations that enable their service to a community and its animals. These are stories for all of us.

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