The Best Friends Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Kitten season is coming! Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

It may be hard to believe, but kitten season is just around the corner. In a few weeks, animal shelters and rescues coast-to-coast will be struggling to find enough resources to save this adorable and most at-risk segment of the shelter population.

This week, Best Friends launched a national kitten fostering campaign that urges the public to sign up to become foster parents. Anyone who raises their hand will be connected with Best Friends Network partners in their area. The goal is to get as many people signed up as soon as possible. That allows the organizations and new foster parents to prepare before the kittens show up.

This week we checked in with the Best Friends team in Los Angeles. They’ve saved 22,000 kittens since 2012, so what have they learned that can help you maximize your lifesaving?

To learn more about the kitten foster campaign and how your shelter or rescue can take part, check out the Best Friends Network website: https://network.bestfriends.org/join-us/events/national-kitten-foster-campaign

Register for the upcoming Best Friends Network town hall, "the kittens are coming! Preparing your foster program ahead of kitten season." https://bestfriends-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/5416433133354/WN_EGP-2YykS3Ofh7qzrOlJJQ

The paradox of adopting out unaltered animals - continuing the conversation Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

There are 100,000 more pets in the care of shelters across the country than there were at this same time last year. It’s an overwhelming challenge and only exacerbated by the shortage of veterinary services.

In many communities, unsterilized animals are not allowed to go home with an adopter before the spay/neuter surgery. Unequivocally, Best Friends Animal Society supports the spaying and neutering of pets. But we also believe every healthy or treatable pet in shelters deserves a loving home.

Adopting unaltered animals is not something anyone wants to do. In an increasingly common scenario, shelters are forced to choose. Send an unfixed pet home with an adopter through the front door, or see that healthy or treatable pet leave through the back.

We spoke with the senior director of lifesaving centers for Best Friends, Sue Cosby, to talk more about this practice.

Read the latest editorial on the Best Friends Network, "the paradox of adopting out unaltered animals." https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/editorials/adopting-out-unaltered-animals

What to watch for in 2022 Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

As this new year gets underway, we’ve been thinking about what lies ahead for 2022. Of course, the last two years were a good reminder that even the best prognosticator can’t see everything coming, but that doesn’t mean we should stop thinking about the future.

We asked the experts and settled on a “top five” list of areas that are most likely to be affecting you in one way or another in the weeks and months ahead (if they’re not already!). By no means an exhaustive list, today’s episode focuses on community-supported sheltering, staffing, foster programs, cat lifesaving, and the veterinary resource crisis. So what is happening with these issues, what may lie ahead, and what can you do about them?

We sat down with Best Friends regional director Stacy Rogers to talk through the issues impacting shelters and rescue organizations across the country.

For resources related to this episode, check out the Best Friends Podcast website for episode 97: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-97

CARE Centers Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

As animal welfare focuses more on supporting pets and their people, how do we best provide those services in areas that historically have not had essential resources, such as veterinary services and pet supplies?

CARE (Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity) recently launched a new program, CARE Centers. A model through which they hope will provide those services and engage the "proximate leaders" from within those neighborhoods. It's a unique approach and, if successful, could lead to CARE Centers across the country.

What is the model, how does it work, and what does the future hold? We spoke with Mike Bricker, the Chief Strategy Officer for CARE to learn more.

For resources related to this episode, check out the Best Friends Podcast website for episode 96: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-96

Cracking the code (rebroadcast) Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

The human-animal bond transcends all, regardless of where someone lives, their race, or how much they have in their bank account - pet ownership is for everyone. It’s a concept that is gaining more and more acceptance across animal welfare, and it has brought new approaches to keep people and pets together to the forefront.

There have been shifts in animal services (called animal control or field services, depending on where you are). Historically, animal services departments have primarily focused on code enforcement, often leading to punishment-based consequences. We know that disproportionately affects people of color and lower-income pet owners and may lead to pets being impounded, taken from their families when there are often solutions available to keep those pets where they belong - at home.

To learn more about how communities across the country are moving to more support-based animal services, we spoke with Ashley Anderson Mutch, the senior program manager of enforcement and policy reform with the Humane Society of the United States’s Pets for life program.

Resources from this episode:

Punishment to Support: The Need to Align Animal Control Enforcement with the Human Social Justice Movement: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1902
Best Friends: Humane Animal Control Manual (PDF download): https://www.nacanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Best-Friends-Humane-Animal-Control-Manual.pdf
Best Friends Town Hall: The Human Connection: save more lives by building stronger relationships in communities: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-town-halls/human-connection
Best Friends Editorial: Field Services: Identifying Data Worth Collecting: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/editorials/field-services-identifying-data-worth-collecting
Best Friends: Animal Care and Control Resources: https://network.bestfriends.org/lifesaving-library/animal-care-control

Best of 2021 Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

For our 48th and final episode of 2021, we're looking back at some of the best moments of the year.

We had 66 different guests from 22 states, representing 40 organizations, rescues, foundations, and companies. They all had one thing in common; they shared their expertise and stories to help us all be more effective in our lifesaving work.

We covered a lot of topics this year. Everything from DEI initiatives to data, saving senior pets to staffing, strategic planning, saving cats and helping pet owners in rural America, and more. But this podcast is nothing without you, so from all of us at the Best Friends Network, thank you for listening, and we'll see you in 2022!

All the episodes featured in this best of:

Episode 52 - Julie Castle Returns!: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-52
Episode 51 - Serving the underserved in Rural America: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-51
Episode 74 - Helping Indigenous people and their pets on the Navajo Nation: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-74
Episode 49 - A new day for animal sheltering in the United States: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-49
Episode 59 - Reimagining field services: Helping people and pets in Sacramento: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-33
Episode 68 - Unicorn Foster Squad: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-68
Episode 75 - It’s not rescue if they already have a home: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-75

How to establish and grow your animal welfare transport partnerships Dec 23, 2021

Show notes

It’s Christmas Eve-Eve, and we hope you are having a safe and happy holiday season.

As we talked about last week, the national level lifesaving data is starting to show some concerning trends, such as increased length of stay. One key lifesaving strategy is transport - moving animals from one community to another with fewer adoptable pets and greater demand.

This episode is another fantastic session from the 2021 Best Friends National Conference. The presenter, Clare Callison from American Pets Alive!, shares her experience building transport programs and what you need to do to find, and cultivate, the right partnerships to create your own sustainable, effective transport program.

Check out all of the episodes of The Best Friends Podcast: https://bestfriends.org/podcast

Selected resources for this episode:

Best Friends Network Transport Connection Map: https://network.bestfriends.org/transport-connection-map
Best Friends online course - Lifesaving through Transport Programs: https://rise.articulate.com/share/7Yyp-UkFTUc2HGH3tgmjy2BJVxJYBxNg#/
Best Friends Network town hall - Transport during a pandemic: https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/covid-19-town-halls/transport-during-pandemic
Best Friends Network - Removing rescue roadblocks: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/program-spotlights/removing-rescue-roadblocks

Check out the full list of resources for episode 93 here: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-93

Length of stay in animal shelters on the rise Dec 16, 2021

Show notes

As the world attempts to return to some sense of normalcy, we're still feeling the impacts of the global pandemic across animal welfare. While there have been positives for the industry, the disruption of our daily lives over the last two years is showing its impact on lifesaving, and it's not all good news.

One particular data point trending in the wrong direction is length of stay (LOS). This measurement is the amount of time an animal is in the shelter and can be a valuable tool to evaluate the efficacy of the lifesaving programs. If there are programs in place, and they are working, LOS will be shorter. Conversely, LOS will increase if fewer animals leave the shelter to positive outcomes through avenues such as adoption.

This week we chat with senior director of national programs for Best Friends, Brent Toellner, about this concerning upward trend in LOS across the country and what shelters and rescue organizations can do to keep animals moving through to positive outcomes.

Resources for this episode:

Best Friends network: Length of stay manual
Best Friends network town hall: Reducing Length of Stay at Your Shelter
Best Friends network editorial: Help! We Just Can’t Keep Up!
Best Friends: Removing Rescue Roadblocks

Check out all of the episodes of The Best Friends Podcast here: bestfriends.org/podcast

Serving both ends of the leash in Spokane Dec 09, 2021

Show notes

When there is a pet in need, there is often a person in need. That intersection of people and pets is at the heart of a new partnership in the state of Washington.

As the COVID-19 pandemic set in, the unknowns about the next few weeks and months raised concerns about the impact on pets. Would owners need help if they are struggling with illness? What would happen to the economy, and how would evictions impact pet owners? Unfortunately, affordable, pet-friendly housing is already in critically short supply across the country.

In late 2020, Best Friends launched a pilot project in Spokane, Washington, bringing together Best Friends Network partner SpokAnimal and Catholic Charities Eastern Washington - a “human welfare” organization that provides food, shelter, clothing, and assistance to anyone in need across the area. As the pilot project nears one year since its inception, we look to see if this strategic partnership is achieving its goal of keeping people and pets together.

Links from this episode:

Applying 12-Step principles to succeed, stay sane, and save lives Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

Happy holidays to you from all of us here at The Best Friends Podcast!

This is the busiest time of the year for many in animal welfare, with the end-of-year fundraising efforts in full swing. December is when we often focus on giving to others, but we want to ensure you don’t forget about yourself! This week’s episode focuses on our personal well-being courtesy of Melissa Treuman, the Senior Director of Communications for Bideawee.

Melissa delivered this presentation during the 2021 Best Friends National Conference. She tells us how applying simple, proven 12-step principles (in and out of the office) can help us reduce stress, cultivate compassion, promote healthy communication, improve relationships, and fulfill personal goals. All of which will help us in our lifesaving work.

You can find the slides for Melissa's presentation on The Best Friends Podcast website.

https://bestfriends.org/podcast

<a href="https://network.bestfriends.org/tools-and-information/best-friends-podcast">Click here to check out all the episodes from the podcast.</a>