The Best Friends Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Julie Castle on Saving America's Pets Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

On behalf of all of us at Best Friends, we'd like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Season two of the Best Friends network vlog series Saving America's Pets wrapped up recently, and we're thrilled to share the finale on the podcast. The host of Saving America's Pets, Chief Mission Officer for Best Friends Holly Sizemore, talks with Best Friends CEO Julie Castle about a recent award recognizing her leadership and the strong workplace culture at Best Friends.

You can check out all of the episodes of Saving America's Pets here: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/saving-americas-pets-vlog

Changing minds with David McRaney Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

When was the last time you tried to change someone's mind? A discussion on the internet, perhaps. Maybe a dinner with family or friends led to a heated debate. Or it may have been in your day-to-day work as you try to get everyone on board with proven lifesaving strategies - even though those approaches may be different than what you've always done.

Why is it so difficult to change minds?

David McRaney is a journalist, podcaster, and author who took his fascination with cognitive biases and irrational beliefs a step further for his upcoming book; How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion.

From hot button issues such as climate change or accepting new strategies to save more dogs and cats, David talks with us about the cognitive biases that play a role in all of us being, as he calls it, "unaware of how unaware we are." We also hear why, when it comes to changing a mind, a little bit of empathy goes a long way.

Check out the website for The Best Friends Podcast: https://bestfriends.org/podcast

The healing power of pets: connecting shelter dogs and veterans Nov 11, 2021

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On behalf of everyone at Best Friends, we’d like to wish all brave men and women who have served in the armed forces a Happy Veteran’s Day! To commemorate this special day, we talk about the healing power of pets and how the right animal can help veterans through tough times as they readjust to life back at home.

We all know the healing power of animals. Studies have shown that the benefits of sharing your life with a pet range from decreased stress levels to lower blood pressure - some studies have even shown that animals can reduce pain and ease depression and anxiety.

Marie Peck, the founder of The Fetch Foundation in Arizona, is this week’s guest. We learn how their “Homeless 2 Hero” program takes dogs facing euthanasia in shelters and trains them to become heroes in their own right, providing the kind of support and unconditional love to veterans that only a dog can provide.

Language matters Nov 04, 2021

Show notes

Every industry, including animal welfare, uses jargon - the terms and acronyms familiar to those working within the field but often leaves everyone else scratching their heads. The alphabet soup of acronyms and technical language can confuse the public and makes saving lives more difficult.

Best Friends recently conducted a research project to understand better the public’s knowledge of and affinity for the myriad terms used around cats and cat issues. What did we learn?

This week we're joined by Best Friends marketing manager Amy Dávila Sánchez who breaks down the research results.

The period to submit session proposals to speak at the 2022 Best Friends National Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina is now open but closes on November 19th. Submit now: https://bestfriends.org/events/best-friends-national-conference/speaking-proposals

Building partnerships to maximize lifesaving Oct 28, 2021

Show notes

We save more lives working together than we do if we all go it alone.

Lifesaving coalitions - partnerships between the shelter and those from the rescue community - can be incredibly effective. This week we are sharing a session from the 2021 Best Friends National Conference that offers tips on how to forge those relationships. You’ll also get some ideas about how to create targeted programs to save the most vulnerable pets in your community.

Interested in speaking at the 2022 Best Friends National Conference? The submission period for proposals is now open! Click here to learn more.

The art of storytelling for year end fundraising Oct 21, 2021

Show notes

As the calendar year begins to wind down, one group of people in animal welfare are just getting warmed up - the fundraisers.

Roughly one-third of all donations to nonprofits come in the last 31 days of the year. For some organizations, December's donations amount to more than half of their overall fundraising for the entire year, so it's a critical time.

At the core of every good end-of-year campaign is a good story, and every single day the work we do presents us with countless stories as we impact the lives of people and pets. So which stories are the best ones to use for your end-of-year fundraising campaigns?

Who you're talking to, what you're asking for, how you're asking it, and where you're asking are all big questions, so we thought that we'd sit down with Trish Tolbert, the senior development strategist for the national embed team at Best Friends.

Check out this piece on the Best Friends Network about telling your story: Harnessing the Power of Story to Benefit your Bottom Line

Interested in speaking at the 2022 Best Friends National Conference? The submission period for proposals is now open! Click here to learn more.

Keeping ourselves whole (rebroadcast) Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

We all know how important the work being done in the animal welfare field is right now. But dealing with the pandemic and other serious issues such as the growing staffing crisis - on top of all the demands associated with living in this moment in time - has certainly not made working in thefield any easier. These challenges are driving people away from the field at what seems like a higher rate than ever.

But as you’ll hear from today’s guest, certified professional coach Meryl Schwarz, even the smallest of actions you do for yourself can make a world of difference in your day-to-day work.

The period to submit session proposals to speak at the 2022 Best Friends National Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina opens October 11th. To learn more, click here to visit the conference website.

Expanding our reach with multilingual marketing Sep 30, 2021

Show notes

For decades, the lack of positive outreach into bilingual communities has left generations of people unaware of animal shelters, what is happening at them, and how they, as pet lovers, can help save lives. And it truly is millions of pet owners. The Hispanic community alone accounts for more than 22-million pet owners.

The focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion across the industry has brought visibility to the untapped potential for more pet lovers in our communities, ready to help us achieve our goal of ending the killing of pets in shelters by 2025. But multilingual marketing is a specific skill and an area where you must act with intention if you are going to reach this untapped market effectively.

This week we talked with Mia Navedo-Williams, the manager of multicultural marketing at Best Friends. We learned more about the history of animal welfare’s involvement in the Hispanic community (or lack thereof). We also learn about setting ourselves up for success as we all do more to support all pet owners across the nation.

To learn more about Mia and the multilingual efforts of Best Friends, and to access the resources mentioned in the episode, check out the website: Episode 82 - Expanding our reach with multilingual marketing

"I just trust people" Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Have you ever owned a pet you acquired for free as a stray? Do you love that pet any less than others you’ve had in your life?

For decades the conventional wisdom was that charging adoption fees was the right thing to do. It would dissuade anyone from a spur-of-the-moment decision that might end in a return, and not charging a fee would devalue the pet, and in turn, adopters wouldn’t love the pet the same. If you can get it for free, why care for it? After more than twenty years of this research, there is no evidence that reducing or eliminating adoption fees does either of those things. So why do we still see so much resistance to it?

This week we talk with Dr. Karen Sheppard, the director of Huntsville Animal Services in Alabama, who shares how adoption promotions played a role in taking Huntsville to where it is today - a no-kill model for the entire nation.

Professionalizing the profession Sep 17, 2021

Show notes

Animal welfare is more professional than it’s ever been. Across the country, collectively, we’re saving more lives on any given day than some ever thought possible. We have a greater understanding of the role pets play in our individual lives and within our communities. More than ever, our industry strives to preserve the human-animal bond and keep families together.

So why are we still fighting to have animal welfare recognized as a critical community service?

Today’s guest, Tawny Hammond from Best Friends, identified this disconnect and leaned into her background in training and development in municipal government to launch the Best Friends Executive Leadership Certification Program. The first in an ever-growing suite of educational opportunities designed to continue what she calls “professionalizing the profession.”

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