(If you got this directly from MAC, you are already on the list)
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"CREATIVE IDEAS FOR FOSTER CARE"
NOW SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 29, 2017
We are finally able to announce that our 2017 All About Dogs meeting will be on October 29, 2017 at Tufts! After two snow dates last winter some things have changed. Number one, the weather! Number two, our speaker will be Kelly Duer from Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Virginia. Our original speaker, Kristen Auerbach, will not be available on that date and she highly recommended Kelly, who she has worked with extensively. The topic remains basically the same. You can read Kelly's bio in the text towards the end of this announcement.
ACTION REQUIRED: If you registered for this presentation in January of 2017 and did not cancel or request & receive a refund, we still have your money or your pass confirmed, and that guarantees you a seat for this event. However, YOU MUST WRITE TO US at
info@massanimalcoalition.org
AND CONFIRM THAT YOU STILL PLAN TO ATTEND. This will ensure that everyone who is currently registered still intends to keep their seat.
If we don't hear from you
by
AUGUST 31, 2017 we will refund your registration. We will open registration again for this meeting on August 16th to MAC members and then to MAC friends.
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All About Dogs - Creative Ideas for Foster Care
When
:
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Time:
9:30 am Registration & Light Breakfast; Meeting starts promptly at 10:00 am, will end no later than 4:00 pm
Where
:
Agnes Varis Campus Center at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 5 Jumbo's Path, North Grafton.
PLEASE NOTE: We are guests at Tufts and dogs are not allowed on campus - in classrooms or in cars.
More details:
There will be a small raffle so bring a few bucks to buy tickets!
We will serve a vegetarian/vegan lunch.
About the meeting:
Medium and large adult dogs are still one of the most at-risk groups in shelters, and many struggle with dogs that display behavioral challenges such as kennel stress, lack of socialization and barrier reactivity. In this workshop we'll discuss how the results of a two-year study of behavioral fostering can be leveraged to increase lifesaving in your organization.
This
Fairfax County, Virginia study placed 52 medium and large dogs at risk of euthanasia for behavioral reasons in foster homes and followed these dogs for up to 18 months post adoption. 90% of these dogs not only made it out the front door, but became beloved family members. The results of the study, and the creative foster methods it utilized, illustrate how to push the limits of fostering in order to save more lives.
This workshop, based on the
Medium and Large Adult Dog Foster Apprenticeships at Austin Animal Center, will teach participants to create and manage a comprehensive adult dog foster program. Lessons include combining volunteer and foster programs to increase capacity; choosing dogs for program inclusion; identifying and training foster families; building a behavioral support program through foster; marketing program dogs; and providing foster and adopter support.
Our Speaker: 
In 2013, Kelly Duer and her family took home their first behavioral foster dog from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Since then, she has fostered over 60 of these dogs while training others how to become adult dog fosters and implement foster programs for adult dogs.
Kelly is the Foster Expansion Coordinator for a national study of foster care for medium and large dogs with long shelter stays. She also manages the Maddie's Medium and Large Adult Dog Foster Apprenticeships at AAC, which brings shelter leaders from across the country to Austin, Texas to learn how to implement foster programs for adult dogs.
Kelly is the founding president of Fairfax County Animal Advocates and is an advisory board member for NOVA Pets Alive, organizations that were created to improve animal welfare in Fairfax County and help shelters in the state of Virginia to save more lives. Her work has been featured in Animal Sheltering magazine, the Huffington Post, Best Friends magazine, BarkPost, BuzzFeed, and on HuffPost Live and Fox News. Kelly has presented at various conferences including the Best Friends National Conference and HSUS Animal Care Expo.
MAC thanks the following sponsors of All About Dogs:
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License Plate Grant Update
Our five member Grant Awards committee recently reviewed grant application packages and made recommendations for funding. On the task force are an animal control officer, a veterinarian, a MAC member, and two members of the shelter and rescue community. We have 185k to grant out and we received many applications for fantastic projects. Recipient letters will be going out shortly!
Many thanks to our grant committee for their hard work!
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Save the Date for Hot Topics Meeting!
Mark your calendar for our
November 19th Hot Topics meeting. We will be talking about hoarding. How many of us have encountered people who hoard animals? How does it affect your work? What happens when someone who rescues animals might be c
 onsidered someone who hoards? What about the quality of life for animals who are trapped in such an environment? What have we learned about keeping animals in institutional settings? This will be a fascinating discussion that you won't want to miss. Stay tuned for more details!
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Update on Influenza in Cats & Dogs
by Chelsea Reinhard, DVM, MPH
Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Resident, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
You may be hearing a lot about the flu in dogs and cats in the news recently. Coughing and sneezing in dogs and cats can have a variety of causes, with viruses and bacteria being potential culprits. In recent years, influenza A viruses have been identified as a cause of respiratory disease in both dogs and cats in the United States. There are different subtypes of influenza A viruses, and they are named based on two proteins found on the surface of the virus, abbreviated H and N.
H7N2, a bird flu virus, was identified in sick cats in a New York City shelter system last winter. This rare subtype of influenza had not been previously reported in domestic cats, and it unknown how a cat came in contact with the virus. During this outbreak, which seems to have been isolated to this shelter system, one person working with the cats tested positive (hundreds of people were tested) for the virus and recovered from mild illness. Though influenza is not common in cats, sick cats should be evaluated by a veterinarian; early intervention in shelters is important to providing treatment to the ill and minimizing the spread of disease. There is no vaccine available for influenza in cats.
Two different influenza A virus subtypes cause dog flu: H3N8 and H3N2. In 2004, the first cases of H3N8 were identified as a cause of illness in dogs in Florida. This virus, which originated in horses, gained the ability to spread from dog to dog. H3N8 is now endemic in parts of the US, including New York and Pennsylvania. H3N2 was first identified in the during a canine respiratory disease outbreak in the Chicago area in March 2015. H3N2, a subtype originating in birds, spread to other states and was diagnosed in a group of cats in a shelter with dogs that were infected. There has not been evidence that canine influenza infects humans. In May of this year, H3N2 was diagnosed in dogs in several southeastern US states. Recent information on H3N2 surveillance in the US can be found at Animal Health Diagnostic Center website: https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/news/civchicago.cfm.
Influenza virus is transmitted dog to dog (or cat to cat) by direct contact, aerosolized respiratory secretions from an infected animal, or exposure to contaminated hands or objects, such as clothing. The symptoms of canine influenza can include coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, and lethargy, not dissimilar from signs of "kennel cough". Some dogs can develop more severe illness, such as pneumonia. Dogs of any age are susceptible to infection, and the flu can spread quickly. There are vaccines available for dogs for both canine influenza subtypes, and two doses appropriately spaced are required to develop an immune response. Talk to your organization's veterinarian for additional information on their use. With the transport of animals from other parts of the US, it is important to be vigilant in watching for signs of respiratory disease. Because the signs of influenza look the same as other common causes of disease, it is recommended that animals showing evidence of illness are evaluated by a veterinarian.
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Volunteer Spotlight
You know that person who always goes above and beyond for the animals? The person whose hea
rt is so big you wonder why it doesn't burst from their body? The person who oozes compassion? We at AniMatch know that person! Her name is Michelle Parsons and we count our blessings everyday because she is our volunteer. Many of you, if you participate in AniMatch, know Michelle and know how persistent she is when advocating for an animal. She always goes
the extra mile, thinking outside the box to come up with solutions for animals in need.
Michelle is one of those unsung heroes and we wanted to take a moment to sing her praises and acknowledge all that she does for animals and for the people who work to help animals.
Thank you Michelle!
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Help Support the Adoption of Animals Used in Research!
On Tuesday, July 11, the Joint Committee on Public Health held a hearing on two bills filed on behalf of dogs and cats in research laboratories in Massachusetts. House Bill 2454, "An Act Relative to the Adoption of Animals Used in Research," was filed by filed by Representative Carolyn Dykema. House Bill 3232, "An Act Protecting Research Animals," was filed by Representative Michelle DuBois. A similar bill was also filed in the Massachusetts State Senate by Senator Bruce Tarr. The purpose of all bills is to require institutions that use dogs and cats in research to offer them for adoption after the research has been completed, as long as they survive the research and
are healthy. Laboratory animal veterinarians will make the final determination of whether a dog or cat is adoptable, and laboratories will be protected from any liabilities that arise after the dog or cat is relocated to either a shelter or a private individual. Dr. Joann Lindenmayer, MAC Board member, testified in support of both bills on behalf of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition, joined by Attorney Kara Holmquist of MSPCA and Stephanie Harris, Director of HSUS-Massachusetts.
Almost all dogs used in laboratory research are beagles that are bred specifically for this purpose because of their sweet and docile dispositions. It's estimated that 40,000 dogs are used in research annually in the US, approximately 2,000 of them in Massachusetts institutions. Local members of Beagle Freedom Project have supported similar "Right to Release" legislation that has become law in California, New York, Minnesota, Connecticut and Rhode Island, and is under consideration in Massachusetts, Illinois, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey, Hawaii and North Dakota.
Please make a quick, polite call to your state senator and state representative to urge them to support H.2454 and H.3232. Click here to look up your representative's phone number and send a message of support for these bills.
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MAC Long-time Meeting Sponsor, The Animal Legal Defense Fund
: A
Current Court Success and a Timely Campaign
Over the last thirty-five years, with a mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals in the legal system, ALDF (
www.aldf.org) has engaged in cutting-edge litigation, established and advanced the field of animal law, and has helped prosecutors to secure countless cruelty convictions across the country.
ALDF continues to be a legal resource to all for everything about
animals and the law.
ALDF is proud of its recent success in courts declaring as unconstitutional, so called "Ag-gag" laws that make it a crime to engage in undercover work to expose animal cruelty in facilities housing animals such as in factory farms, but also reaching puppy-mill operations. ALDF is the only organization to close down a puppy-mill by successfully petitioning a court (in North Carolina). And, an important current campaign addresses the "dogs in hot cars" issue. Our MA bill permits under certain circumstances for even ordinary citizens to intervene to reach a suffering dog as a last resort so long as initial steps have been met. ALDF cautions that even with bills such as ours, to be sure there are witnesses to confirm why the ordinary citizen entered the car to save the dog(s), and to no matter what, first call 911, and try to locate the driver. Along with a windshield sunshade it sells advertising the dangers of dogs left in hot cars, ALDF also suggests asking businesses to post notices on their outside doors about the harms of leaving dogs in hot cars.
ALDF has notices that can be downloaded from their site.
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TNR Makes the News in the Boston!
Read the story on TNR, the work of dedicated individual trappers and our friends at Charles River Alleycats that was featured in the Boston Globe magazine on July 11!
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SEEKING SCANNER-LESS ACOs!
We often hear from Animal Control Officers in search of scanners. In order for them to do their jobs ACOs need a way to determine whether an animal is lost, owned or abandoned. Town budgets are tight. MAC is interested in trying to help. If you are an ACO or know of an ACO in need of a scanner please send an email to
info@massanimalcoalition.org and give us the name of the officer, the town(s) s/he represents, and contact info for that officer AND his/her supervisor. We have limited funds but would like to see scanners in all corners of the state! If you would like to make a donation to help cover the cost of a scanner please visit
If you have a scanner that is not being used and would like to donate it to an ACO who is scanner-less let us know by emailing us at info@massanimalcoalition.org or just bring it to a MAC meeting!
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Not a Member Yet? Time to Renew? Join MAC Today and Make a Difference for Animals
If you're not a MAC member, please consider becoming one and help support the work we do. Individual memberships are just $10/year! Joining MAC is a great way to become more involved in animal welfare, meet others who are doing similar work, make friends and connections, and hear from experts in the field. For more info visit our membership page.
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