Goodwill of Central Iowa’s Post

July is #LostPetPreventionMonth. It's important for you and your pet to be set up for success in case they end up missing! The first thing to do if you are sure your pet is missing is call your local Animal Control. MHHS currently contracts with five municipalities: City of Albany, City of Schenectady, City of Troy, City of Watervliet, and the Town of Colonie. The big thing to know is that MHHS is the holding facility for these municipalities. If your pet has gone missing, you will be required to pay fines with your municipality, not with MHHS. Take a look at the MHHS Strays page to see if you recognize your missing pet: mohawkhumane.org/strays If you see your pet, email us to start the redemption process. There are different laws in regards to redeeming a cat or a dog, so please check out the details here, on our Finding and Redeeming page: https://lnkd.in/gvXb3Gjp #MHHS #FastFactFriday #petsafety #communitysafety #capitalregion

Local leaders working to help residents. With the community concern for speeding and racing in their neighborhoods, the lack of nearby grocery stores, the future demand on water, to weeds out of control, about 30 residents in north Odessa showed up to the Town Hall meeting Thursday night to voice their concerns. Mayor Javier Joven and Odessa City Council Member Greg Connell hosted the event. Very candid and heartfelt conversations occurred throughout. As the citizen concerns were voiced, the Director of Public Works along with Traffic, the Chief of Police, our Deputy City Manager, and the President of the Odessa Development Corporation Board, were all contributing to the conversations, in between intensive notetaking. Afterwards, the Chief of Police told Council Member Connell that the meeting was such a great idea! And it turned out to be so positive and productive. The room was filled with concerned citizens and concerned city representatives, working together to collect the information, to find future solutions. The community issues were received directly by the applicable departments. The citizens were also encouraged to work together on creative ideas, to use in their community, to promote safety and neighborhood goodwill. Our leaders want citizens to know they’re listening and acting for a brighter future here in Odessa. Last night’s Town Hall is the first in a series to come. They’re planning and hoping to be present in each of the five Odessa Council Districts. Helpful Contacts: Animal Control For the Field of Operations office, call 432-333-3641, option 8 Animal Shelter 432-368-3527 Code Enforcement 432-335-4680 https://lnkd.in/ghGsHk94 Solid Waste 432-368-3510 Billing & Collection 432-335-3204 https://lnkd.in/gQim4bRJ

Are you a dog person or a cat person? No matter your preference, there’s a furry friend waiting for you at the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter! Not ready to adopt? There are other ways you can make a difference in the life of a shelter animal. Read today’s blog article to learn about the shelter’s pet adoption process, foster program, essential services, and how you can make a positive impact on the lives of animals in your community. Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gNf8SDHF, and help us spread the word by sharing this post. #PetAdoption #FosterAPet #FRAS

Lifesaving animal shelter policy: - Do not impound eartipped community cats. They are already home outdoors and have been spayed or neutered. - If a non-eartipped community cat is impounded, immediately practice #TNR. Community cats are generally not adoptable and are extremely stressed in a shelter environment. TNR is the only humane, effective approach. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eWymq-7z

2023 is turning out to truly be the year of the dog. At the GTHS and around the country, dog and puppy homelessness has steadily risen leaving many Humane Societies and shelters at 100% capacity every single day.   At our Animal Centre, we are hearing stories of puppies abandoned in the countryside, and dog owners are admitting to releasing their dogs so animal control will pick them up because waitlists are too long. Pet parents are struggling with housing and are living pay cheque to pay cheque. Simultaneously, fewer people are opting to bring a puppy into their lives, leaving backyard breeders or ‘oops’ litters no choice but to turn to Humane Societies to care for their rapidly growing puppies. Read my latest blog https://lnkd.in/ghMVKmpZ and impact report https://lnkd.in/g2gUB3ra illustrating work of the GTHS for the first half of 2023.

If you care for pets on a stray hold, pre-adoption helps you make sure you're not missing out on interested adopters during the holding period. You might assume that only small, highly desirable dogs get pre-adopted, and they do! But Memphis Animal Services started pre-adoptions in 2019 and found that most of the dogs getting pre-adopted were actually medium dogs over 6 months old - the exact population most in need at their shelter. Are you interested in starting pre-adoptions at your org? Here's a step-by-step how-to for getting started!

Ever wondered about "capacity for care" in animal shelters? It's all about an organization's ability to house and care for pets properly with the resources available. Animal shelters can prioritize capacity for care by: 🐶 Reuniting lost pets with their families 😸 Helping families with resources needed to keep their pets 🐶 Placing pets in foster homes 😸 Ensuring quick and positive outcomes for pets But even shelters with the most consistent positive outcome programming can find themselves over capacity. Given the challenges of overcrowding and limited resources in many shelters, having a solid "At Capacity Action Plan" is essential. Check out our strategies for managing capacity challenges — download the free checklist: https://lnkd.in/gPrpv6a6 Interested in interested in learning more about the world of animal services? Join our Introduction to Animal Services course starting July 1st! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g6nhzchG

The roles and expectations of animal services is changing - and for the better. This is a great article about the changes taking place in Victoria, TX. In Victoria, officers are shifting from a punitive mindset -- where ticket writing was a major function of their work - to the "ice cream truck mentality" where they go into neighborhoods and try to help people with their pets. They're also spending more time per call -- which gives them an opportunity to really connect with their community in a positive way. Additionally, when they find free roaming dogs in the field, they try to find where they live first vs taking directly to the shelter. This allows them to connect with owners and talk to them about the dangers of just allowing their dogs to roam free. They're also spending a lot of their community time on spay & neuter education for their community. Great article and great work by Mark Sloat. Articles like this are essential to let people know not only the changes that are being made -- but why they are important -- and help get community buy in. https://lnkd.in/eP5WkUsV

How many times has your cat or dog or other pet accidentally gotten out of your home or yard? Did you know that if they are brought into an animal shelter, the fees to reclaim your pet can be in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars? Economic disparities mean that pet owners with lower disposable income are not able to bring their pets home from a shelter. Animal shelters and animal control agencies recognize that this a barrier to reuniting pets with their families and disproportionally affects communities that have been marginalized. Join our roundtable discussion with four organizations who are changing the system to ensure that more pets are reunited with their families. https://lnkd.in/gNwYngMH

Fostering a shelter animal is a beautiful way of expressing love for animals and filling your life with love. You can learn the benefits for you and the animal in my latest Blog Post, Healing With A Foster https://lnkd.in/eWP7MU4i #fosteranimal #fosterpet #fosterdog #fostercat #puppy #fosterkitten