Providing great customer service is critical to helping animals in our communities. How we support our clients has far-reaching ramifications for good or ill. This course first lays the groundwork for the connection between serving people and helping pets, as well as the elements of great customer service. Then it gives practical advice for developing the skills needed by anyone who interacts with clients or customers.

This course will be useful to anyone working in a shelter or rescue who interacts with the public. 

Ofrecer un gran servicio al cliente es fundamental para ayudar a los animales de nuestras comunidades. La forma en que APOYAMOS a nuestros clientes tiene ramificaciones de largo alcance para bien o para mal. Este curso sienta primero las bases de la conexión entre servir a las personas y ayudar a las mascotas, así como los elementos de un gran servicio al cliente. A continuación, ofrece consejos prácticos para desarrollar las habilidades que necesita cualquier persona que interactúe con clientes o consumidores. 

Este curso será útil para cualquier persona que trabaje en un refugio o en un centro de rescate y que interactúe con el público.

This course will give you the inside scoop on successful pet marketing. You'll learn tips and tricks for taking great photos and videos and writing social media posts that will help you find adopters for foster and shelter pets. The course is directed to foster caregivers but is equally useful for shelter staff involved in pet marketing. This course was developed in collaboration with HeARTs Speak. 

This course has been pre-approved for 0.75 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

open adoption, dog, cat 

This course takes a fun approach to a serious subject: developing an authentic relationship with your audience through marketing and communications. Authored by the Maddie's Fund marketing team, this course guides students through the creation of a marketing and communications plan, focusing on brand, voice, audience and communication tools. 

This course has been pre-approved for 1.50 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and National Animal Care & Control Association credit.

This course focuses on innovative programming that will inspire and engage officers to evolve with the changing landscape of the industry. It offers an eye-opening look into the future of a more equitable approach to field services and practical strategies for engaging with community members. After successfully completing this course students will be able to:

*Explain the need for support-based enforcement and the benefits for people and their pets, as well as for officers and agencies charged with public safety

*Explain the need for community engagement strategies and the benefits for people and their pets, as well as for officers and agencies charged with public safety

*Collect and analyze critical data to drive programming and measure success

*Demonstrate the importance of community-centered field services programming to agency leadership and staff and to external partners

*Implement a community-centered field services model that maintains public safety

keywords: animal control, ACO, lost pets 

Officers in the field are often faced with difficult and highly emotionally charged situations. These situations can often easily be diffused with appropriate language, and communication is the most important tool in your belt. As an officer, you are in the people business as much as you are in the animal business. Your communication tools directly impact the success or failure of the cases, individuals and communities in which you work. This course has a strong foundation of communication in general as well as going into deeper details about verbal and nonverbal communication. Approved for 1.5 hours of CAWA and NACA CE. 

NOTE: This course will also be useful for staff members and volunteers who are not field officers. 

keywords: animal control, ACO

This course focuses on the efficient flow of cats through your organization and into adoptive homes. Students who complete this course will be able to create an open adoption philosophy for their organization and implement critical cat adoption process improvements. This course is authored by Monica Tarant, Chief Innovation Officer: Feline Lifesaving at Cincinnati Animal CARE with The Joanie Bernard Foundation. 

Note: The contents of this course are nearly identical to those in the course Feline Lifesaving: Adoption. If you have taken that course, you do not need to take this one.

This class has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

barriers, application, foster, special needs, marketing

This class focuses on adoption philosophies and practices that will help you place more animals faster. You will examine research refuting common myths that act to place barriers to adoption and be prepared to create an adoption action plan for your organization. This course is authored by Clare Callison, Maddie's Canine Lifesaving Advisor at American Pets Alive!.

This class has been pre-approved for 0.5 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

equity, application, retention, adopters welcome

Shelter staff members are often the first to hear that a tenant and their pet are in danger of eviction, when the tenant calls or appears at the front desk, thinking they will be forced to surrender their pet. This course seeks to help you be in the best position to help a person and their companion remain together in their home, with the understanding that eviction is a process that takes time. Through an educated and compassionate conversation with a tenant in crisis, you can identify what legal protections they may have and refer them to assistance. You can help keep tenants and their pets together and out of your shelter.

This course is authored by Dianne Prado, founder of Housing Equity & Advocacy Resource Team (HEART LA). Earn 1 hour of continuing education credit from the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA).

keywords: legal, law, retention, intake, customer service

When animal services agencies connect with organizations and businesses in their communities, they are better able to support people and pets where they live. In particular, partnerships between animal services and human services agencies offer a more holistic approach to care. Successful partner organizations range from child welfare agencies and domestic violence support services to food pantries and libraries. This course will guide you through planning for and piloting a partnership with an organization or business in your community.

Keywords: Human Animal Support Services