All mentorship training starts with the Foundational Course:

COMPLETE:

• • Shelter Consultation Mentorship Course (2.5 hours, free)
    • Note that Maddie’s University works most optimally in the Chrome browser; some versions of IE are not supported. Please contact Maddie’s University support if you encounter any issues with accessing or completing your learning.
      • This course has been approved for 2.5 hours of continuing education (CE) credit until 02/20/2026 in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval.
      • This course has been approved for 2.5 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) CE credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA).
  • Fear Free Shelters Program (4 modules, 45 minutes per module, 3 hours total, free)
    • The goal of this program is to improve the experiences of animals by educating shelter, rescue, and animal welfare employees and volunteers about their emotional needs. The program will empower you to apply key strategies and techniques designed to reduce the negative emotional states that are commonly experienced by shelter and rescue animals—including fear, anxiety, stress (FAS), and frustration—and increase their enrichment opportunities. This program is suitable for every individual involved in the care and oversight of shelter and rescue animals.
      • Completion of the Fear Free Shelters program will earn 5 credits of RACE-approved continuing education.
  • Cat Superhighway (45 minutes, free)
    • This course equips animal shelter professionals with the tools to implement or enhance pathway planning for cats and kittens, streamlining their journey to the best possible outcome. It presents research-backed strategies to reduce length of stay, decrease intake and ensure positive outcomes for all cats. The superhighway model enhances community cat programs and increases lifesaving capabilities, but also includes flexible “offramps” for unique cases, ensuring that every cat—whether a friendly community cat or a litter of neonates—receives the most appropriate care. Participants will learn to confidently navigate challenging decisions with ease, using this model to efficiently manage every cat’s pathway to the best available outcome.
      • This course is approved for 1.0 hours of credit from the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) program of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) through 9/2/27.

WATCH:

• Big Dog Master Class: Big Dogs – The Tough Stuff (2 sessions; 65 min total)
  • Behavioral decline, often caused by the stress of shelter confinement, leads to sheltered dogs being slated for euthanasia when no immediate outcome options are available. These factors can lead to shelter workers and volunteers feeling helpless and demoralized like there is just no answer. Luckily, there are things you can do to save big dogs, even in the hardest of circumstances.
    • Session 1: Managing Big Dog Space Crises with Clare Callison (27 min)
    • Session 2: Lifesaving Protocol for At-Risk Dogs with Kristen Hassen (36 min)
      • This course has been approved for 1 hour of CE credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval through 03/05/26.
      • This course has been approved for 1 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education (CE) credit by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and for 1 National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) continuing education (CE) credit.
• Community-Centric Model of Animal Services (4 min, free)
  • • • • A short explanation of the evolving role of animal shelters, the emerging importance of safety net programs, and help keeping people and pets together.
• The Lifesaving Impact of Community Cat Diversion (10 min, free)
  • A quick overview by Cameron Moore presents the benefits and common myths of return to field/community cat programs.

READ:

• The Best Practice Playbook for Animal Shelters
  • Spiral-bound ($40)
  • Kindle ($24.99)
  • Apple ($24.99)
• The Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ 2016 Veterinary Medical Care Guidelines for Spay-Neuter Programs  (free download)
• The Association of Shelter Veterinarians Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters (free download)
• Shelter Snapshot – Questions About Community Cat Programs (free download)
• Pathway Planning for Community Cats (free download)

RESEARCH A SHELTER:

• Research a shelter by reviewing their website, Facebook page, and online news reports. You can set up Google alerts to be notified when news about the shelter occurs.
• Review local municipal code(s) and state statutes regarding the regulatory environment in which the shelter operates. Some shelters serve multiple jurisdictions that may have different requirements. Reflect on how the laws facilitate or hinder the shelter best practices. Finding the relevant laws can be a challenge, and not all laws are necessarily indexed in prominent directories.
  • Municode
  • Cornell Legal Information Institute

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Additional Resources

Not required, but recommended if you have time and like what you’ve learned so far:

Big Dog Master Class (full, on-demand courses, 7 remaining modules, free)

All 7 modules have been approved for 1 hour of CE credit each in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval through 03/05/26, and have been approved for 1 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education (CE) credit each by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, and for 1 National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) continuing education (CE) credit each.

If you’d rather choose individual courses, the links are below:

• Big Dog Master Class: A New Look at 50 Years of Data About Behavioral Incompatibilities and Dog Relinquishment to Shelters (49 min, free)
  • A review of research into reasons owners surrender dogs, with the surprising finding that behavior concerns were not a primary risk factor for owner surrender.
• Big Dog Master Class: The Big Picture – Building Better Dog Management Programs (60 min, 2 sessions, free)
  • 2 great short sessions – “The Data Is In – What’s Happening and What’s Coming Next” with Steve Zeidman AND “The Five Elements of Great Shelter Dog Management” with Kristen Hassen.
• Big Dog Master Class: Maximizing Big Dog Foster Impact (47 min, 2 sessions, free)
  • 2 great short sessions – “Double Your Big Dog Fosters in 30 Days” and “How to Get Big Dogs Adopted From Foster” with Kelly Duer.
• Big Dog Master Class: Focus on “Long-Stay” Dogs (58 min, 2 sessions, free)
  • 2 great short sessions – “Proven Strategies to Help “Long Stay” Dogs Find Homes” with Rachel Jones AND “The “Warehousing” Conundrum and How to Address It” with Kirsten Hassen
• Big Dog Master Class: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Understanding Shelter Dogs (48 min, free)
  • Acknowledgement of the role of trauma in animal behavior encourages us to be more understanding and respond more appropriately to undesirable or challenging behaviors that may be caused by trauma. This presentation will discuss practical ways you can prevent trauma and help animals to recover.
• Big Dog Master Class: Gaining Public Support for Saving Big Dogs (50 min, free)
  • 2 great short sessions – “Reduce Risk and Improve Public Safety” with Sarah Aguilar AND “Get Your Community On Board with Keeping Big Dogs Out of the Shelter” with Dr. Ellen Jefferson and Bobby Mann
• Big Dog Master Class: Get Dogs Into Great Homes Faster (50 min, free)
  • Acknowledgement of the role of trauma in animal behavior encourages us to be more understanding and respond more appropriately to undesirable or challenging behaviors that may be caused by trauma. This presentation will discuss practical ways you can prevent trauma and help animals to recover.

The Four Rights of Animal Sheltering (full, on-demand course, 5 modules, free)

• The Future is Four – Overview of the 4 Rights of Animal Sheltering (48 min, free)
  • Within the Four Rights, every element works in concert to support one another: animals and people are treated as individuals, empowering shelter staff to make the best decisions for everyone; community safety net services are in place and flourishing; and humane care within the shelter is provided, with appropriate outcomes for the animals that do come in, allowing shelters to deliver the Right Care, in the Right Place, at the Right Time, and to the Right Outcome.
  • This course has been approved for 1 National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) continuing education (CE) credit, and for 1 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education (CE) credit by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, and for 1 hour of CE credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval through 05/24/26.
• The Future is Four: Dive Into the 4 Rights – The Right Care in the Right Place at the Right Time to the Right Outcome (Series, 4 hours, free)
  • This short, self-paced course has been approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by National Animal Care and Control Association. This program has also been RACE approved for 4.0 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval through 4/7/27. Upon completing the course and passing the quiz, upload your certificate to https://CEBoker.com. This is the broker used by the AAVSB to track your continuing education credits.
    • The Right Place (55 min)
    • The Right Time (58 min)
    • The Right Care (52 min)
    • The Right Outcome (54 min)

Thanks to the generosity of Maddie’s Fund, the Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge is offering skilled animal welfare professionals the opportunity for self-study and immersive on-site experience with a consultation team, free of charge.

After completing the Foundational Course, advanced participants can apply to complete the Advanced Course and participate in a professional consultation at a client shelter.

Have a fundamental knowledge of the following key shelter consultation topics:

• Introduction to animal welfare consultations
• Key research before onsite consultation visit
• Community programs and the link to shelter success
• Community cat management programs
• Intake policies and managed admissions
• Population management
• Live outcome programs
• Onsite consultation overview
• Community messaging
• Recommendations and reports
• Follow-up post consultation
• The Fear Free Shelter Program

• Critically review state statutes and local ordinances and provide guidance to overcome lifesaving barriers, eliminate the waste of resources, and overcome barriers to life-saving.
• Understand the organizational infrastructure and chain of command and how/why it affects shelter policies.
• Identify key decision-makers early in the preparation process in order to maximize the impact of the onsite consultation.
• Inform elected officials and civic leaders regarding public and shelter policy using national and local data, trends, and research.
• Demonstrate effective communication with a variety of stakeholders, such as civic leaders, shelter leaders, staff, private organizations, animal welfare funders, media, and the public.
• Analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess organizational performance, compare to industry norms, and benchmark to standards of excellence.
• Prioritize opportunities for the greatest impact across shelter operations, including management of admissions, populations, health, welfare, housing, length-of-stay, and best outcomes for each animal.
• Create an action step checklist and trend analysis to help the organization implement systems change and monitor progress.
• Link stakeholders to others with similar struggles who have overcome the same obstacles.
• Identify pertinent resources, reading material, webinars, etc. for shelter leadership.
• Monitor implementation of recommendations and trouble-shoot barriers to success.

• What is included in the sponsored program? All training is provided at no cost.
• What is not included in the sponsored program? Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements and expenses. Information about where the consultation team is staying and travel times will be provided to the mentees several months in advance. It is often possible to share vehicles for local travel and hotel rooms with other participants if desired.
• Who should take the Foundational Course? Anyone interested in learning more about how to assess operations in their own shelter or in other shelters is welcome to enroll in the course.
• Who should apply to the Advanced Course? The Advanced Course is available by application to working professionals on a space-available basis. Most mentees have been shelter medicine interns, residents, veterinarians, veterinary students, shelter leaders and managers, representatives from national organizations, and others who are working toward leadership positions in animal welfare.
• When and where are the shelter consultations for the Advanced Course held? The schedule and location of each consultation varies according to the needs and location of the shelters. Our shelter consultations have spanned from Hawaii to Puerto Rico. Mentees accepted to participate in the Advanced Course will be notified several months in advance when consultations are available to join.
• Who leads the Advanced Course? Dr. Sara Pizano and Cameron Moore are the primary leaders of the Shelter Consultation Mentorships. Dr. Julie Levy, Dr. Cynda Crawford, and others may participate depending on the key topics of interest.
• What is the Fear Free Shelter Program? The Fear Free Shelter Program is an online, self-study course with a goal to improve the experiences of animals by teaching shelter, rescue, and animal welfare employees and volunteers about the animals’ emotional needs. The program will empower you to apply key strategies and techniques designed to reduce the negative emotional states that are commonly experienced by shelter and rescue animals—including fear, anxiety, stress (FAS), and frustration—and increase their enrichment opportunities. This program is suitable for every individual involved in the care and oversight of shelter and rescue animals. Completion of the Fear Free Shelters program will earn 5 credits of RACE-approved continuing education.
• How much time should I plan for the Foundational self-study course? The two modules in the online, self-study course can be completed in 2.5 hours. The online Fear Free Shelter Program can be completed in approximately 10 hours. In addition, there are approximately 200 pages of assigned reading to complete. It is possible to complete all the course requirements in about 15 hours. This course is 100-percent self-paced, and the work can be done at any time, from any device. You do not have to be in class at specific times.
• How much time should I plan for the Advanced Course? The Advanced Course requires several hours of research and conference calls in the weeks prior to the shelter visit. The shelter visit itself is usually five days long with additional travel time. Several hours of follow-up conference calls and report reviews are scheduled in the weeks following the consultation visit. Some mentees return to the shelter to assist with implementation of the report recommendations.
• Are CEUs available? In jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval, the online, self-study course has been approved for 2.5 hours of Continuing Education (CE) credit, and the Fear Free Shelter Program has been approved for 5 hours. This class has been pre-approved for 2.5 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator Continuing Education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement. Veterinarians attending the advanced course are eligible for 6 contact hours for each day of onsite consultation for Veterinary Continuing Education Credit through the University of Florida. Veterinarians participating from other states should contact their licensing board for guidance.