Sessions
Day 1 - Feb. 21
Block 1 – Session 1
Contracts, Jurisdictions, Fees and Local Ordinance Considerations to Promote Return to Home
Cole Wakefield – Good Shepherd Humane Society
Think your contracts, fees, and ordinances are helping animals and your shelter? In this session, Cole Wakefield will show you how these systems might be undermining your mission to get animals home and prevent unnecessary shelter stays. You’ll leave with ideas for outsmarting outdated models that limit your ability to help your community, unintentionally encourage owners to bring animals in as “stray,” and keep animals in the shelter longer. Learn best practices that turn contracts and ordinances into powerful tools for more reunions, not roadblocks.
Block 1 – Session 2
Getting Cats Back Where They Belong
Laura Lampley – Pasadena Humane Society
Does this cat belong here?
Explore the evolving landscape of feline management and how shelters engage with free-roaming cats in this session with Laura Lampley from the Pasadena Humane Society. The discussion focuses on identifying which cats truly benefit from shelter impoundment for rehoming and which the cats are in the Right Place when returned to their original environment.
Block 1 – Session 3
Using Technology to Improve Your Lost and Found Systems
Elkie Wills – San Diego Humane Society
Paper binders and flyers aren’t our only tools! Technology has made it easier and faster than ever to connect lost pets and owners. In this session, master modern lost-and-found systems to avoid impounds, slash shelter stays and supercharge success. Elkie Wills will help you leverage your shelter software’s lost-and-found functions and tap into powerful internet platforms to maximize community engagement and Return to Home rates.
Block 1 Panel Discussion and Q&A
Dive deeper in this live conversation with block speakers and special guests! Bring your questions and get clarity on key points and next steps so you can turn a-ha moments into action.
Focusing on Return to Home in the Field
Cole Wakefield – Good Shepherd Humane Society
Explore field-forward reunification strategies with Cole Wakefield. In this session, we’ll discuss effective methods to return animals found outside to their homes without uprooting them from their neighborhoods. Gain insights from frontline colleagues on initiatives involving owners, finders, and the community, all geared towards optimizing the chances of animals reuniting with their people.
Empowering Dispatch With Training, Support, and Resources for the Public
Michelle George – Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE)
Dispatch does more than answer phones: They can be frontline superheroes who team up with community members to get lost pets home. Whether your shelter dispatches out of a central agency (311, police/sheriff’s department, or other central services) or onsite, this session is for you. Michelle George will show you how to supersize the superpowers of this often underused shelter resource.
Block 2 – Session 2b
Working with Finders to Help Get Animals Back Where They Belong
Mike Wheeler – Cabot Animal Support Services
In recent years, the pivotal role of “Finders” in reuniting animals with their homes has become evident, far surpassing previous estimates of how impactful field foster programs might be on our overall shelter health and success. Join Mike Wheeler from Cabot Animal Support Services, the creator of the innovative “First 48” program, aimed at mobilizing the public to bring animals home without the need for a shelter stay. Discover why these programs outperform other initiatives and why, if you aren’t engaging foster families in the field, you don’t want to sleep on this powerful programming for one more minute!
Block 2 – Session 3
Shelter Outreach and Support Programs to Get and Keep Animals Where They Belong
Christine Kim – My Dog is My Home
Getting and keeping animals back where they belong benefits everyone–animals, their families and caregivers, and your shelter’s staff and resources. In this session, social worker and My Dog Is My Home founder Christine Kim will share steps we can take today to better support community members and their pets, including community members who might be experiencing homelessness. Learn how investing in outreach can boost shelter resources, build stronger community bonds and engagement, and improve outcomes for people and pets.
Block 2 Panel Discussion and Q&A
Dive deeper in this live conversation with block speakers and special guests! Bring your questions and get clarity on key points and next steps so you can turn a-ha moments into action.
Day 2 - Feb. 28
Block 1 – Session 1
Focusing on Return to Home at the Shelter to Get More Animals Back Where They Belong
Shyanne Schull – Washoe County Animal Services
We’ve prioritized finding new homes for animals over getting them back where they belong, but adopting an RTH-first mindset can be better for animals, their families, and shelter resources. In this session, Shyanne Schull will share strategies for creating a culture of proactive reunification at every level, from intake procedures to community engagement, messaging and more. Learn how transforming your focus can result in fewer crowded kennels and more animals thriving in their homes.
Block 1 – Session 2
Easy Shelter Website Changes to Increase Return to Home
Tori Fugate – KC Pet Project
Join Tori Fugate and discover how to tweak your website to turbocharge Return to Home! You’ll learn how to make user-friendly upgrades and make it easy for community members to report lost pets and pinpoint found animals. You’ll also leave with tips for communicating shelter services, connecting visitors to resources in the community, and using your website to foster more reunifications and more support for your shelter.
Block 1 – Session 3
Making It Easy for Owners to Find and Redeem Lost Pets: Tech Tips and Communication Strategies
Bobby Mann and/or Mia Navedo-Williams – Humane Rescue Alliance
For community members, the process of finding and redeeming a pet can be overwhelming, frustrating, and full of roadblocks, but it doesn’t have to be. Bobby Mann and Mia Navedo Williams will map the way to smoother, speedier lost and found systems. They’ll help you assess your shelter’s current communication systems and messaging strategies. Learn how to keep them on track to get more animals back where they belong. Leave with tips for enlisting more finders and families looking for lost pets as part of the solution in your Return to Home efforts.
Block 1 Panel Discussion and Q&A
Dive deeper in this live conversation with block speakers and special guests! Bring your questions and get clarity on key points and next steps so you can turn a-ha moments into action.
Block 2 – Session 1
Getting Pets Home with Better Approaches to On-Pet IDs and ID/Microchip Tracing
Nina Stively – Loudoun County Animal Services
Ready for fresh ideas about IDs? Nina Stively will cover proven approaches to on-pet IDs that get animals home faster and reduce the need for a shelter stay. She’ll also explore the tradeoffs of tags and microchips. You’ll learn tips and tricks for making sure animals who come in with identification have the best chance of being reunited with their families. Plus, you’ll leave with practical tools to sharpen your shelter’s ID-tracing skills and inspire your community to champion on-pet IDs.
Block 2 – Session 2
Leveraging Social Media, Other Internet Resources, and Volunteers to Supercharge Return to Home
Jordan Frey and Caroline Malcolm – San Diego Humane Society
There’s no shortage of lost and found pet resources online and on social media. In this session, Elkie Wills will present the best of the best, so you don’t have to get lost searching. You’ll meet the platforms and websites that can bring families back together in a flash and get guidance on how to use them smartly and sustainably. Whether you’ve got limited staff or a small team of volunteers, you’ll be ready to use these resources to reduce shelter impounds, shrink shelter stays, and get more animals back where they belong.
Removing Barriers to Get More Animals Back Where They Belong
Akisha Townsend Eaton – Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE)
You’re committed to bringing—and keeping—pets and people in your community together, but what if hidden hurdles are getting in your way? Join Akisha Townsend Eaton to uncover stubborn speedbumps slowing down our lost and found systems. Explore how messaging, fees, shelter access, language, protocols and policies can unintentionally keep animals from going back where they belong. You’ll learn how to recognize potential barriers and clear the way for less shelter crowding, shorter shelter stays, better community connection, and more animals going home.
Block 2 Panel Discussion and Q&A
Dive deeper in this live conversation with block speakers and special guests! Bring your questions and get clarity on key points and next steps so you can turn a-ha moments into action.
