Strength Training Events for APOs

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals Strength Training program offer specialized informational sessions and skill-building workshops to help Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) work more efficiently and effectively.

Important Note: Unless otherwise noted, these events are open by invitation only to APO representatives and not the general public.

Upcoming Strength Training Event

The Basics of Caring for Rabbits in the Shelter

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

6:30-8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Midtown Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Presented by Cindy Stutts (House Rabbit Society) and Lorelei Lorelei Tibbetts, LVT, and Anthony Pilny, DVM (The Center for Avian & Exotic Medicine)

This workshop focuses on providing shelter staff and volunteers and animal control officers with tools to develop realistic guidelines and procedures for accommodating the unique needs of rabbits within a shelter setting. Topics to be covered include:

Housing and dietary requirements

Environmental safety

Quarantine and medical protocols

Signs of illness and disease

Basic rabbit physical examinations

Common traits of rabbits

Special considerations and placement options

Educational materials and sample adoption packets will be provided.

Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Sponsor: Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, House Rabbit Society

Who is Invited: APO representatives, shelter staff/volunteers, and New York City Feral Cat Initiative feral cat caretakers

Course Fee: There is no fee to attend this class, but advance registration is required.

More Info & Registration: Send your full name and organization to barbara@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

Past Strength Training Events

TNR Around the Country!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

6:30-8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Presented by Becky Robinson, Alley Cat Allies

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is alive and well in virtually every part of the U.S. After more than two decades of TNR in this country, there are thousands of programs and hundreds of clinics devoted to the humane care and veterinary treatment of stray and feral cats. Feral cat activists have a great deal of which to be proud. That is the good news. But, it's a fact that euthanasia at animal pounds and shelters is the single greatest documented cause of cat mortality in this country. Laws and policies on the local level dictate life or death for cats, including TNR'ed and cared-for feral cats. Case studies from current Alley Cat Allies campaigns will reveal how dogmas are being debunked and paradigm shifts happening.

Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Sponsor: Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, Alley Cat Allies

Who is Invited: APO representatives, shelter staff/volunteers, and New York City Feral Cat Initiative feral cat caretakers

Course Fee: There is no fee to attend this class, but advance registration is required.

More Info & Registration: Send your full name and organization to barbara@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

The Basics of Caring for Rabbits in the Shelter

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 (This workshop was rescheduled for August 21, 2012)

6:30-8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Midtown Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Effective Volunteer Management

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

6:30-8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Presented by Diane Wilkerson (Director of Volunteer Programs, ASPCA) and Julie Sonenberg (Adminstrative Manager of Volunteer Programs, ASPCA)

This presentation will be a broad overview of volunteer management in an animal welfare setting, covering:

ASPCA Volunteer Program

Why volunteers?

Recruiting

Applications and Screening

Orientation and Liability

Training

Students

Database Management

Communication

Recognition and Retention

Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Sponsor: Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

Who is Invited: APO representatives

Course Fee: There is no fee to attend this class, but advance registration is required.

More Info & Registration: Send your full name and organization to barbara@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

Taking Great Photos of Shelter Pets

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

6:30-8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Presented by Geoff Tischman

This session will focus on two main areas:

Equipment: The right equipment is a big part in capturing beautiful images that will catch potential adopters' attention and help them get a new home as soon aspossible. Geoff will make recommendations on camera models, explain why equipment is important, and give tips on how to use the equipment. He will talk about the benefits of recruiting volunteers with their own digital SLR, who already have an interest in pet photography, and how photographingshelter pets can be a win-win for the shelter and the photographer.

Tips for Getting Great Photos: Geoff will offer some great tips, from time of day to photograph, how to position dogs for photographs, photographing at different angles, updating the photos frequently, and how to photograph cats, which is always a challenge. Plus lots more. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Questions Help us tailor the session to your needs. Please feel free to submit comments and/or respond to the questions below along with your RSVP. What specific questions do you have or topics that you would like Geoff to cover? What specific camera or type of camera (digital SLR, point and shoot, cell phone, or other) do you or your shelter currently use to photograph the shelter animals?

Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Sponsor: Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

Who is Invited: APO representatives, volunteers, and New York City Feral Cat Initiative feral cat caretakers

Course Fee: There is no fee to attend this class, but advance registration is required.

More Info & Registration: Send your full name and organization to barbara@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

Making the Public Your Partner in Animal Control: Shifting the Focus to Responsible Pet Ownership

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

6:30-8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Presented by Bill Bruce (Director of Animal & Bylaw Services, the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Join Bill Bruce in an informational discussion on how he helped shape his local animal control. Bill joined the City of Calgary in 1981 and has been with Animal & Bylaw Services since 2000. Bill came with a vision of changing the role of Animal & Bylaw Services from enforcement to a broader goal of compliance through raising citizen awareness and voluntary compliance to Calgary's bylaws by utilizing tools such as clear, understandable bylaws and policies, partnerships, conflict resolution techniques, and public education. His priorities have been programs that protect public health and safety, the environment and municipal infrastructure. Bill believes that the municipality's bylaws must reflect the standards of the community and that service should be delivered in partnership with communities, business groups, other agencies, and city departments. In the area of Animal Services, the focus has been to shift from the traditional animal control philosophy to the concept of responsible pet ownership, reduce the number of aggressive dog incidents, increase the return-to-owner rates for both dogs and cats through building a community of responsible pet owners, licensing, eliminating euthanasia as a management strategy, and working towards becoming a true best practice municipality in animal services.

Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Sponsor: Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

Who is Invited: APO representatives and New York City Feral Cat Initiative feral cat caretakers

Course Fee: There is no fee to attend this class, but advance registration is required.

More Info & Registration: Send your full name and organization to barbara@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

The Basics of Caring for Exotic Birds in the Shelter

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

6:30–8:30 p.m.

ASPCA Administrative Offices, 520 Eighth Avenue (between West 36th and 37th Streets), 7th Floor, Manhattan

Please bring photo ID for building admittance.

Presented by Denise Kelly (President, Avian Welfare Coalition) and Lorelei Tibbets, LVT and Anthony Pilny, DVM (The Center for Avian & Exotic Medicine)

This workshop is designed to help shelter staff gain the knowledge and skills necessary to provide for the specialized care and placement of exotic birds in a shelter setting. This workshop — developed as part of the Avian Welfare Coalition's Shelter Outreach Program — focuses on providing shelter staff and volunteers and animal control officers with tools to develop realistic guidelines and procedures for accommodating the unique needs of exotic birds within a shelter setting, and for dealing with abuse, neglect, hoarding, or cruelty situations involving exotic birds. Topics to be covered include:

Housing and dietary requirements

Environmental safety

Quarantine and medical protocols

Signs of illness and disease

Basic avian physical exam

Common traits of exotic birds

Defining neglect, abuse, and cruelty in commercial facilities and private homes

Special considerations and placement options, and more.

Educational materials and Sample Adoption Packets will be provided. In addition, copies of Captive Exotic Bird Care: A Guide for Shelters will be available for purchase. A joint project of the Avian Welfare Coalition, Born Free USA, and the ASPCA, Captive Exotic Bird Care: A Guide for Shelters is the only publication of its kind and a valuable resource for shelters! Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Sponsors: Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, Avian Welfare Coalition

Course Fee: There is no fee to attend this class, but advance registration is required.

More Info & Registration: Send your full name and organization to barbara@AnimalAllianceNYC.org.