Friend, what do unicorns and used cars have in common?

Director's Corner

Greetings,

This month we take a look at the latest trends in animal welfare data and explore innovative ways to increase adoptions of our senior and most at-risk dogs. As always, we'd love to hear about your experiences, including whether you're experiencing an uptick in intake and how you're dealing with that. Please share your experiences on our Facebook page.

Thanks for all you do to make life better for senior dogs. The more we can learn from one another, the more senior dogs we will help.

Sincerely,

Lisa Lunghofer, PhD

Executive Director

Reaching Capacity: What the Data Say

For many, the days of near-empty shelters are a distant memory, if a memory at all. Anecdotally, we are hearing about shelters and rescues facing serious capacity issues. Steve Zeidman of PetPoint discusses national trends in intake, transfer, adoption, and euthanasia. Key to understanding the capacity issue is an increase in the average length of stay and a decrease in transfers. The question is: What's driving this?

Read the article

Join the Unicorn Foster Bootcamp

As capacity issues become more challenging, what can we do to help get our most at-risk dogs adopted more quickly or keep them in their current homes? Gateway Pet Guardians is offering the Unicorn Foster Squad Implementation Bootcamp to shelters and rescues nationwide. The Bootcamp is a free online training course designed to teach organizations how to implement their own Unicorn Foster Squad to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable dogs.

The deadline to apply is October 1, 2021.

Learn how to save the unicorns

Grantee Spotlight: Certified Seniors!

Watch the video

Maui Humane Society has embraced a fun way to encourage senior dog adoption, borrowing the theme of a certified used car to launch a new marketing campaign called "Certified Seniors." Dogs who are Certified Seniors have had dental care and blood work, and they get banners on the website that identify their special status.

Jenny Miller of Maui Humane Society reports, "The main part of the marketing is this video that features our CEO Steve acting like a used car salesman! It's cheesy and fun but has had a great response!"

If your organization has a clever spin on a lifesaving program for senior dogs or is currently running a fresh take on a program and you are seeing great results, please post any ideas/acclaims to the Facebook page.

Lessons from 2020 & the Future of Marketing Animal Services

Grantee Webinar

Thursday, September 16 at 1 ET

Caitlin Quinn, Director of Operations

of HeARTs Speak, will discuss practical ideas to help us better connect with our communities; leverage the power of teamwork and information sharing; and craft a strategic approach that welcomes more community members to be part of our life-changing work.

Please be sure to join us!

Petco's 2021 Love Stories Campaign

Here's a great opportunity to engage your adopters and have the chance to win a grant from Petco! Ask your supporters to share the ways their adopted pet has changed their life for the better and you could earn a grant award of up to $100,000. Entries must be submitted by September 20, and winners will be announced during the 2021 holiday season.

Share your love stories

The Grey Muzzle Organization | Website