Society of Animal Welfare Administrators

1/16/2006

Top Dog Message
By Harry Dates, CAWA, SAWA President

On behalf of the SAWA Board of Directors, Happy New Year! May you, your family, and your organizations have a happy and humane new year! We were very pleased that our November conference held in Denver was well attended, especially the special session on animal response to Katrina/Rita held on Sunday, November 6th. Everyone in the crowded meeting room contributed to a very productive session compiling the information about what worked or could be improved regarding before, during and after such natural disasters as hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I have asked Dr. Becky Rhoades to chair the SAWA Disaster Preparedness and Response Committee responding to a clear message from our attending membership that SAWA needs to be directly involved in disaster assistance and most importantly, readiness.

A newly created Finance Committee will help Treasurer Bob Downey pay close attention to the use of sponsorship funds as we go forward with disaster discussion, Asilomar collaborative efforts, certification, professional development, expanded conference activities and the study of issues that affect our profession.

SAWA will grow and each member needs to participate in SAWA’s activities. One way to do this is by recruiting new members. Introducing new members in Nashville (the site of next year’s conference) is a win-win situation. SAWA can expand and gain new ideas from new members (as well as the long standing members). New members share involvement in an ever-expanding organization of professionals in the field of animal care and control.

From my perspective, the recent disasters have had a positive effect on our ability to communicate with all organizations willing to assist animals. We all need to know that we are not alone when facing nature’s obstacles. I look forward to working together with many diverse organizations to assist those helping animals and their owners in distress.
 
Membership Renewals Coming Due
You should be receiving your SAWA dues notice shortly for 2006. Membership dues are even easier to pay this year because they can be paid on-line at the SAWA website (www.sawanetwork.org). Make sure the SAWA office receives your payment no later than April 1, 2006, or we will assume you no longer want to be a member of the society.
 
Coordinating Additional Volunteer Staffing at
LA-SPCA
 As you may know, the LA-SPCA had requested SAWA’s assistance in sending teams of qualified shelter and animal control employees to help them with their resumption of services in the New Orleans community. Many thanks to Nancy B. McKenney, Bob Downey and the Chameleon staff for their work organizing and communicating the specific needs for LA-SPCA to the SAWA members (completed through the SAWA website as well as postings on the SAWA listserv which began in mid-September). In early November, SAWA determined that the volunteer staffing coordination with LA-SPCA could best be completed directly with the LA-SPCA staff.

If you are interested in learning more about the status of the recovery and resumption efforts with the shelter in Algiers, LA, please contact Laura Maloney directly (laura@la-spca.org).
 
Annual Conference 2005: Highlights from Denver
 By Nancy McKenney, CAWA, SAWA Board member & Victoria Wellens, CAWA, SAWA Board member/Conference Committee Chair

The 2005 Annual SAWA conference’s timely topics, convenient location and professional speakers attracted a record number of registrants to Denver in early November; 182 people registered, 17% higher than the record breaking crowd we had the previous year in San Diego.

A highlight of the event was the disaster response discussion. The SAWA conference was the first national event after Hurricane Katrina and Rita and people were eager to share their experiences and insights.

Executive Director of the Louisiana SPCA, Laura Maloney, gave a compelling presentation about conditions in New Orleans. Patti Mercer, President/CEO of the Houston SPCA, spoke about their response efforts to help both LA SPCA and the Texas agencies before, during and after both hurricanes. Other responders who spoke about their experiences included Joanne Roman (Director of Operations from Broward County), Theresa Geary (VP of Operations at Dumb Friends League) and Dr. Becky Rhoades (Executive Director of the Kauai Humane Society.) SAWA participants also participated in break out groups to identify issues and strategies for the SAWA Board to consider in the mandate that they were receiving from members to assist with disaster relief. Julie Morris from the ASPCA, Marie B. Wheatley from AHA and Wayne Pacelle from the HSUS provided insights about how their groups had responded, what they learned and what they would be doing in the near future.

Prior to the conference’s opening session, the Development Directors held an one-day conference with Penelope Burk, renowned expert on Donor Centered Fundraising. Her research on donor attitudes was very insightful.

The CAWA certification exam was held on the Saturday prior to the conference. To encourage leadership development, all attendees received a special gift from IAMs, The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management by Robert Herman: one of the books on the CAWA certification reading list.

This year’s conference included the popular roundtable, business meeting and opening reception. Tours to visit local animal care facilities and organized dinner groups were both very well received.

Developing a Strategic Mindset on Disaster Recovery and Influencing Public Attitudes workshops were led by Jim Lukaszewski. He pointed out that crises are chaotic in nature, but “incrementally mediated.” Mr. Lukaszewski shared his strategies for influencing public attitudes, especially for those individuals or organizations facing public attack or pressure. Of the many suggestions he provided, he stressed that the faster one answers the questions posed by the “attackers,” the better you or your organization will be. “Answering the questions is what settles people down,” he said. Mr. Lukaszewski also cited a statistic that one out of nine adults reads the newspapers each day, so if there is a letter to the editor opposing you or your organization, answer it, and post your response on your website as well. He stressed including employees in your plan and reminded us that we cannot rely on past goodwill; we must always actively have a strategy to proactively respond to criticism and/or crisis. Mr. Lukaszewski’s website is at www.e911.com.

Managing the Generations in Tomorrow’s Workplace by Robert Wendover was an entertaining and informative exploration of our unique generational habits and beliefs. For example, the Baby Boomers (born 1946-64) live to work, whereas the Generation Xers work to live; an important distinction. Learning to understand and accept the differences that exist between the generations as well as how to communicate with each other provides the key to productive work environments. Mr. Wendover’s Center for Generational Studies conducts research, produces seminars and publishes resources on how one generation related to another in American Society, for more information visit their website, www.gentrends.com.

During the SAWA business meeting the Glenn Summerlin Service award was presented to both deserving recipients, Bill Garrett, President, the Atlanta Humane Society and Patti Mercer, President, Houston SPCA. The award is given by the SAWA Board of Directors to individuals who have shown generous, consistent (or long term) and extraordinary support of SAWA. We were honored to have the first recipient of the award, Mr. Glenn Summerlin himself, present to assist with the presentation.

Without the financial support of our sponsors and members, our conferences would not be possible. Thank you to our supporters!

2005 Conference Sponsors
(in alphabetical order):
Alpha Dog Marketing, American Humane Association, Animal Arts Gates Hafen Cochrane, ASPCA, AVID Identification Systems, Banfield-The Pet Hospital, Citizens Advisers, Grizzard Communications, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, HLP Chameleon Software Products, The Humane Society of the United States, The IAMS Company, Jones Trailer Company, Kittleman & Associates LLC, Lovitt & Touche, Newport Creative Communications, Petfinder.com, Pet Health Insurance, PetSafe/Radio Systems Corporation, PETsMART Charities, Schering-Plough Animal Health, Shelter Buddy Software/RSPCA, Shorline/T-Kennel Systems, SPCA of Texas, VCA Animal Hospitals, and Vortech Pharmaceuticals.
Nearly 100% of the responses in our online participant survey after the conference gave the event high marks. We also received many good suggestions for next year’s conference which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee. If you did not register for the conference in Denver this year, please watch for a survey designed to help us understand how to better serve your needs.
 
WHS Wins Wisconsin Better Business Bureau 2005 Torch Awards
 By Victoria Wellens, CAWA, SAWA Board member, Chair of the Conference Committee, and proud executive director of WHS!

The Wisconsin Humane Society has been named the non-profit winner of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau's 2005 Torch Awards for Business Ethics and Integrity. To participate in the awards competition, a community representative first nominated the Wisconsin Humane Society. The Better Business Bureau then invited the Wisconsin Humane Society to participate in the comprehensive entry process that addressed ethical business practices, customer service, advertising and marketing initiatives as well as ethical practices and endorsements from within our industry and the community. The Wisconsin Humane Society was the first non-profit organization to be awarded this honor in Wisconsin.
 
National Council on Pet Overpopulation Study Update
 By Pamela Burns, SAWA board member and Past President of the National Council

SAWA is represented on The National Council for Pet Population, Study and Policy by Patti Mercer and me. The National Council is a coalition of animal related organizations brought together to work on mutual goals regarding homeless companion animals. Its efforts are focused on the need for good scientific research to better understand pet-human dynamics. Julie Morris, VP of The ASPCA and SAWA member is the current President. Other officers include SAWA members Carter Luke (VP of the MSPCA), Kevin Kilgore (Chief of Hanover County Animal Control) and Pamela Burns (President & CEO of The Hawaiian Humane Society). There are some very interesting research papers available on the site: www.petpopulation.org.

In addition, The National Council is asking for ideas on research projects you think would be of interest in relation to The Council’s purpose. A project that has just been completed which was sponsored by The Council involved putting radio collars on free roaming cats to determine their range. It has recently approved a project that will help us identify trends in the sheltering community regarding incoming cats and dogs. Again, for more information contact any of us. There is some exciting work going on and we’re glad to tell you about it.
 
Mark Your Calendars for These Great Training Opportunities
SAWA Director of Operations Conference
May 2006
Richmond, VA

SAWA Directors and Managers of Finance and Administration Conference
May 2006
Richmond, VA

SAWA Annual Conference
November 2006
Nashville, TN
Election Results of the SAWA Board of Directors
Bob Rhode, CAWA, President/CEO of the Dumb Friends League in Denver, Colorado and Dr. Becky Rhoades, CAWA, Executive Director of the Kauai Humane Society in Kauai, were elected to the SAWA board on November 7, 2005.

The Board wishes to acknowledge the great service and leadership by departing board member and President, John Nagy. The following officers were elected: Harry Dates, President; Karen Terpstra, Vice-President; Bob Downey, Treasurer; and Greg Bloomfield, Secretary.
 
SAWA Disaster Committee Formed
 By Dr. Becky Rhoades, CAWA, SAWA Board member

For many of us who helped with relief efforts in the Gulf coast, our lives were a blur from Labor Day weekend on. Thanks to the pre-conference member survey and the workshop held in Denver, we have some results on how SAWA as an organization responded to the requests for skilled help from the national organizations. In addition, we have lengthy feedback on what did and didn’t work with the Katrina response and recommendations for our future disaster relief efforts from the debriefing session in Denver.

The SAWA survey was sent out to members on October 28 and we received 103 responses out of 400 sent with the following results:

84% of SAWA’s membership is made up of local humane and animal control organizations. These organizations really responded to the request for help, with an average of six staff members and eight volunteers sent per organization for an average length of 12 days in the disaster areas. In addition, over 100 vehicles, $665,000 worth of supplies and $376,000 in cash donations were sent to help in the Gulf coast from local organizations. Overall, local organizations spent between $500 and $1,000,000 providing disaster relief for a total of $3,755,000.

Our member organizations opened up their shelters to evacuated animals and housed a minimum of 3500 animals for extended lengths of time, some still caring for Katrina pets today. Efforts to reunite pets with their families continue today, but at the time of the survey, local organizations had reunited 1700 pets with their owner/guardians. Overall, the collaborative effort of the national organizations, SAWA local organization members and our communities were the first of its kind in responding to animals in need following Hurricane Katrina.

As mentioned in President Date’s article, SAWA has established a disaster committee to review results of the debriefing at the Denver conference and recommend our future role in disasters. I will be chairing the committee and confirmed members to date are Patti Mercer, Houston SPCA; Laura Maloney, Louisiana SPCA; Dr. Mark Goldstein, San Diego Humane Society & SPCA; Carter Luke, MSPCA; Cal Morgan, Michigan Humane Society; and Kathy Warnick, Missouri Humane Society. Immediately, the committee (represented by Patti, Laura and me) attended the National Animal Disaster Response on December 12 and 13 in Arlington, Virginia and American Humane Association’s National Emergency Management Summit on January 8 and 9 in Orlando, Florida.
 
Certification News
 By Karen Terpstra, CAWA, SAWA Vice President

Please consider taking the CAWA certification exam and pursuing a level of professionalism in your career, whether you have been in the field for five years or fifty. Mark your calendars and start planning because your next opportunity to take the certification exam will be early November 2006 in Nashville, Tennessee. The test preparation booklet and guidelines are available on the SAWA website.

The first CAWA members received a nice pen and pencil set during a special recognition event during the 2005 Annual Conference held in Denver, Colorado. Thanks to the IAMS Company, all conference attendees received one of the main books on the exam reading list.

New members (with CAWA credentials) were recruited to the CAWA test development committee: Judy Calhoun, of the Dumb Friends League, Dr. Becky Rhoades, Kauai Humane Society and Gary Tiscornia of the Monterey SPCA. Continuing committee members are Patti Mercer, Nancy McKenney, John Snyder, Don Mitton, Bob Rhode and Harry Dates.

To date a total of 42 individuals have received the Certified Animal Welfare Administrator credentials. Congratulations! Our certification program wouldn’t be in existence if it were not for our charter sponsors, AVID The Microchip Company and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

 
Welcome New SAWA Members
 By Dr. Mark Goldstein, CAWA, SAWA Board member/Chair of Membership Committee

Since the July newsletter, the following new SAWA members were approved by the Board of Directors:

Executive Class:
Duane Adams, Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society (Santa Fe, NM)
Brenda Barnette, Tony La Russa’s Animal Welfare Foundation (Walnut Creek, CA)
Susan Bobinsky, Animal Protective Foundation (Scotia, NY)
Sandy Christiansen, Spartanburg Humane Society (Spartanburg, SC)
Steven Coleman, RSPCA NSW (Yagoona, NSW)
Patricia Dougherty, La Plata County Humane Society (Durango, CO)
Jane S. Englebardt, Bide-A-Wee Home Association, Inc. (New York, NY)
Rachel Finney, The Union County Humane Society (Marysville, OH)
Lynae Gieseke, Minnesota Valley Humane Society (Burnsville, MN)
George W. Harding IV, Lee’s Summit Animal Control Department (Lee’s Summit, MO)
Tammy Hauser, Greater West Metro Humane Society (Buffalo, MN)
Candace Hertzel, Lake County Humane Society (Mentor, OH)
David Ish, CAE, FOCAS-Friends Of County Animal Shelters (La Jolla, CA)
Lori Kane-Redmon, Kentucky Humane Society (Louisville, KY)
Kim Keegan, Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire (Bedford, NH)
Jean McGroarty, Providence Animal Rescue League (Providence, RI)
Gilles Meloche, Louisville Metro Animal Services (Louisville, KY)
Howard Nelson, Washington Humane Society (Washington, DC)
Joan Phillips, Animal Lovers League (Glen Cove, NY)
Chris Storm, Safe Haven Humane Society (Albany, NY)
J.Kevin Usilton, Delaware Humane Association (Wilmington, DE)
Myra Wilson, DVM, Anchorage Animal Care & Control (Anchorage, AK)
Norma Worley, State of Maine Animal Welfare Program (Augusta, ME)
Suzanne Zutter, Sioux Falls Area Humane Society (Sioux Falls, SD)

Manager Class:
Gina Alcala, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Ann Barnes, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Susan Britt, Animal Refuge League (Westbrook, ME)
Linda Burroughs, Cocheco Valley Humane Society (Dover, NH)
Liz Clancy, Bide-A-Wee Home Association, Inc. (New York, NY)
Maura Davies, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Natalie DiGiacomo, Spartanburg Humane Society (Spartanburg, SC)
Charla Easterbrook, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Kent Gilliam, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Beth Hickman, SPCA of Texas (McKinney, TX)
Judy Hunter, Cleveland Animal Protection League (Cleveland, OH)
Donna Kolakowski, Suncoast Humane Society (Englewood, FL)
Stephanie Leslie, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Judith Miniace, Humane Society of Missouri, (St. Louis, MO)
Laura Neudecker, Animal Humane Society (Minneapolis, MN)
Anita Puri, SPCA of Texas (Dallas, TX)
Abigail Rosenberger, Capital Area Humane Society (Hilliard, OH)
Thomas Schiff, SPCA Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH)
William Shaheen, Atlanta Humane Society (Atlanta, GA)
Karen Turrietta, Animal Humane Association of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM)
Candice Veach, Humane Society of the Treasure Coast, Inc. (Palm City, FL)

Associate Class:
William Hamilton, Friends of San Francisco Animal Care & Control (San Francisco, CA)
Tamela Terry, SPCA & Humane Society of Prince George’s County, Inc. (Bowie, MD)
Marlene Walsh, Humane Strategies (Oshkosh, WI)
Denise Wilcox, City of Albuquerque (Albuquerque, NM)

Business Class:
Diane DeMarco, CFRE, DBA Diane DeMarco (Melrose, MA)
Henry Jones Sr., Jones Trailer Company (Woodson, TX)
Steven McHugh, Scoreboard Pro (Boulder, CO)
 
Schering-Plough Announces New Scanners with New Reading and Scanning Capabilities
 From Schering-Plough Press Release, November 15, 2005

HOMEAGAIN and the HOMEAGAIN® Pet Recovery Service, a national pet identification microchip database, announced that it will begin offering new scanners used to detect microchips in companion animals throughout the U.S. This program is scheduled to be rolled out nationwide this month (December 2005).

Every new HOMEAGAIN scanner will now read all microchips utilizing the 125 kHz radio frequency including those from companies that market an encrypted chip that previously could not be read by all U.S. scanners. The new scanners will also detect the 134 kHz microchip, or ISO chip, commonly used outside of the United States. While the new scanner will not show the number of the ISO chip, it will indicate the presence of the chip so that steps toward a recovery can be put in place.

“To date, more than 3 million pets in the U.S. have been implanted with a HOMEAGIN microchip, resulting in nearly 270,000 successful recoveries.” The HOMEAGAIN microchip and scanner are manufactured by Digital Angel Corporation of St. Paul, Minn.
 
Have You Seen Them?
 By Dr. Mark Goldstein, CAWA, SAWA Board member/Chair of Membership Committee

The SAWA membership committee is looking to recruit members from West Virginia and North Dakota, so that all 50 states are represented. If you know of someone that would qualify for membership, please let us know.
 
SAWA Listserv Tip/Reminder:
 By Nancy B. McKenney, CAWA, SAWA Board member

All SAWA members are invited to join the SAWA listserv which is a great resource for seeking advice or information from other SAWA members. Please keep in mind that when you post a question or comment, it is automatically sent to all listserv members. If you want to continue your electronic conversation with a particular responder, please cut and paste their individual email address out and send the message directly to them. Recently we had a lot of “thank you” and “you’re welcome” type of messages going back and forth, but it filled up everyone’s email box with unnecessary email.

If you have any questions about the listserv, please contact Kelly Long Crow, our listserv moderator, at Kelly@sawanetwork.org.
 
Heard it Through the Grapevine:

Ed Boks, formerly of the Center for Animal Care & Control in New York City, is the newly appointed General Manager of the Los Angeles Animal Services Department.

Nancy McKenney, past CEO of The Humane Society for Seattle/King County, has been selected the Petfinder.com Foundation’s Executive Director and Vice President of Petfinder.com.

The ASPCA National Outreach Department has hired Kate Pullen as the Senior Director for Strategic Development at the LA/SPCA. Kate has relocated to New Orleans and for the next two years will be working hand-in-hand with Laura Maloney on the rebuilding and recovery of the LA/SPCA programs and initiatives. The ASPCA is also looking to hire someone for a two year period to work with Tara High at the Humane Society of South Mississippi in a similar capacity.

John Snyder, has been promoted to VP of Companion Animals at the Humane Society of the United States.

Judy Calhoun, has accepted a new position as the Executive Director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Colorado and can be reached there after January 23. Judy's new email address is: jcalhoun@glbtcolorado.org. The Denver Dumb Friends League is losing an outstanding member of their organization. SAWA would like to thank Judy for her many years of selfless service to the animal welfare community and wish her luck and prosperity in her new position.











 
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If you have a comment, concern or question for the SAWA Board or management firm, please contact us:

Society of Animal Welfare Administrators
c/o SPCA Cincinnati
3949 Colerain Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45223

Toll Free Number: 888.337.6410
Direct Line: 513.542.SAWA (7292)
Fax: 513.542.7375
Email: info@sawanetwork.org