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October 2006
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Society of Animal Welfare Administrators
2170 S. Parker Rd., #255, Denver, CO 80231 |
Ph: (888) 337-6410 • (303) 337-6419 • Fax: (303) 750-085
Email:
info@sawanetwork.org |
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Top Dog
Message
By Harry Dates, CAWA, SAWA
President
 Eighteen
SAWA members met in St. Louis, Missouri on September 11, 1970. It was
the first annual meeting of the Society of Animal Welfare
Administrators. Many of us know or knew
some or all of the original members and have heard directly from them
various reasons
why SAWA was organized. A quote that is attributed to the poet and
novelist Victor Hugo might best describe why SAWA was formed, “There is
nothing more powerful than an ideawhose time has come.”
Professionals in the field of animal care and control wanted a bit more
outof national meetings and an opportunity to share ideas with their
peers. For those of you that have never read the original statement of
purpose it reads as follows:
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Statement of Purpose - April 25,
1970 We, the members of the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (S.A.W.A.)
wish to state that the express purpose of our organization is to create
a social and fraternal association made up of paid professional
administrators employed by organizations generally accepted to be a part
of the humane movement.It is our intention to establish standards of
competence, integrity and professionalism by which we will judge our own
number and which, we hope, will identify us as the best in our field. We
hope by this means to enhance the value, effectiveness and standing of
our individual members in particular and the humane movement in general.
We wish particularly to stress that it is not a policy of our
organization to in any way alter or influence the policies or activities
of any persons or organizations except as their policies or activities
may directly effect the reputation, standing or livelihood of our
individual members. (Adopted S.A.W.A. Organizational Meeting New York
City)
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Mr. Frank Andrews, Mr. Archie Fiddler, Mr.
Ronald Lambert, Mr. Charles Marsh, Mr. Ken McGovern, and Mr. Bill Virden
authored the statement of purpose to state the rationale for SAWA that
underscored the concerns that motivated the founders. Frank Andrews was
kind enough to provide me with the information concerning the infancy of
SAWA. He wrote something to me in April of this year that was very
encouraging. Frank wrote, “It now seems to me that SAWA is finally
focusing on what it was always intended to be as stated in the Statement
of Purpose, a vehicle for the professional advancement of its members
rather than an alternate humane forum.”
My thanks to Frank and our founding members for the opportunity they
gave us all to meet, share, and learn. We current members have not only
followed but embraced SAWA’s purpose and have gained much as
professionals. |
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Thank You Conference Sponsors! |
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Conference Deadlines Approaching
Time is running out for you to register for the 2006 SAWA conference in
Nashville, Tennessee. The conference committee, chaired by SAWA
Board member Cheryl Naumann, has organized a program that will provide
new information and topics that are timely for all members. The hotel
location, the Gaylord Opryland Resort, is an amazing nine-acre facility
full of nice amenities and distractions.
If you have not received your conference registration brochure, please
let us know or download the forms from our web site,
http://www.sawanetwork.org/conf_reg_2006.htm. We hope you will join
us in ”Music City, USA” November 11 (with the CAWA Exam and opening
reception that night) and staying through the 14th (ending at Noon). Our
conference
registration deadline is Monday, October 23rd. Also,October 11 is the
deadline for the hotel rates. Please call 866/972-6779 to make your
hotel reservation - give them our code of X-SAWA for the $129 room rate. |
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CAWA
Certification Council Formed
By Dr. Mark Goldstein, CAWA
SAWA has established a CAWA Certification Council to create a separate
oversight committee for the certification program. Serving as Chair of
the Council is Mark
Goldstein, DVM, CAWA. Council members are: Mary Pat Boatfield, CAWA,
Sharon Harmon, CAWA, Jane McCall, CAWA, and John Nagy, CAWA. The
Certification Council’s primary responsibilities include reviewing
candidate grievances or appeals regarding the examination process. The
Certification Council would be responsible for reviewing any grievances
or appeals made by candidates or certified individuals and for
responding to the individual within 60 days. In the past two years,
there have been no grievances or appeals made and none are anticipated
in the coming year.
The Council will also evaluate reports of irregular behavior and take
necessary action and evaluate continuing education points for authored
articles for professional
publications. If a certified individual wanted to receive continuing
education points for authoring an article that has been published in a
professional journal, the Certification Council would be responsible for
determining the number of points that the article is worth (max of 15
pts.).
In the future, the SAWA Certification Council will be responsible for
more administrative and financial oversight of the certification
program. This will most likely include (1) contracting with a testing
company, consultant, or other entities to assist SAWA with the
development and administration of the CAWA exam; (2) approving
continuing education courses; and (3) evaluating reports of misconduct
of CAWA recipients and taking appropriate action. |
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Certification News –
Renewing Your Certification
By Nancy B. McKenney, MNPL, CAWA
Certified Animal Welfare Administrators have three years before they
need to submit their continuing education credit documentation for
recertification. Although the SAWA Board and CPS are working on the
procedures for recertification, remember that CE points can be earned in
a variety of ways:
1. Continuing education courses
approved by SAWA—(approval criteria and processes for CEproviders still
being determined). Examples might include workshops at National and
State Animal Welfare conferences, on-line animal welfare courses, SAWA
conferences, etc. (if consistent with further development of knowledge).
2. Leadership and professional
involvement—Examples might include active service on a SAWA board or
committee (including SAWA test committee or certification council) and
state federation board of directors or committee; teaching training
courses or presenting on educational content at professional
conferences; and authoring articles accepted by professional
publications.
3. Formal coursework from accredited
college or university—includes all courses that list credits, trimester
units, or quarter hours. The Candidate Information Booklet will provide
you with a more specific listing of what qualifies for CE points. Those
administrators who received their certification on the 2004 exam will
have only 40 points (rather than 60) to achieve by May of 2007. Those
achieving CAWA certification from the 2005 exam will also have 40 points
to reach by May, 2008. |
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Online
registration is available for the CAWA exam August 1st
through October 13th at
www.cps.ca.gov/tlc/sawa/about.asp. The exam fee is $100.
The exam will be held on Saturday, November 11th at the SAWA
Annual Conference in Nashville , TN.
Should you have any questions regarding the exam process you
can contact our certification administrator directly at
916/263-3624 ext 3545.
If you would like more information about the exam or the
certification program, please stop by the SAWA web site at
http://www.sawanetwork.org/certification.htm for
information on the Eligibility Requirements, Exam Content,
Suggested Reading and the Information Bulletin with dates,
location, registration period information and fees |
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New Spaces
at the ASPCA
By Julie Morris, Sr. Vice President,
National Shelter Outreach ASPCA
The ASPCA officially unveiled its newly renovated adoption center in NYC
on September 18th. This being Manhattan, we did not have the
luxury of space, so we minimized people space, worked with what was
available and made the most of our limitations. Today we have 12,000
square feet of newly remodeled space on two floors with state of the art
enclosures and colony units housing 39% more animals.
The lobby-level adoption center has 16 large glass enclosures for dogs,
six community cat rooms (for up to 75 cats) and 24 individual cat
habitats. The fourth floor,
previously office space, now has 112 cat and 19 dog habitats. There are
two dog playrooms per floor. High-grade, water-proof materials were used
to minimize
maintenance issues, odors and animal stress. Terrazzo floors and Corian
surfaces and furnishings are easier to maintain and more attractive than
traditional materials. Thick laminated glass and acoustical ceilings
keep noise localized and reduce echoes. Species-specific music is piped
in via ceiling-mounted speakers: calming recordings of "dog laughter"
for dogs and babbling brooks and birdsongs for cats.
The re-design was engineered by ARQ Architects, a firm known for serving
the needs of humane societies. We invite SAWA members to plan a visit to
the ASPCA on their next trip to NYC and we welcome calls regarding our
new shelter design. Contact Steve Musso at
stevem@aspca.org. |
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Still
have your Pit Bull Survey?
Please submit your response by October 20th |
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National Pit
Bull Survey Launched
In an effort to gather important baseline data on the impact of pit
bulls, SAWA has commissioned a national survey, the first of its kind.
Thanks to Dr. Steve Notaro (SAWA member) and the University of Illinois,
all SAWA members working in animal shelters were recently emailed the
link to the survey (through Survey Monkey). In order to report the
results during the SAWA Conference in Nashville, we encourage ALL survey
recipients to complete the survey online no later than October 20th.
This survey is the first attempt at collecting real numbers and to
identify trends regarding pit bulls in animal shelters.
In addition to this online survey, SAWA members will be receiving an
email from MaryAnn Halpin
(mhalpin3@uiuc.edu), a graduate student at the University of
Illinois who is working with Dr. Notaro
(snotaro@uiuc.edu) on this
project. She will be providing an Excel spreadsheet for additional data
that can not be collected from the online survey. If you use a shelter
software program such as Chameleon or PetPoint, your data can be
exported for each individual dog for the time period requested. Kristin
at Chameleon is on this email and is aware you may have technical
questions on how to export this information. We also alerted PetPoint
about this survey.
Again, please take the time to complete the survey and turn it in by the
deadline, it is important! Thank you. |
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HSUS’ Animal Care EXPO Heading To Dallas
The Humane Society for the United States has scheduled the 2007 Animal
Care Expo for May 9-12, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. Look for the
complete Expo 2007 Registration Guide in your mailbox this fall. For
more information visit
www.AnimalSheltering.org/expo or call
1-800-248-EXPO. |
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NCPPSP
Conducts Shelter Population Index Study
The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy has just funded
Phase One of a two-part scientific, multi-institutional collaborative
effort to improve community well-being and the quality of shelter animal
practice by establishing a valid and consistent estimate or index of
shelter dog and cat populations in the United States.
Three leading Colleges of Veterinary Medicine - Colorado State
University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, North
Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and the
University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine – along with the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) have
partnered to develop the Shelter Population Index for Companion Animals.
The specific goals of this study are to: (1) Develop consistent and
standardized reporting methods for animal shelters and encourage their
widespread use; (2) Provide reliable data for decision makers and the
community at large regarding the progress or lack thereof towards humane
solutions to the dog and cat surplus;(3) Strengthen the science base for
shelter animal medicine and promote evidence based protocols; (4)
Promote improvement of the animal sheltering system and demonstrate a
correlation with community-based demographics; and (5) Increase public
awareness of the magnitude of the problem of homeless, abandoned, and
marginalized dogs and cats within the United States.
This extensive study will reflect a human population weighted average of
the dogs and cats entering into the sheltering system by source and
disposition. As such, the Shelter
Population Index will be reflective of the general health and welfare of
the community that supports the sheltering system, rather than serving
as an evaluative instrument for individual shelter analysis. This
approach appropriately places the emphasis on the community’s role – and
responsibilities – in companion animal overpopulation.
Twelve individual animal shelters and alliances are participating, and
data collection officially began on July 1, 2006.
Your support is needed…. While The National Council is funded by it’s
member organizations of which SAWA is one as well as grants, The Council
could certainly do more if it had more money. Any SAWA member who would
like to support the work of The National Council should send a check to
SAWA indicating you would like it to go to support The National
Council’s work. Pamela Burns and Patti Mercer are SAWA’s two
representatives to The Council. |
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Welcome New
SAWA Members
By Dr. Mark
Goldstein, CAWA, SAWA Board member/Chair of Membership Committee
Between August and September, the
following new SAWA members were approved by the Board of Directors: |
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Executive: |
1. Charlotte Grimme - Animal Rescue
League of Western Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, PA
2. Dawn Clayton, Executive Director - Portage Animal Protective
League - Ravenna, OH
3. Mary Martin, Executive Director - Animal Care & Control of NYC
- New York, NY
4. Peggy Weigle, Executive Director - Animal Humane Association
of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM
5. Aimee Wells, Manager - Independence Animal Control and Shelter
6. Heather Cammisa, Executive Director - Jersey Shore Animal
Center - Brick, NJ
7. Nina Wingfield, Supervisor/Director - Collierville Animal
Services - Collierville, TN |
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Manager: |
1. Susan Phillips - Humane Society of
the Black Hills - Rapid City, SD
2. Inga Fricke, Shelter Manager - Loudoun County Animal Care &
Control |
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Associate: |
1. Teresa Jennings - University of
Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine
2. Joanna Harkin, Executive Director-Board Member - Alliance for
Stray Animals and People - Washington, DC
3. Linda Reider, Animal Welfare Specialist - Michigan Humane
Society - Southfield, MI
4. Sue Winking, Executive Director - Pets Across America -
Minneapolis, MN |
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Business: |
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1. Michael Hornblas, President - Risk
Transfer Insurance Alliance - Portsmouth, NH |
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Heard it
Through the Grapevine: |
• David Miller, Executive Director of
the Treasure Coast Humane Society (FL), is the proud father to a baby
boy. Congratulations to both Mr. and Mrs. Miller!
• Dori Villalon has submitted her resignation as Executive
Director of the Cleveland Animal Protection League (OH) and plans to
move closer to family in California.
• Denise McVicker has been appointed the interim Executive
Director for the Humane Society for Tacoma-Pierce County, WA.
• American Humane Association presented Jan Elster and
Victoria Wellens with their 2006 Lifetime Achievement award during
the AHA Conference awards dinner on September 27. Jan provided a nice
acceptance speech via video and Victoria was able to hear the
presentation live, thanks to cellular technology. Betsy Saul, President
of Petfinder.com,
received AHA’s President’s Award and Jenny Orme received the Dennis
White Faculty Award. Congratulations to the honorees!
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Oklahoma
State Study on Pit Bull Health Issue
The Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University
is working on a research project in which they are examining pit bulls
and other dogs for infection with Babesia gibsoni, a tick transmitted
hemoprotozoan parasite in dogs that is rapidly emerging in the U.S.
Previous research at O.S.U. and other universities has shown a
predominance of B. gibsoni infection in pit bulls or in dogs that have
been in fights
with pit bulls. However, research indicates that other breeds of dogs
besides pit bulls are just as susceptible to infection with B. gibsoni.
The question why pit bulls are more often infected has yet to be
answered. It has been hypothesized that infections of B. gibsoni are
more often associated with pit bulls because these dogs are used for
fighting. It is thought that B. gibsoni is transmitted from one pit bull
to another through passage of infected blood during a fight.
You can help with the study by contacting us when your shelter receives
pit bulls that you suspect have been used for fighting or animals held
in association with a dog fighting prosecution. A small sample of blood,
a few of the ticks found on the animal (if any), the animal’s
description and a photograph of the animal will be all that is needed.
Collection and shipping materials can be provided if needed.
We greatly appreciate any assistance you can give us with this study. Do
not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. |
Mason Reichard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
250 McElroy Hall
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology
Center for Veterinary Sciences
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078-2007
405-744-8159
Fax: 405-744-5275
Mason.reichard@okstate.edu
Todd Yeagley, Esquire
DVM Student
1848 East 16th Street
Stillwater, OK
405-372-1118
todd.yeagley@okstate.edu |
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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 |