News, ideas & inspiration from industry leaders
Guest Voices

Word on the Street with Sarah Hicks, DVM
February 8, 2025, The Association
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Deep thoughts, good advice and tough talk on hot topics When shelters are covered in local media these days, headlines very often include references to overcrowding. We in the field...
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Adoptable, Schmadoptable…
Dr. Emily Weiss suggests a new way to talk about the animals in our care who simply need to go home I have a wish. I wish to eliminate the...
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Are You Kidding Me?
Just because a dog is shy or big and rambunctious does not mean he will be better or worse with children. Dr. Emily Weiss challenges you to take a hard...
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Let’s wrap up this Pets as Gifts stuff
‘Tis the season for looking back to existing research on pets given as gifts. Dr. Weiss shares evidence to bust the myth that it’s a bad idea for good. My...
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Let’s Dump the Judgment
December 4, 2024, Dr. Emily Weiss
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Are the people who walk through your doors to relinquish so different from you? Dr. Emily Weiss suggests we dump that premise Earlier this year I wrote a blog about...
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3 Self-Care Strategies to Manage the Election and Beyond
The Association’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives offers three practical solutions for managing stressors in the next few weeks The election season can bring about different emotions and...
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Forget Culture Fit
October 6, 2024, Kristi Mack
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Want a team that sustains and supports new energy and ideas? The Senior Director of HR for Humane Society Silicon Valley suggests a shift in perspective The concept of “culture...
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Let Your Rising Stars Shine
A case for bringing your emerging leaders to The Annual Conference this November “Leaders are made, not born” is my rallying cry for 2024. In our hectic, challenging, and uber-fatiguing...
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Word on the Street with Kelly Furnas
Deep thoughts, good advice and tough talk on hot topics Inspired by the recent insights on foster volunteers shared in Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s 2024 State of Shelter Adoption Report, we...
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So It’s Not All Going to Sh*t. But Something Might Be…
August 19, 2024, Dr. Emily Weiss
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Dr. Weiss shares opportunities to uncover challenges that may be increasing risk in your shelter Earlier this year I shared with you a blog proposing the idea that sheltering is...
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“It’s Just Not Supposed To Happen This Way”
Dr. Weiss details the compounding losses that occurred when one shelter adopted out a dog with behavioral concerns. Sarah and Max, my friend’s daughter and her boyfriend, are dream dog...
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