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FEATURES
On the Inside, Looking Out
San Quentin State Prison, California’s oldest penitentiary, isn’t a nice place to be. But in 2005, inmates at the prison got a little ray of sunshine: They began working with dogs from a local shelter, helping to socialize and prepare them for new homes. It’s not a unique program: Dozens of prisons around the country have teamed up with area shelters and rescue groups.
Making It Work
Amber van Leuken, grant writer (and former assistant manager) at the Ark-Valley Humane Society in Buena Vista, Colo., recounts how the shelter revamped its volunteer program to fit its needs, rather than simply making do with whoever walked in the door that day.
DEPARTMENTS
Letterbox
Scoop
Coffee Break
In your space, you told us about what gadget—real or imagined—you would most like to have, and how it would help you help animals.
The “101” Department
Thanks to the Internet, people are conducting more and more of their lives online: shopping, socializing, doing business—and that goes for seeking a new pet, too. That’s why it’s become essential for shelters to have an online presence, and to ensure that presence contains some basic key elements. Learn about them here, and see if your site’s working for you!
Q & A
Is there a customer service crisis in the animal welfare field? In a series of interviews excerpted here, Animal Sheltering editor Carrie Allan talks to staff of Maddie’s Fund and the Petfinder Foundation about the results of a “secret shopper” program they conducted last summer at a series of rescues and shelters.
Humane Law Forum
In a new department, an attorney who specializes in animal law tackles the issue of discrimination, explaining how to make sure your adoption decisions don’t leave your organization vulnerable to legal threats.
Volunteer Management
Our columnists—both of whom have recently made career transitions—discuss how the volunteer programs they directed were able to survive during periods of change.
Off Leash
A rescue group based in Mill Valley, Calif. has released a limited run of a frisky new wine that not only raises money to support the group’s mission, but spreads the spay/neuter message.
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