The "101" Department: Shiny Happy Pooches
Dogs don’t ask for a lot of grooming, but the potential adopters visiting your shelter probably prefer a well-tended pooch to a matted stinkball. Here are some basic tips for making your pups look presentable. More...

The "101" Department: Getting to Know You
Creating a good cage card can be a critical tool for keeping track of the animals in your care and helping potential adopters to find their furry soulmate. More...

The 101 Department: “Board” to Tears
In our first How Not To article, we outline steps sure to establish a dysfunctional board of directors that will ruin staff morale, fail to meet funding goals, and drive you crazy within six months. More...

The 101 Department: Make Your Case: How to Testify in Court
A day on the witness stand can make even the most gregarious animal control officer nervous, but our tips on providing effective court testimony can prepare you for the crossest of cross examinations. More...

The 101 Department: Lobbying for a Better Disposition
Shelters that seize animals from dogfighters or abusers often have to hold the victims for months while the cases make their way through the court system. Learn how bond and forfeiture laws can help lessen the burdens of long-term holding. More...

The 101 Department: Find Your Target Audience
You probably have a sign in front of your shelter that tells visitors they've come to the right place. But how easily can people find your organization on the Web? Learn how to help pet-seeking people find your site. More...

The 101 Department: Animal CSI: Gathering the Evidence
Animal cruelty cases may end in the courtroom, but they start at the scene—and they can be made or broken by the quality of the evidence you gather. Here's a beginner's guide to assembling the pieces of your case. More...

The 101 Department: Keeping Animals in Transfer Programs Healthy
Veterinarian Jan Scarlett provides tips on moving animals in transfer programs to their new destinations safely. More...

The 101 Department: Highlighting the Wallflowers
Groups across the country provide tips on how they highlight the less popular pets in their care, finding good adopters for the wallflowers of the animal kingdom. More...

The 101 Department: How To Find Lost Pets: A Primer for the Public
Start close to home, be thorough, and know your critters: Pet hunter Kat Albrecht provides tips for the public on how to find lost pets. More...

How to Host a Volunteer Orientation
Planning in advance will not only help you develop a great volunteer orientation, it can also head off potential tensions between staff and the volunteers you decide to take on. More...

How to Clean Kennel Items
It’s important to clean not only the kennel itself but everything inside: the litter box, the toys, the food bowls, and the blankets, all of which can be cozy breeding grounds for the formidable microenemies that lead to harmful and sometimes life-threatening diseases. More...

How to Set Up a Comfy Dog Kennel
Here’s how to provide your canine critters with the most basic of homes away from home: a cozy but no-frills stay that will help keep their bellies full, their minds active, and their bodies rested. More...

How to Set Up a Comfy Cat Cage
In the absence of a permanent home, a soft and stimulating cage can be enough to keep kitties content during their stay and give staff and volunteers something to purr about. More...

How to Set Up a Visiting Room
A friendly, welcoming visiting room can help man and critter find out if they're right for each other before rushing into a lifetime commitment; it's also a great chance to do some humane educating.  More...

How to Trim a Bird's Wing Feathers
Feather trimming is a fairly simple process, but it takes precision and care. More...

How to Clean a Dog's Ears
 Make sure your furry guests keep their ears perked up by following these simple steps. More...

How to Teach a Dog "Down"
Shelter dogs who know how to respond to the flick of a wrist also have a hip edge over their counterparts in pet stores.  More...

How To Handle A Socialized Cat
Handling a cat doesn't have to be a hairy experience. More...

How To Teach A Shelter Dog to Sit
Find out how you can have your canines sittin' pretty when prospective adopters approach. More...

How to Lead a Shelter Tour
Conducting a tour of your facility is a great way to show the public just how much you do. These guidelines are geared toward a children's school-group tour, but they can be modified for adolescents, special-needs groups, or adults.  More...

How to Sex Small Mammals
When examining creatures this small, it's all in the details. Read on to find out how you can easily tell the boys from the girls. More...

How to Care for Rats and Mice
Here's how to care for the little whiskered fellows when they arrive at your facility. More...

How to Care for Gerbils
Gerbils can be happy and healthy almost anywhere—including during their temporary stay at your shelter—provided you follow these guidelines. More...

How to Bathe a Dog
Even though a good bath is one of the kindest things you can give your shelter's dogs, chances are they're not going to see it that way. More...

How to Write a Cage Card
The cards clipped to dog kennels and cat cages usually include just a few descriptive words, but they could be the most important words you write all day. More...

How to Care for Hamsters
Today, hamsters' friendly nature and adaptability have placed them among America's most popular small pets. To learn how to fulfill the special needs of these cuddly creatures, some of whom inevitably end up at shelters, follow these suggestions. More...

How to Care for Guinea Pigs
Like rabbits, ferrets, and other small domesticated mammals, guinea pigs require an environment and treatment distinct from dogs and cats. More...

How to Care for Ferrets
Ferrets were once an uncommon sight in most animal shelters, but now many facilities have a separate cage or two set aside for these sociable creatures. Still, many animal care workers are unaware of the special needs of these domesticated weasels.  More...

How to Walk a Shelter Dog
Every time you take a dog for a stroll, you're teaching him how to respond to his caretakers and his environment. If you can spend a few moments teaching an unruly, overanxious dog how to behave, you'll not only make future walks go more smoothly but also increase that dog's chances of finding a lifelong home. More...

How to Care for Domestic Rabbits
Rabbits may be easy to love, but they're not quite as easy to care for. To learn about providing temporary care for these adorable creatures in your facility, check out books and websites on rabbit care. This quick set of reminders will give you the basics. More...

How to Set Up a Planned Giving Program
Planned giving programs are among the best ways for a nonprofit organization to raise money, yet many shelters are afraid to tread such unfamiliar territory. More...

How to Trim a Dog's Nails
Although dogs are less likely than cats to injure someone with their claws, timely nail trimmings help ensure that a dog can walk without pain or discomfort. More...

How to Set a Live Trap
Live traps can help field personnel provide humane solutions to conflicts between humans and urban wildlife, or capture wayward cats and dogs too wary to be restrained with a net or control pole. More...

How to Trim a Cat's Claws
Trimming a cat’s claws every few weeks is a vital part of maintaining the animal’s hygiene. More...

How to Temporarily House Wild Mammals
Any injured or orphaned wild animal who comes into your shelter’s care is highly stressed—after all, her life in the wild was just turned upside down. More...

How to Vaccinate a Cat
Because cats entering your shelter will be exposed to many other cats and airborne viruses, they depend on you to protect them from disease. And vaccines are among your best tools to do the job. More...

How to Set Up a Community Education Booth
Incorporating a community education booth into your outreach program is a great way to teach people about animal issues and your shelter’s programs. More...

How to Clean a Dog Kennel
Do it correctly and you ensure your canine residents a healthier, less stressful stay. But do it incorrectly and you essentially put out a welcome mat for all the germs and bacteria that can make life miserable for the dogs. More...

How to Clean a Cat Cage
A clean cage will minimize the spread of diseaseand will reflect the level of care that your shelter provides each animal. An improperlydisinfected cage invites health problems in cats and may even increase the animals’ stress level. More...

How to Handle Small Mammals and Reptiles
Even if you have only limited experience with animals, you probably know your way around a dog leash and have little trouble handling a Siamese. But odds are you have considerably less experience picking up a chinchilla orholding a hedgehog.  More...

How to Understand Common Veterinary Terms
The listed terms are commonly used in such fields as anatomy, physiology, and epidemiology, and make up much of the technical jargon that veterinarians use to describes symptoms, illnesses, even surgical techniques.  More...

How to Use a Net
The net is one of the oldest animal-handling tools and it remains one of the best. It is the most humane and effective tool for capturing cats and many wild animals. More...

How to Use a Control Pole
Most animal control officers consider the control pole one of the most valuable tools of the trade. But like a carpenter's hammer or drill, a control pole is only as effective as the person holding it in his or her hands. More...

How to Write a Winning Grant Proposal
After you've done your research and identified those foundations and corporations—or "grantmakers"—whose funding interests include animal-related programs, it's time to write that grant proposal. Here's how. More...

How to Determine a Cat's or Dog's Age
Examining teeth is one of the best ways to determine the approximate age of a cat or dog. More...

How to Determine a Cat's Sex
It's not always easy to figure out if a kitten or cat is a boy or girl. In kittens, unlike in puppies, no testicles are plainly visible until the animals reach 6–10 weeks of age. In adult cats, neutered males can be easily confused with females. These diagrams can help. More...

How to Tell if a Cat or Dog May Need Veterinary Care
The best way to evaluate the general health of a cat or dog is to give the animal a thorough nose-to-tail examination. More...

How to Pill a Cat
What is feline upper respiratory infection? What is feline upper respiratory infection, or URI as it is commonly known, is a highly contagious disease affecting the nasal passages and sinuses of cats and kittens. More...