C4C SuccessYes We Can!

Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Fellowship Program A partnership between University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine and UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine programs

Dr. Elizabeth RobertsDirector Shelter MedicineSan Francisco SPCAUW/UCD Eslinger Shelter Medicine Fellow

Dr. Anthea SmithHead Shelter VeterinarianEdmonton Humane SocietyUW/UCD Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Fellow

San Francisco SPCA

Founded 1868

Mission

Save and protect animals, provide care and treatment, advocate for their welfare and enhance the human-animal bond.

Adoption goal 5500/yr

Edmonton Humane Society

Founded 1907

Mission

The Edmonton Humane Society enriches the lives of people and companion animals through animal sheltering, programs and services, and community engagement

Intake 6380 / yr

How are we similar?

• Annual intake, high live release rate• Animal Control right next door• Large modern buildings• Well-resourced

How are we different?

• EHS - stray holding facility for areas surrounding Edmonton

• EHS - Animal Protection department• Community cats / TNR still a radical concept in

Alberta• Main challenge to C4C in Edmonton is cats, at

SFSPCA, dogs.• SF SPCA- 2 public facing hospitals

2 Shelters - Real World Challenges and SolutionsWhat is C4C?

4 Pillars of C4C

Before C4C

Starting C4C

Challenges and Solutions

in C4C

What is C4C?

Staffing Shortages –all shelters

• Do what you can. Staying within your capacity for animal numbers will help when short staffed

• Focus on what is most important

• Recognize limitations, set realistic goals

• Capacity for care is fluid – drops when staffing levels drop

• Train workers to recognize the early signs of stress, burn out and compassion fatigue and provide resources and flexible scheduling

What is C4C?Daily Population = LOS x Intake

Managed Intake

PopulationManagement

Removing Barriers to Outcomes

Pathway Planning

Before C4C:

Capacity based on housing

Struggling kennel staff

High disease occurrence

Long LOS

Absence of natural

behaviors

How did C4C get started? SF SPCA

Starting C4C

Starting C4C2010 – Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters

2014 – Million Cat Challenge- First Shelter in Western Canada

2016 – Grant from CFHS: Capacity for Care Consult KoretShelter Medicine Program

2016-2017 – Implementation

2018 – C4C Bootcamp mentor shelter

“Every sheltering organization has a maximum capacity for care, and the population in their care must not exceed that level.”

It’s a journey

Managed Intake

Managed Intake

Daily Population = LOS x IntakeOR

Daily Population = LOSIntake

Intake = Outcomes

MANAGED INTAKE -BASIC MATHIf an average of 5 cats get adopted per day, and the shelter is housing 250 cats, how long will on average each cat stay before getting adopted?

50 days (250 cats / 5 cats adopted per day)

If the shelter has 50 cats and adopts out on average 5 per day, how long will each cat stay on average?

10 days (50 cats / 5 cats per day)

Result: same number of cats helped!

Intake Management

Our stake in the ground

MAGI C NUMBER

Beautiful Cycle

Lower population

More efficient

processes

Lower LOS

Beautiful Cycle

Magic number calculation

Pathway planningSN kittens @ 700g

Stop healthy quarantine

Lower Population Lower LOSMore efficient processes

Updated medical protocols

Update SN scheduling

Update PP stages

Intake timing

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

July 2016-May 2018

Dog census Dog intake Dog adopt Linear (Dog census) Linear (Dog intake) Linear (Dog adopt)

Start of C4C

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

July 2016-May 2018

Cat census Cat intake Cat adopt Linear (Cat intake) Linear (Cat adopt)

“Please call to schedule an appointment for all pets and stray animals. We advise you to leave healthy stray cats found outside the city limits where they are. If the animal is injured or out in extreme conditions, please call the Edmonton Humane Society. For strays within the city limits, call the city at 311.”

Wait!Its says to call

first

Managed IntakeSolutions

Managed Intake Solutions - EHS

Kitten co-op program

• Being honest about the risks of underage kittens growing up in the shelter is most successful at engaging finder for help

• Supplies freely handed out

• This year program expanding

• Non – urgent healthy stray cats admitted by appointment

• Change in admitting hours – focus on adoptions on weekends

• Make easy the type of behavior you want to encourage

Managed Intake Solutions - EHS

Relief ValvesIf an organization cannot completely control their intake, must have timely and efficient strategies to get back to manageable numbers

Intake =Outcomes

Transfers out

Offsite adoptions

Adoption Events

Pet Store Seizure

• 500+ animals abandoned and seized under the Animal Protection Act February 2018 and brought to shelter

• Many exotic animals requiring specialized care

Although the “Clear Our Shelter” event started at noon Friday, people were lining up outside as early as 7:30 a.m.

All animals seized from pet store by Edmonton Humane Society find new homes in giant adoption event Edmonton Journal

All dogs and most cats on the adoption floor were

gone by 3pm Friday

Long-term Legal Holds:

• Nov 2016 36 dogs / puppies• Brought in by Animal Protection officers from breeding operation• Dirty conditions, injuries, malnourishment

Long-term Legal Holds:

The puppies grew up in our care and we were not allowed to adopt them out for over a year!

January 2018

Long-term Legal Holds – Solutions:

FOSTER

Playgroup

Flexible housing

Enrichment

Walks

Visits / time in offices

Population Management

Population Management- EHS

Portals

• Forced to keep shelter cat population to a more manageable numbers

• Had to have a firm rule no closing portals

Clear labelling of intended use of each ward extremely helpful

Portals with Curtailments

Wagner DC, Kass PH, Hurley KF (2018) Cage size, movement in and out of housing during daily care, and other environmental and population health risk factors for feline upper respiratory disease in nine North American animal shelters.

Population Management - EHS

Rabbits – EHS – Before C4C

• In the past: 50+ rabbits in the shelter

• 9 adopted per month

• LOS over 5 months!

C4C Solutions -Rabbits• Attractive rabbit housing for 6

rabbits built off cat adoption gallery

• Usually additional 1-3 rabbits in back

• Rabbits featured in a local pet store

• If 9 rabbits in shelter, LOS about 1 month

Our Shelter at C4C

Housing up to our noses

Kitten housing

Canine Infectious Housing

1

234

24 kennels for CIRD

Housing up to our noses

1234

20 kennels per room

Adoption housing

Closed to public and changed to intake housing

Transition housing, aim to use as first negative ringworm housing

Reduced stress housing

Now we can do more!

Pathway Planning

Pathway Planning

Adoptable IPE [AA] Available

Underweight kittens IPE Foster AA Available

Medical Rehabilitation IPE UAM [AA] Available

Behavioral Rehabilitation IPE [AA] UAB Available

Pathway Planning

Adoptable 40 total cats and kittens

Underweight kittens 150 kittens

Medical Rehabilitation Weekly assessment

Behavioral Rehabilitation Weekly assessment

Falling off the horse

Adult dogs40 total available and

unavailable

Puppies We don’t know!

Medical Rehabilitation Capacity to be determined

Behavioral Rehabilitation Capacity to be determined

Identifying Bottlenecks importantSpay / Neuter List - EHS

• Effects everything!• Keeping up is critical

Spay / Neuter List

LOS Disease Total Population Adoptions

Spay/Neuter Challenges- EHS

• Staffing challenges

• Cramped space

• Meeting additional extensive surgery needs of animals (non-spay neuter) in high season when demands on surgery vet is high

Spay/Neuter Solutions - EHS

• Focus on what is most important• Indemnities for elective / non urgent surgeries• Spay / neuterathons• Bring in extra contract vets, casual tech support• Outsourcing specialized surgeries.• Stopped teaching in high season• Low income spay / neuter surgeries integrated into

each surgery day to alleviate some of the overcrowding in our small surgery recovery area

Removing Barriers to Outcomes

Removing Barriers to OutcomesMy adoption took two hours!

I spent an hour working with a volunteer to find my best match, then spoke to an adoption counsellor and found out I couldn’t adopt the same dog!

It took half an hour for them to read me the medical record, I didn’t understand any of it!

I waited three hours to meet an animal.

I met an animal than found out they had already been adopted.

Removing Barriers to Outcomes

Long adoption process

Long wait times

Long application

Adoption holds

Reactive adoption

promotions

Removing Barriers to Outcomes

Free vet exam at

local clinics

Adoption satisfaction guarantee

Streamlined adoption process

Fee waived cats

Summary

• The payoff of working within your capacity is huge. More animal lives can be saved, all the while maintaining good animal health and welfare.

• Keep your destination postcard in mind and never give up!

Questions and Further Resources

“Ask an Expert” shelter medicine question response system sheltermedconsult@gmail.com.

evroberts@sfspca.orghttps://www.sfspca.org

asmith@edmontonhumanesociety.comhttp://www.edmontonhumanesociety.com

Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Fellowship Program A partnership between University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine and UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine programs