Urgently Needed Education for Animal Shelters Expanded

AUSTIN, Texas - April 18, 2019 - PRLog -- American Pets Alive!, a national animal welfare program operated by Austin Pets Alive!, expanded its educational offering this year in an effort to increase its impact on lifesaving in the animal sheltering industry.

The popularity of the No Kill Movement, which aims to halt the killing of homeless dogs and cats in animal shelters, has shed light on outdated standards of animal sheltering. American Pets Alive! is working to stop the millions of unnecessary deaths occurring in animal shelters each year by educating shelters and the public on proven methods of lifesaving like the Austin No Kill Model.

"It's important that every community is aware that the system is broken and that resources like American Pets Alive! exist to help their local animal shelter. It's time shelters are transparent about how they operate and set better goals." said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, executive director of Austin Pets Alive! "Maddie's Lifesaving Academy is the best training animal shelters can get," she added.

Through a $4 million grant from Maddie's Fund®, American Pets Alive! launched Maddie's® Lifesaving Academy in 2017, a professional learning experience that now offers 13 hands-on apprenticeships to animal shelter staff, volunteers, and advocates. Three of the offerings, the Field Services Apprenticeship, the Pet Resource Center Apprenticeship, and Practical Ringworm Apprenticeship, are new in 2019.

"We were able to achieve amazing success in Austin and there's no reason other communities can't become No Kill, too. We need to make saving the lives of these vulnerable animals a priority across the county," said Dr. Jefferson.

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American Pets Alive! is a national program dedicated to No Kill advocacy and providing education, mentorship and hands-on support to animal sheltering professionals, volunteers and advocates. Their mission is to urgently save the lives of companion animals from unnecessary deaths in shelters. American Pets Alive! is a program of Austin Pets Alive!, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on helping the healthy and treatable pets at risk of euthanasia at municipal shelters.