National Homeless Pets Day is August 16th


National Shelter Advisory Board—3 Years and Growing Strong!
Banfield, The Pet Hospital and its National Shelter Advisory Board Recognize National Homeless Animals Day (Aug.16) and National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week (1st week of Nov.)

Portland, Ore.—August 2008—Three years ago, in January 2005, Banfield, The Pet HospitalÒ convened and hosted its first national Shelter Advisory Board (SAB) meeting, inviting Pet welfare shelter representatives from across the country.

“Our work at Banfield intersects with that of shelters on a regular basis—especially through our Pet hospitals, our clients and our New Pet Parent Program,” explained Karen K. Faunt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM (small animal), Vice President/Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Banfield, The Pet Hospital. “In 2005, we formed a national Shelter Advisory Board to help facilitate collaborative work on all of the issues that affect shelter Pets as well as the broader animal welfare community.”

The SAB has evolved over the last 3 years, currently has 18 members and has helped inspire and shape Banfield programs that benefit the broader shelter community as well as its own hospital teams, clients and Pet patients. One of the many positive outcomes that has resulted from the SAB is that Karen D. Devers, PhD , Instructional Systems Designer for Banfield, The Pet Hospital has developed 2 professional development courses that Banfield now requires of all of its doctors as well as paraprofessionals called “Shelter 101” and “Shelter 102”. To date, more than 3,500 Banfield team members have completed the shelter training.

Banfield’s “Shelter 101” course covers the following issues:
- Homeless Pets in the United States
- Newly adopted homeless Pets
- Pet care and control organizations in the community
- Best ways to strengthen relationships with local shelters and see more referred Pets

Banfield’s “Shelter 102” course covers the following issues:
- Medical issues that impact Banfield and the shelter community
- Social concerns for shelters and Banfield
- Insights into how Pets become homeless
- Effective approaches that shelters and Banfield can implement to have a positive impact on medical, social, and homeless Pet issues
- Resources for additional information regarding shelter medicine and Pets

“The purpose of our shelter courses is to enhance Banfield hospital team members’ understanding of how shelter medicine and the medicine that Banfield provides, can work synergistically to improve Pets’ lives and strengthen the human-Pet bond,” says Dr. Faunt, CMO, Banfield, The Pet Hospital. “Our goal is to help our team members learn about the complementary goals of shelters and Banfield, The Pet Hospital.”

Banfield’s collaborates with the Humane Society and other shelters to offer education and resources that support and protect the value we place on Pets in our society. Banfield’s educational course offerings include: Aggressive Pet Behavior, Basic Immunology, Blood Borne Pathogens, Catheters, Client Service I, Client Service II, Dental Basics, Diet Comparisons, Emergency Action Plan, Feline Heartworm Disease, Fleas, Ticks, and Mosquitoes, Hazard, Communication Plan , Heartworm Prevention, Infectious Diseases, Life Stage Nutrition, Medical Waste, New Pet Parent Program, Nutrition, Nutrition Essentials, OSHA, Personal Protective Equipment, Pet Restraint, Shelter 101, Shelter 102, Wound Care and Zoonotic Diseases.

“Shelters manage and prevent disease among homeless Pets in their care while private practitioners can play an important role in helping shelters achieve high save rates,” says Sharon Harmon, Executive Director, Oregon Humane Society. “The best remedy for maintaining the health of shelter Pets are loving homes and proper follow-up veterinary healthcare. We are grateful to Banfield and the Shelter Advisory Board for all of their work to address Pet health and homelessness.”

About Banfield’s New Pet Parent Program
Homeless and shelter Pets often come with some common medical conditions. Banfield’s New Pet Parent Program offers help for adopters and shelter agencies to help address these specific medical concerns.

Adopters receive:
- A certificate toward their new Pet’s first visit to Banfield or toward enrollment on a Banfield Optimum Wellness Plan®
- One free Advantage® (for cats or dogs) or K9 Advantix® (for dogs only) flea preventive

Participating adoption agencies receive:
- Free office visits for any Pet in their care
- A Banfield service voucher for every adopter certificate redeemed
- Discounts on selected services and products

The Banfield Charitable Trust, the charitable arm of Banfield, The Pet Hospital, also has many programs that support Banfield Pet hospitals, shelters and Pets in our local communities. Many of these programs help support new adoptive Pet families. For more information about the Banfield Charitable Trust, please visit: http://www.banfield.net/banfield-charitable-trust.

SAB Meetings and Members
The SAB meets annually at Banfield’s main campus/Central Team Support offices in Portland, Ore. and conducts conference calls 2-to-3 times per year, discussing trends as well as general best practices that affect shelter medicine and animal welfare. The SAB also discusses ways shelters and Banfield can work together to share resources and partner with the animal sheltering community, as well as ways to better educate veterinarians on animal sheltering issues.

Current members of Banfield’s national Shelter Advisory Board include:

- Joyce Briggs, CEO Clara Vista Strategies, Consultant
- Sharon Harmon, Executive Director, Oregon Humane Society
- Bert Hawkins, retired Executive Director, Lexington Humane Society
- Kent M. Robertson, Bureau Chief , Houston Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care
- Bob Rohde, President, Denver Dumb Friends League
- Cynthia Sharpley, Executive Director, Last Chance Animal Rescue
- John M Snyder, Vice President, Companion Animal Division, Humane Society of the United States

SAB Members from Banfield, The Pet Hospital
- Kathy Baumgardner, Senior Director, Practice Communications, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Julia Brannan, DVM, Professional Programs Liaison, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Leeza Castle, Senior Print Production Coordinator, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Diane Charlton, Marketing Specialist, Manager New Pet Parent Program, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Karen D. Devers, PhD , Instructional Systems Designer, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Karen J. Johnson, DVM, Vice President and Client Advocate, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Kerri Marshall, DVM, MBA, Senior Director, PetWare Business Development, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- John Payne, CEO and President, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Jeannine Taaffe, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Public Relations, and Inside Sales, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Tracey Wade, Director, Optimum Wellness Plans, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®
- Nancy Townsend Zimmerman, DVM, Diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Canine/Feline), Senior Medical Advisor, Banfield, The Pet Hospital®