CHARLOTTE, N.C. (News Release) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control and Human Animal Support Services (H.A.S.S.), a new animal welfare organizational model, was announced today. This new model recognizes pets and people as family-units and aims to keep them together. H.A.S.S. launches as a nation-wide coalition with 13 animal shelters across the U.S. These organizations are creating programs and initiatives based on 10 guiding principles that keep people and their pets together and more shelter pets cared for in foster homes; allowing them to serve as resource centers and pet-owner support systems in their communities.
The goal of H.A.S.S. is to help animal-services organizations build better safety-net programs for pets and to keep them with their families whenever possible. H.A.S.S. is an organizational model that promotes community collaboration to reimagine the traditional way of sheltering and provides the field with the policies, tools, and guidance needed to create change on a national level. H.A.S.S. and its pilot shelters create this future by providing the roadmap, leadership, and tools that shelters need to make progressive, organizational changes and to modify the conversation and values, both internally and externally, towards keeping pets in homes.
“We know we can do so much better when it comes to getting stray pets’ home, keeping cats and dogs with their owners, and getting sheltered pets to foster and adoptive homes faster,” says Dr. Ellen Jefferson, Executive Director of American Pets Alive! and one of the project’s leaders. “This pilot will give us the time and resources to finally put animal social services at the center of our work to help pets.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, communities across the country were called-on to foster animals to get them out of shelters. The public responded enthusiastically, helping clear many shelters in diverse areas around the U.S. through adoptions and fostering, giving these organizations the opportunity to collaborate with their communities in ways like never before.
Thanks to support from Maddie’s Fund®, South Fork Foundation, and Michelson Found Animals Foundation, this model will help pilot shelters test new resources and programs. These include remote services like veterinary telehealth and text support, stray animal return-to-owner task forces, foster care programs for most animals, behavioral and training services, and much more. The goal of H.A.S.S. is to help animal-services organizations build better safety-net programs for pets and to keep pets with families whenever possible.
“We’ve broadened the safety net for animals dramatically by asking the community for support, and they stepped up in a big way,” says Amy Zeifang, Executive Leadership Team, Maddie’s Fund. “Animals are being reunited with owners by community members in numbers not seen before. By keeping animals in the community and not the shelters, we’ve all realized how much better for everyone it is to focus our efforts on keeping pets and families together. Ninety-five percent of Americans believe their pets are family members. Maddie’s Fund is proud to see our energies spent supporting that important bond.”
This collaborative project is led by the leadership of American Pets Alive!, Humane Rescue Alliance, and Michelson Found Animals. The following progressive, lifesaving organizations were selected by the executive leadership team and lead supporters of the movement based on their demonstrated track records of successfully implementing positive changes for pets in their shelters and communities:
- Kansas City Pet Project (MO)
- Humane Rescue Alliance (DC & NJ)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control (NC)
- Pima Animal Care Center (AZ)
- Oakland Animal Services (CA)
- Fresno Humane Animal Services (CA)
- San Diego Humane Society (CA)
- LifeLine Animal Project (GA)
- El Paso Animal Services (TX)
- BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions (TX)
- Cabot Animal Services (AR)
- Greenville County Animal Care (SC)
- Los Angeles Animal Services (CA)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control – Charlotte, NC
“Over the past several years, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has taken great strides in the area of Animal Services through strategic programming and lifesaving efforts. The Human Animal Support Services model is the next iteration of that for us. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control is excited to be piloting this program to help us save the lives of more animals, but more importantly, to improve the quality of life for the pets and people we serve.” Says Director, Dr. Josh Fisher.
“We’re going to be bringing thought leaders in animal welfare, researchers, and experts in fields like human social work and public health to create the community animal centers of the future,” says Lisa LaFontaine, Chief Executive Officer of the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, DC and project leader. “The impacts of COVID-19 have accelerated our efforts to modernize animal services and we now must dedicate the immediate energy of our movement to accomplish our urgent goal.”
Thanks to Maddie, this pilot will be led by Bobby Mann, formerly with Front Street Animal Shelter, as the new grant-funded Maddie’s® Pilot Implementation Director. He will work alongside pilot cities and the project’s executive committee to help organizations and their communities provide more comprehensive support services to their constituents. The project executive committee includes Gina Knepp, Michelson Found Animals, Dr. Ellen Jefferson, Austin Pets Alive!, Lisa LaFontaine, Humane Rescue Alliance, and Kristen Hassen-Auerbach, Pima Animal Care Center.
For more information about H.A.S.S., go to http://humananimalsupportservices.org.
For more information about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control, go to https://charlottenc.gov/AnimalsCMPD/Pages/default.aspx.
