Shelter Services Provided by ALVMCS




ALVMCS Conducts Operation Assessments of Animal Control Agencies and Humane Societies

ALVMCS provides customized operational assessments of animal sheltering agencies that include the following four steps (individual steps can be requested or all four steps completed in sequence):




Step I - The review of current administrative/clerical, veterinary medical, animal care and law enforcement Manuals of Policy & Procedure.

Step II - Site visits of all shelters within an agency are conducted and include a review of all or specifically selected divisions listed below:

Administration

 Department Organization
 Budget 
 Reporting Structure
 Clerical Division
 Licensing Division
 Information Technology

Veterinary Medical

 Medical Record Review (i.e. hard copy and electronic)
 Controlled Substance Practices (logs, security)
 Medical Treatment
 Vaccination Protocols
 Emergency Protocols 
 Registered veterinary technicians, unregistered assistant staffing/responsibilities/scheduling
 Euthanasia Practices 
 Surgical Protocols (including injured animals and spay/neuter practices)

Animal Care

 Cleaning and Disinfecting Practices 
 Animal Housing 
 Staffing, shifts  
 Impound Process 
 Feeding and Nutrition Practices (all species, including exotics) 
 Feral Cat Practices
 Compliance with legal holding periods
 Animal Handling and Equipment Use
 Temperament Evaluation
 Safety – Staff and Public 
 Isolation Practices 
 Performing daily animal inventories
 Volunteer and rescue group protocols
 Overall staff knowledge and ability to educate the public

Law Enforcement

 Field Service 
 Animal abuse/cruelty investigations 
 Safety
 Vehicles
 Communications/Dispatch 
 Animal Handling
 Euthanasia in the Field

Step III – A formal written report is completed that identifies:

a. Issues/concerns/lack of compliance with regional laws and ordinances identified during the site visit
b. The potential liabilities for the shelter that may result, and
c. Customized recommendations that meet animal shelter standards of practice (comparable with neighboring agencies of similar size and demographics) and encourage growth and development within the agency.

Step IV - ALVMCS staff offers assistance with implementation of shelter assessment recommendations in weekly increments post-assessment completion.

a. ALVMCS staff provides on-site mentoring, training, side-by side with shelter staff.

ALVMCS Develops and Amends Agency Manuals of Policy & Procedure

Example Topics include:

 Animal Impound
 Cleaning and Disinfecting
 Euthanasia 
 Animal Feeding and Nutrition 
 Animal Handling and Restraint
 Emergency Triage of Shelter Animals
 Routine Medical Assessment and Treatment of Shelter Animals
 Medical Record Keeping
 Infectious and Zoonotic Disease Prevention 
 Veterinary Diagnostic Testing, and
 Spay/Neuter Clinic Procedures

ALVMCS Conducts Training Programs for Shelter Staff Through the Training Division, Humane Balance 

Two-Day Courses

 Euthanasia Training and Certification 
 Animal Care Technician Training & Wellness Program 

One-Day Courses

 Humane Animal Restraint
 Advanced Humane Animal Restraint
 Shelter Veterinary Medical Care Program

Customized Training Programs

For more details, scheduling, and to sign up to attend these programs, please visit the Humane Balance website at http://www.humanebalance.com/