Animal operations best practices

Best practices guides for rescues & shelters

There’s a ton of information out there on best practices and standards and ideas for managing animals within an animal shelter.  

1. We found this guide from our friends in Alberta, Canada particularly useful because it covers a lot of ground but is succinct and well-written.  It’s a great place to get started to see how your operations are in comparison.
   http://cms.abvma.ca/uploads/ShelterStandardsBooklet_webcompressed.pdf

2. If you’re looking for something more targeted at rescues, and more…well voluminous, check out the guide from PetSmart Charities and the Humane Society of the United States.  While it may seem daunting (yes it’s 82 pages!) it does have some good information if you’re just starting out and it covers lots of areas in addition to animal operations so it’s a handy resource to have nearby.
   http://gateway.hsus.org/files/rescue-best-practices/best-practice-guide-rescue-groups.pdf

3. Another good step-by-step guide is from Best Friends Animal Society.  While their guide may not be downloaded into a nice, neat PDF, it does contain hyperlinks throughout to help you find the pieces you’re looking for and it’s written in a plain language, simple way to make it easy to get your animal rescue started.
   http://bestfriends.org/resources/how-start-animal-rescue-or-other-nonprofit-animal-organization