Last weekend I was privileged to attend  the No More Homeless Pets Conference hosted by Best Friends Animal Society in Las Vegas.  I learned that Love, Patience, Respect, Humility, pretty much all the great virtues in mankind still exist.

First thing that impressed me when I walked into the venue was the number of volunteers.  It was great to see so many smiling faces.

Second impressive thing was how well organized the conference was. Although there were signs well placed outside each room, each doorway also had a willing to direct knowledgeable volunteer. The printed schedule was easy to follow but there was always a volunteer nearby ready to help.

The third and most impressive thing was that everyone was happy and that the kindness was palpable. Both staff and volunteers seemed to work flawlessly together, this I can only assume to be a result of great planning, love and passion for what they do.

Deep in the rooms where the sessions were given you could hear the engaged audience or the silence of people listening with undivided attention.  

Sessions like:

• ·         How one person can make the difference for animals through personal determination and commitment.

• ·         What you need to know to help you place more pets in good homes.

• ·         True stories of adopted puppy mill survivors.

• ·         Digging deeper into social media to save animals: Bring your engagement to the next level. By Jon Dunn, BFAS blogger, network weaver, teacher and social scientist.

So many more sessions throughout the three days and most filled to capacity by riveted attendees.

The Exhibition Hall was full of vendors with great ideas and lots of information to bring back to our shelter. Not to mention the immaculate booths from various organizations and programs within BFAS. 

One very important tool that I brought back with me was that Best Friends Animal Society is comprised of different programs that work simultaneously together. One of the main components is the Volunteer’s Network and their Youth Program. 

Education is key in all shelters but BFAS takes it to a whole new level.  Their Humane Education headed by Kim Marie Dalton is a great innovative and successful program one to be admired and followed by other shelters.

In the next few weeks I will be posting a series of individual interviews on our KHS Blog.  A highlight of this conference was meeting Hector the Pit Bull Terrier and his owner Andrew “Roo” Yori. In addition it was a great honor to meet and interview John Garcia a dog trainer and co-manager of Dogtown at BFAS (National Geographic Channel). Jim Dorant the author of the book Lost Dogs gave us an insight on why he wrote such a compelling book about Michael Vick’s dogs and their tale of rescue and redemption.

Over all I recommend that not only shelters, rescue groups but also the public buy a ticket and attend next year’s conference. The message of “No More Homeless Pets” is that important. 

We want to thank Barbara Williamson Media relations manager for BFAS for allowing us access to the conference and we are looking forward to learn more from Jon Dunn a Social Media & Internet Manager for BFAS. 

Written by: Lucia Jones, Social Media Coordinator