A New Focus on Animal Services

Dog Is My CoPilot has been on the leading edge of animal rescue organizations since its inception in 2012. Our model of flying dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters to no-kill adoption centers has saved thousands of animals and helped them continue their journey home. Our experience led our executive director, Kara Pollard, to be involved in a new working group, within the Humane Animal Support Services called Pet Supply & Demand.

What is the Humane Animal Support Services (HASS)

Humane Animal Support Services (HASS) is a partnership of 30 animal focused  organizations, many of which are already shelter partners with Dog Is My CoPilot.  The goal of HASS is to shift the focus of animal services towards keeping owned pets together with their families and expedite the path for animals out of shelters. HASS is a community collaboration led by American Pets Alive! and powered by incredible partners, including Maddie’s Fund, South Fork Foundation, Michelson Found Animals Foundation, Pedigree Foundation, Petfinder, and Brandywine SPCA.

Pet Supply and Demand

One working group created by HASS, Pet Supply & Demand, is studying ways to determine how to quantify supply and demand of shelter animals in America, creating a more efficient flow from city to city. The team is trying to develop a way to overcome obstacles that exist in the movement of pets by collecting research and data that can help quantify what cities have excess animals (potential euthanasia) and which communities need pets to fill demand from families looking to adopt a new animals.  They will then create a framework for shelters to connect and more effectively communicate around the transport of animals and their care. Finally, with all this information and data, the working group will help solve any obstacles in transportation from both the receiving and contributing shelters.

Stronger Partnerships: Stronger support

We are ecstatic that our executive director, Kara Pollard will be a part of this international working group helping to shape how the world of animal sheltering advances.  Animal rescue and sheltering has completely changed over the past few months, with community based fostering becoming the norm. It’s a big shift, and not without its growing pains, but it’s one that the animal services industry has been hoping would happen over the past few years.  Dog Is My CoPilot will be able to lean on these new partnerships to rescue more dogs across the southwest and we’ll share our learning to help other organizations in different geographic locations.