The idea behind Animal Welfare United, LLC started in 2018 when I started thinking to myself, "there has got to be a better way to do this whole animal shelter/rescue thing." The current system of housing animals in an institutional setting just isn't working. It is burning out staff and it's devastating to both the short-term and the long-term mental health of the animal.
In talking to other people in animal welfare, as well as people outside of the field, and exploring the variety of ways that organizations define success, I decided that there was a better way... But that it didn't fully exist yet. Pieces of the puzzle are scattered, but they need to be put together to really make things click. To make this big dream of a better support system for people and pets, we need education, collaboration, and innovation.
We need education that is accessible to those who need it. Programs of study to become a qualified dog trainer often cost in the range of thousands of dollars. Animal Welfare United believes that if you want to help the people and pets of your community, money shouldn't be an obstacle.
We need collaboration amongst more than just animal shelters and rescues. We need partnerships with social services agencies, housing advocates, schools, sports teams, etc! The reality is that where there are people, there are pets. The other reality is that facilitating that kind of collaboration can be a bit of a headache when you're the one doing the day-to-day work in your community. Our goal at Animal Welfare United is to avoid that headache by helping facilitate that teamwork amongst agencies.
We need innovation in this field. We have been doing this the same way for so long that it can be hard to take a step back and look for areas for improvement. Animal Welfare United actively seeks out creative input from outside of the animal field, and hopes that we can reach more effective and efficient solutions by expanding our search area. (Some of the best people in sales are incredible adoption counselors!)
We have big dreams, and we are just getting started. We are redefining the industry standard.
You can think of us like 100 project managers wrapped up into one. You have a great idea, we want to make it happen. We'll help you lay out the road-map to get there, be there to troubleshoot and cheer you on along the way, get you in touch with experts for your specific challenges, and will celebrate with you when you reach your goals.
Put simply: We want to make great things happen for the people and pets in your community.
-Devan