As many of you know — and have experienced firsthand through your calls and outreach (thank you!) — Buddy’s Law (HB 4130, 4131, 4132) still sits in the Michigan House Judiciary Committee. The recent cold snap may have passed, but the summer heat is coming, and winter will be back soon enough. Outdoor dogs remain… Continue reading Buddy’s Law Remains in Committee While Weather Extremes Continue
Tag: MPA Blog
Safety Response Planning: ICE Activity
Crisis planning is part of running any animal welfare organization. Organizations review and update their plans on a regular basis, then communicate those plans to their staff and volunteers. Recently, organizations have added ICE to their list of potential crises. This article provides planning tips and resources to ensure your organization is prepared. To prepare… Continue reading Safety Response Planning: ICE Activity
Member Spotlight: Humane Society of Huron Valley
If you suggest to Karen Patterson of the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) that volunteers are the backbone of any pet-oriented organization, you’ll have no argumentfrom her. In an organization with more than 2,000 active volunteers, one would think that must be the case. But, according to Patterson, vice president of volunteers and humane… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Humane Society of Huron Valley
Member Spotlight: Karma Kat Cafe
Mystie Beckwith was an only child who spent her days in the woods with books and nature or just down the road at her grandparents’ farm, riding horses and caring for animals. Then and there, in that childhood, Mystie’s love of living beings grew strong. Her desire to help animals in need began to sprout.… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Karma Kat Cafe
Member Spotlight: All About Animals
In southeast Michigan, there’s an organization that every rescue and TNR team knows. It’s All About Animals Rescue (AAAR), headquartered in Warren, with additional locations in Flint, Auburn Hills and Detroit. With a clear vision to end pet homelessness, suffering and unnecessary euthanasia, All About Animals launched in 2005 as a foster-based rescue in Macomb… Continue reading Member Spotlight: All About Animals
Member Spotlight: Friends of Michigan Animals Rescue
It always starts with a need, a passion and a drive to help homeless pets. Rescues are born from those ideals, and most strive to one day grow into a shelter. The dream of walls and a roof to provide a haven to animals in need, beyond the foster care network, is present day and… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Friends of Michigan Animals Rescue
Hot Weather & July 4th Pet Safety Tips
The blistering heat of summer has arrived. Remember to protect pets from hot weather hazards: The 4th of July is just around the corner. Share these extra safety tips to keep pets safe this holiday.
Member Spotlight: Attorneys for Animals
Advocacy is a core mission for every animal welfare organization, including Michigan Pet Alliance. We speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. We fight for laws and ordinances to protect them. We advocate for their needs and resources. One member organization that lives and breathes this ethos is Attorneys for Animals, and they’ve been… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Attorneys for Animals
Help Wildlife Beat the Heat
You can help animals outdoors beat the heat wave that starts tomorrow. Community cats, strays, lost pets, wildlife, bees, butterflies and other insects need a helping hand when it’s too hot or too cold. 1. WATER. Lots and lots of water access. Refresh the water at least daily. Water is critical. 2. SHADE. You might… Continue reading Help Wildlife Beat the Heat
Member Spotlight: Shelter to Home
Ideas are powerful. They can have significant impact. They can even be transformative, growing and spreading into something beautiful. In animal welfare, successes are built on ideas, but only after those ideas are explored, nurtured and shared. That’s what happened 18 years ago. A few friends spent a cold afternoon walking the track at a… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Shelter to Home
Get Your Paw Print Gear
Get your gear and support animal welfare in Michigan. Michigan Pet Alliance launched its merchandise shop, featuring nine unique designs. All proceeds benefit the programs of MPA. Great gifts for loved ones, as well as yourself. Shop now!
Member Spotlight: Happy Feet Pet Rescue
To build a successful animal welfare organization, you have to snap together a lot of parts. Learning to work together, advocating with one voice, is the common denominator we see most often in groups that create lasting change. MPA member Happy Feet Pet Rescue (HFPR) is one of those organizations that’s made the grade. How… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Happy Feet Pet Rescue
Member Spotlight: Saginaw County Animal Care & Control
Along Bay Road in Kochville Township, you’ll find a shiny new 23,000-square-foot animal shelter and resource center, under newleadership, and bursting with passion and ideas for the future while embracing change for theanimals of Saginaw County. In fall 2023, Saginaw County Animal Care & Control (SCACC) moved to its current location, more than doubling the… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Saginaw County Animal Care & Control
Member Spotlight: Jen Clarkson
In 2016, two outstanding animal welfare organizations, Dog Aide and Bark Nation, embarked on a collaborative effort called Project Grace, which offers free spay/neuter surgery for the dogs of Detroit through a voucher system. In addition to spay/neuter surgery, Project Grace dogs get free pain and antibiotic medications, nail trimming, needed vaccinations and microchipping. “A… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Jen Clarkson
Member Spotlight: Julie Duke
Julie Duke was in her late 40s before she adopted her first pet, a toy poodle she named Mardi because the puppy was born on Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday. Because her mom didn’t want animals in the house when Julie was growing up, she didn’t know what to expect. “I found out, much to my… Continue reading Member Spotlight: Julie Duke
Member Spotlight: Ingham County Animal Control
Instituting the Fear Free program helped move the shelter toward an enviable average length of stay of just five days for both dogs and cats and earned one of MPA’s 2021 Out of the Box Awards, plus a $1,500 cash award.
2023 Protect MI Pet roundtable review
If you haven’t heard, there’s a lot of excitement building among Michigan’s animal welfare advocates. Protect MI Pet is taking it to the voters to decide if our state should have a publicly accessible, searchable database of convicted animal abusers.
And it doesn’t stop there. Right now, if pets are seized from a suspected abuser, they can sit for months or years in animal shelters, waiting to learn their fate. Will they be returned to their suspected abuser or will they be allowed to find a loving home? The justice system moves slowly, and our pets’ lives are already short.
Registration now open for One Voice conference
Join us in Grand Rapids, Sept. 21-22, for an exciting opportunity to network with Michigan’s animal welfare community and to learn all about what’s new and what’s next.
We’re excited to announce two keynote speakers at this year’s conference: Dr. Marty Becker, founder of Fear Free®, and Denise Evans, diversity, equity and inclusion expert and founder of Consult Me, LLC.
Member Spotlight: Little Traverse Bay Humane Society
Some organizations live up to their guiding philosophy. Some fall short. Count Little Traverse Bay Humane Society among the ones that make their words work.
The Harbor Springs shelter was established in 1951 from what they term “humble beginnings” and now boasts a number of affiliated for-profit services, such as veterinarian services, boarding, grooming, day care and training that feed their bottom line.
Video On Demand
Michigan Pet Alliance maintains a database of training and DIY videos. Check them out online any time. Some videos are free and some are paid, but when you become a member of MPA, the entire video library becomes free to you.