New Research into the Impact of Rescue Work on Mental and Physical Health
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Member Updates & Resources
Welcome to 'What’s New', the new home for the latest updates, webinars and resources - all in one place! As we transition away from our Facebook members' group, this space will be regularly updated with webinars, learning opportunities, and key insights to keep you informed and connected.
Stay tuned for fresh content each month, and don’t forget to check back for the latest updates!
April 2026:
PetRescue's Members Suppawt Series: Get Grant Ready with Confidence
Securing funding can make all the difference in sustaining and growing your rehoming efforts.
Join PetRescue and guest speaker Barbara Brangan from Grantful to learn about grant writing in real time and gain practical insights you can apply straight away.
Access the webinar recording here
Finding another way home- PetRescue Home2Home Insights
Explore five years of Home2Home (H2H), PetRescue’s assisted rehoming program that helps guardians safely find new homes for their pets keeping them safe, and preventing them from entering the rescue system.
HASS talk Volunteers in their latest webinar recording
Humane Animal Support Services have shared the recording to their ‘Let’s talk Volunteers' webinar. In this webinar they collective chat about problem solving in the volunteer space in terms of recruitment, recognition and retention. They have also shared a list of additional HASS resources that may help build or enhance your volunteer experience:
- Volunteer Integration Toolkit
- Volunteer Integration self-paced course (MU)
- Organisational Culture Foundations: Staff and Volunteer Feedback
- Organisational Culture Foundations: Compassion Fatigue Training
- Organisational Culture Foundations: Creating a Handbook and Intranet
New Data Finding: Foster Programs Boost Adoptions by 20 Percentage Points
Research from Best Friends Animal Society shows foster programs increase pet adoption rates by 20 percentage points, from 48% to 68%, meaning 200 more pets find homes per 1,000 admitted. Adoption rates rise above 77% when fosters help process applications, using their unique insight to match pets with adopters. Foster programs provide animals a calm environment and help shelters manage capacity, making expanded and empowered foster networks a powerful way to save more lives and strengthen community connections.
March 2026:
2 new lost cost, accessible vets opening soon to our members in Victoria and Queensland
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Angel Paws Veterinary Care in West Ipswich, QLD 4305- angelpawsvetcare@gmail.com or call 0481 086 086.
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Western Animal Care in Sunshine, Victoria- (03) 9112 5939 or email info@westernanimalcare.com.au.
Author Tim Brown and PetRescue collaborate to introduce “The Adventures of Rusty the Rescue Dog”
Pre-order here. Check our their socials - Rusty’s Rescue Adventures.
Strengthen your community impact with HASS’ community roundtable toolkit
Download the free toolkit here
Austin Pets Alive Free online course on The Modern Adoption Process
HASS webinar- collaborating with human services to support pets and people better together
February 2026:
ASPCA Pro guidelines for integrating social work within animal welfare work
Best Friends' share data supporting Open Adoption Practices
MET Conference, Modern & Ethical Dog Training Conference 7 & 8 March
Register for the virtual conference here!
Shelter Learniverse webinar The Fungus Among Us: Preventing, Diagnosing, and Treating Ringworm
Click here to register for this webinar!
Best Friends Return to Home (Owner) Training Playbook
View the Return to Home playbook here!
Register for support via PetRescue's Food & Product Donation Program
Register for food & product donations through PetRescue.
January 2026:
PetRescue Scheduled Platform Maintenance Thursday 29th January
Justice Clearinghouse webinar- Lead Forward: A Fresh Start for Animal Welfare Leaders Jan 22nd
Register for the FREE webinar here!
Crafting Inclusive Digital Experiences for Animal Care Donors by TrueSense Marketing
Click here to learn about crafting an inclusive donor experience!
Update to PetRescue's all-rounder knowledge base- 'Resources for shelters, councils and rescue organisations'
NACA ShelterSafe: foundations in animal care and welfare course
Find out more about the course here
WA students create adoption posters for pets listed on PetRescue
Check out the adoption posters here!
December 2025:
New & improved fields for state registration numbers, coming to PetRescue
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Victoria: Source number
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New South Wales: Rehoming Organisation Number or Breeder Identification Number
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Queensland: Supply Number
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South Australia: Dog and Cat Online (DACO) Registration number
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All states (farm animals and poultry): Property Identification Code (PIC)
HASS' Piloting Guide- start small, scale confidently in 2026
Click here to view HASS’ Piloting Guide!
Best Friends new resource library
Check out the resource hub here!
Resource collection with powerful evidence for supporting human-animal bonds, by HASS
View the updated collection here.
November 2025:
How to Change What’s Not Working, Parts 3 and 4
Don't miss out on the 2025 iCatConnect online event - 12th November 2025
Animal Shelter Foster Program Innovation a Facebook community group
Understand how to best support your community through ecosystem mapping
Check out the Ecosystem Mapping toolkit here
Maddie's free online course 'Cat Superhighway: The Right Outcome for Every Cat'
AAWA's final instalment of 'How to Change What’s Not Working'
Learn more about the final instalment here
