September 2022 Dispatch Digest Updates

by naca-web | Sep 9, 2022 | Announcements, Dispatch Digest

Happy September! And what a busy month it will be for NACA and its members! We are thrilled to share that we have 12 board member prospects for the upcoming election – be sure to update your member profile with your most current information to ensure you receive your ballot. NACA Board of Director Election: October 17th – 21st – VOTING by individual members. Annual Membership Meeting October 29th.

Are you one of the 102 officers who registered and attended the 1st NACA LEADing Conversations session? It was a super success and congrats to Officer Jen McLaughlin for winning an ACO Starter Kit from our partners at ACES! Grab your seat for September’s session “HUMANEizing the Badge“.

Disaster Prepardness

Are you ready?

Access the NACA Disaster Portal now for resources on preparedness, how to get involved and access to training.

September 2022 Humane Highlight

by naca-web | Sep 9, 2022 | Blog, Dispatch Digest, Humane Highlights

Meet Officer LaDue, NACA’s September Humane Highlight!!

Officer LaDue is an Cruelty Investigations Officer in KCMO through KC Pet Project’s Animal Services Division. His daily focus is to investigate cases of animal cruelty and then pursue those cases, when appropriate, at a municipal or state level. He is a highly dedicated animal welfare professional and strives every day to make a positive and lasting impact on the animals and people within my community. He is currently ACO I and ACO II certified, in addition to being a Fear Free Shelters Graduate!! In addition, he holds other prestigious in-house and local qualifications.

When asked about his membership to NACA he had this to share with us! “NACA has connected me to a community of animal welfare professionals and provides comprehensive training that proves time and time again to be valuable both while handling the administrative part of our job as well as while providing field services. I am proud to be a member of NACA and to be certified through them. Thanks to NACA I have been getting to live my dream and have learned to perform my duties in a positive as well as effective way.”

Thank you, Officer LaDue, for your dedication to the work, the animals, and the communities in which you serve. NACA is honored to have you as a member.

NACA Field Services Training

by naca-web | Aug 9, 2022 | Announcements, Dispatch Digest, Field Services

NACA Field Services Series: Using Tools and Equipment

This course covers safe, effective and humane use of standard-issue field services equipment. Videos present humane concepts and safe handling techniques. Use of tools and equipment is demonstrated by Animal Capture and Handling Instructor John Peaveler.

keywords: animal control, animal protection, dog handling, cat handling

FREE Register Today

August 2022 Humane Highlight – Melissa Miller

by naca-web | Aug 5, 2022 | Blog, Dispatch Digest, Humane Highlights

Melissa Miller
Director of St. Clair County Animal Control

Melissa is the Director of St. Clair County Animal Control in Michigan. In addition, she is a Certified Behavior Consultant (Canine), Former Director of Detroit Animal Care and Control, and she has been active in disaster response as a Sr. Field Responder for HSUS for 8 years.

When asked what being a member of NACA means to her she told us this “To be a part of something bigger than myself, a collective that creates best practices and position statements that support my passion for creating humane, safe communities. Being a member provides access to a knowledgeable, experienced National base of colleagues who have encountered similar challenges and opportunities. The advice and collaboration within NACA are invaluable in developing my division’s mission and vision.”

Thank you, Melissa, for your dedication to the animals and people in your community and beyond, we are so thankful you are a member of NAC

Updated NACA Resource Library

by naca-web | Aug 4, 2022 | Dispatch Digest, News

If there is one soap box I like to stand on, it is not recreating the wheel. So many times, in our industry the same thing is needed across multiple agencies, and wouldn’t we all like to save a few minutes in our day and not have to recreate the wheel someone else is already using smoothly? Sure, there will be tweaks, and adjustments necessary depending on your agency, budget, staffing, and other things however if we can help by providing you somewhere to start with, that is a win! With that in mind, NACA has reimagined its resources library available to members. By pulling together valuable resources to assist across the nation no matter if you are the agency just starting out, an officer in need of an operating procedure, or an organization looking to expand services – NACA aims to be one stop for all the animal care and control resource needs.

We know that time is the most precious asset and wanted to make sure that our resources were not only robust and covered a wide range of topics, but also designed in a way that made the most sense with the least amount of clicks possible to find what you need! Grouping these resources by type will further support the busy ACO when they are looking for sample forms while out in the field.

We hope you will take a minute to look through the resources library and let us know what you think! We hope to continue to grow this library and will continue to add more information as it becomes available. Currently, the full resource library is available to members only, however, we do have a growing public library as well for all to access.

NACA Members

Be sure to check out the new NACA Member Resources. Want to see something specific or have something to add? Let Us Know!

NACA is Leading Conversations – Join Us!

by naca-web | Jul 26, 2022 | Dispatch Digest

NACA is pleased to be able to bring you another level of training and engagement for officers, by officers! We hope you will join NACA each month for our new series –LEADing Conversations! We will be facilitating a conversation, presentations, and Q&A on topics YOU want to hear and learn about!! Free and open to everyone. Limited seating to be sure to visit the NACA calendar of events to register for your sessions TODAY!!

2022 Schedule:

8/24/22 – Standard ACO Tools and Equipment – Presenter: John Peavler View Recordings in Member Resources
9/14/22 – HUMANEizing The Badge – Presenter: Officer Daniel Ettinger View Recordings in Member Resources
10/12/22 – Courtroom Tactics – Presenter: Officer and NACA Board Member Tre Law View Recordings in Member Resources
11/9/22 – Animal Control Officer Safety – Presenter: Officer and NACA Board Member Tre Law (Registration OPEN)
12/14/22 – Compassion Fatigue and Resilience – Presenter: Dr. Katy Manning (Registration OPEN!)

Stay tuned…we are working on the line up for 2023! Have a topic you would like to see? Email us naca@nacanet.org

Stay safe!

Jerrica Owen, CAWA, ACO I, ACO II
Executive Director

View Event Calendar