This second required course in the Shelter Care Specialist Certification program covers the basics of animal care in the shelter setting following best practices.

Please visit our “Certification” information pages to learn more about the Shelter Care Specialist Certification program.

Enrollment in the program is by application. Enrollment in this course is limited to students who have satisfactorily completed the "Modern Sheltering Foundations" course.

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Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program

Animal Care Foundations

Build a practical foundation in everyday shelter animal care, medical assessment, disease prevention, Fear Free® practices, and efficient daily operations.

COURSE CATALOG COACH-GUIDED REQUIRED COURSE #2

Fall 2026

October 5–November 16

Winter 2027

January 18–March 1

Typical Availability

Offered every term

What to expect Sample schedule Live learning & completion

Welcome

What to expect

Animal Care Foundations is the second required course in the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program. Designed specifically for frontline shelter staff, ACF builds the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed to provide consistent, efficient, low-stress care in the animal sheltering setting.

The course focuses on current best practices that support animals, shelter teams, and communities while keeping efficiency and stress reduction at the center of everyday care.

COURSE LENGTH

6 weeks

FORMAT

Online, coach-guided required course

PREREQUISITE

Modern Sheltering Foundations completed

Your weekly rhythm

1

Learn

Work through the week’s focused animal-care module.

2

Apply

Use practical assignments, protocols, observations, and documentation.

3

Connect

Learn alongside classmates and receive guidance from the course coaching team.

Enrollment requirements

ACF is available to learners accepted into the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program who have completed the prerequisite course, Modern Sheltering Foundations (MSF).

Practical capability

What this course helps you build

Provide low-stress care

Use Fear Free® approaches, thoughtful intake practices, standing protocols, and practical work aids to support animals while making daily care easier and more consistent.

Recognize and respond

Perform basic medical assessments, recognize common concerns, triage care needs, use appropriate diagnostics, and communicate useful findings to the team.

Strengthen daily systems

Apply best practices in feeding, cleaning, health monitoring, enrichment, infectious-disease control, shelter safety, documentation, and software use.

View full learning topics

• Fear Free® practices in daily operations: Consider the animal’s experience, reduce fear, anxiety, and stress, and set yourself up to use Fear Free® techniques efficiently.
• Basic intake care: Provide and document intake care, use standing protocols, and schedule next steps along an animal’s pathway.
• Protocols, SOPs, and job/work aids: Understand how these tools differ and how they help teams work consistently and follow shelter standards.
• Basic medical assessment and triage: Perform intake assessments, recognize concerns, prioritize immediate care needs, document findings, and seek additional care when needed.
• Basic diagnostics: Recognize when diagnostics may be needed, follow standing protocols, perform basic diagnostics, and document and communicate findings.
• Daily best practices: Apply efficient feeding and cleaning practices, monitor health, report concerns, and support daily enrichment.
• Basic shelter safety and infectious-disease control: Support safety for people and animals and identify and respond to infectious-disease concerns.
• Shelter software: Record and retrieve needed information efficiently and explore ways to streamline or automate routine entries.

Your path through ACF

Sample course schedule

ACF is organized into six weekly modules. The schedule below shows the typical progression of course topics; exact calendar dates depend on the session in which you enroll.

WEEKS 1–3

Week 1

Keeping Calm in the Kennel: Fear Free® in Daily Ops and Intake Care Best Practices

Week 2

Health Checks by Everyday Heroes: Basic Medical Assessment & Triage

Week 3

Detect & Protect: Basic Diagnostics

WEEKS 4–6

Week 4

Daily Routines That Make a Difference: Daily Care Current Best Practices

Week 5

Shield the Shelter: Safety and Infectious Disease Control

Week 6

Paws, Plans, & Platforms: Leveraging Shelter Software and Other Tech

Live learning

Two live sessions during each course

Learn together in real time

Live meetings give learners an opportunity to explore course topics with the coaching team, ask questions, and connect course concepts to real shelter situations.

Dates vary by session

Exact live-meeting dates and times are provided to learners for the session in which they enroll.

Completion policy

One final course deadline

• The final course-completion deadline is generally one calendar month after the course ends.
• There is one final completion deadline and no extensions.
• Because ACF is a required course, it must be completed before moving on to elective courses in the SCS Certification Program.
• If ACF is not completed, learners may re-enroll during a future session. A maximum of three total attempts is available to complete the course.

Designed for working shelter professionals

Course features

Flexible online learning
Access on-demand course content using your preferred device.

Hands-on application
Practice skills and techniques that connect directly to everyday shelter work.

Scenario-based learning
Work through realistic situations and learn alongside classmates.

Coaching and feedback
Receive support from the course coaching team as you build comfort and mastery.

Why this course matters

Build skills you can use right away

Frontline shelter staff play a vital role in the health and well-being of animals in their care. ACF provides practical tools learners can use to strengthen daily care and shelter operations while also building a foundation for future professional development in areas such as medical care, clinic operations, shelter population management, and behavior, training, and enrichment.

Program, enrollment, or technical questions

Learning Coordinator

Contact the Learning Coordinator at help@shelterlearniverse.com for questions about the program, enrollment, course access, navigation, or technical support.

Course coaching team

Animal Care Foundations

Cindi Delany, DVM, KPA-CPT, FFCP
Coach

Chrissy Teuscher, R.V.T.
Co-Coach