Animal Care Foundations - (ACF)

Future Sessions of this Course: 

Winter 2026: 1/5/26 - 2/16/26

Spring 2026: 4/6/26 - 5/18/26

Summer 2026: 7/13/26 - 8/24/26

Fall 2026: 10/5/26 - 11/16/26

Note: This course runs approximately every two months and is open to those who have completed the prerequisite course "Modern Sheltering Foundations" (MSF).

Enrollment Requirements:  Completed application for Shelter Care Specialist (SCS) Certification and acceptance into the program during the application period and completion of course prerequisites in the SCS Program.  

Prerequisite: Modern Sheltering Foundations (MSF).

Coach: Cindi Delany, DVM, KPA-CPT, FFCP - cddelany@ucdavis.edu

Co-Coach:  Chrissy Teuscher, R.V.T. - cteuscher@ucdavis.edu

Learning Coordinator: help@shelterlearniverse.com

Sample Course Schedule:

• 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

• 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 Meetings: 

There will be live meetings during this course each session. Dates will be provided to learners at the time of enrollment.

To continue on to the next session of the program:

• Course Completion Deadline: 3 weeks after Week 6 content goes live.

Extensions:

• Extraordinary Circumstances With Extension Approval from Learning Coordinator ONLY: deadline can be extended to 4 weeks after Week 6 content goes live.

• If you need an extension, you must have completed at least 50% of the content before the Final Course Completion Deadline to be eligible for an extension. You must finish the remaining course content and assignments within the 30 days after the extended deadline for the current session. 

• If you’ve completed less than 50% of the content and assignments during the session (before the course completion deadline), you will have to restart ACF with a new group. We will reach out to you about rejoining the next session.

Course Overview:

Designed specifically for frontline shelter staff, this course "Animal Care Foundations," is the second required course in the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program. To take this course students must have taken and satisfactorily completed the "Modern Sheltering Foundations" course.

Animal Care Foundations will provide information and experiences to give learners the foundation they need in basic care provision in the animal sheltering setting.  As with all of the courses in this program, our focus is on sharing needed information on current best practices in a way that works for busy adult learners. This course will highlight current best practices that prioritize the needs of animals in shelters, shelter team members, and our communities, emphasizing efficiency while keeping stress reduction for animals and teams centered. This course equips you with the foundational animal care knowledge needed to enhance your day-to-day operations and prepare you for deeper learning in more specialized areas of the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program.

What You Will Learn:

• Fear Free^® Practices in Daily Operations:  Considering the animal's experience in the shelter, setting yourself up for success to easily and efficiently use Fear Free^® techniques, and providing care to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress.

• Basic Intake Care:  The logistics and steps to providing intake care, documenting care provided, using standing protocols, and scheduling next steps on the animal's pathway through your shelter.

• Protocols, SOPs, Job/Work Aids:  What they are, what the difference is between them, using them to make your life easier and make it easier to follow to ensure shelter standards.

• Basic Medical Assessment and Triage:  How to perform an intake medical assessment, recognize common concerns, triage immediate care needs, document your findings and care, and schedule (or immediately seek) any additional care needed.

• Basic Diagnostics:  Identifying concerns requiring diagnostics, following standing protocols, performing basic diagnostics, and documenting/communicating your findings.

• Daily Best Practices:  Feeding and cleaning best practices for appropriate care and efficiency, basic daily medical and health monitoring and reporting concerns, and daily enrichment basics.

• Basic Shelter Safety and Infectious Disease Control:  Shelter safety for people and animals and identifying and responding to infectious disease concerns in the shelter setting.

• Shelter Software:  Using shelter software easily and efficiently to record needed information and retrieve it.  Tips and tricks for increasing efficiency and automating software entries.

Course Features:

• Accessible Anytime, On-Demand Content

• Mobile Friendly - Learn on Your Preferred Device

• Hands-on Learning Activities

• Practical Tips and Techniques

• Scenario-Based Discussions

• Interactions and Support of Your Classmates

• Direct Applications to Daily Tasks

• Assignments and Feedback to Ensure Your Mastery and Comfort with Course Content

• Coaching and Mentoring from Your Course Coach and Team

Why This Course Matters:

As a frontline shelter staff member, you are vital to the health and well-being of the animals in your care, and you are valuable and should have your skills and career prospects developed. This course provides you with the tools to make immediate improvements in your work environment and the daily care you provide to the animals in your shelter. It also prepares you for further professional development in specialized areas of medical care, clinic operations, shelter population management, and behavior/training/enrichment programs.

Questions? Contact Us