83: Unmasking COVID-19's Impact on Animal Welfare with Nanette McCann and Corey Regnerus-Kell (S8)

The Deal With Animals with Marika S. Bell

Episode 8 of Series 8: The World of Animal Welfare and Sheltering Transcript
This discussion with Nanette McCann, executive director of Homeward Pet Adoption Center, and Corey Regnerus-Kell, general manager for animal services at the Royal New Zealand SPCA, will unmask the various strategic shifts these organizations have undertaken in response to the pandemic, we'll explore topics ranging from operational changes, volunteer engagement, and fundraising, to the profound and enduring human-animal connection.
The conversation takes a deep dive into the difficulties of managing an influx of animals in need, ensuring their welfare, and maintaining staff morale despite these challenging times. Nanette and Corey share how they navigated these changes and the ripple effect it had on volunteer numbers and engagement.
Guests: Born and raised in Florida, USA, Corey Regnerus-Kell, has embarked on a journey with animals since he was young. While working towards becoming a Veterinarian, he worked as a Veterinary Technician for general practice as well as Small Animal Emergency Medicine throughout several veterinary clinics in South and Centra Florida. Most recently he was appointed as the General Manager for RNZ SPCA in New Zealand looking after the 29 centres, the National Animal Welfare Inspectorate and National Desexing (spey & neuter) Programme. He lives on a small block with his husband and son and their real life ‘McDonald’s Farm’ with everything from Ostriches down to Guinea Pigs!
Nanette McCann joined Homeward Pet as the Executive Director in 2018. It was Homeward Pet’s reputation for community engagement and volunteer dedication that spoke to Nanette’s personal values over her 30+ year career as a non-profit professional. She proudly leads a staff of 27 full and part time passionate welfare professionals, successfully partners with her 18 member board of directors and has set the goal of Homeward Pet owning its forever home by 2031. Nanette is the mom of five girls, ages 32 to 8, and two fur-babies, Frankie and Ursula.
Book Recommendations: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Migel Ruiz
and Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
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Chapters

1. COVID-19's Impact on Animal Shelters (00:00:00)

2. Adapting to Changing Adoption Practices (00:13:33)

3. COVID-induced Changes in Adoption Process (00:20:59)

4. The Impact of Animal Adoption Procedures (00:30:33)

5. COVID Impact on Welfare and Volunteers (00:35:02)

6. COVID's Impact on Fundraising and Engagement (00:48:06)

7. Animal Significance in Our Lives (00:57:55)

8. The Deal With Animals (01:08:11)