Town Hall Covered Numerous Topics

On Thursday, April 18, we held an in-person Town Hall meeting with those who were able to attend.

Building Plans

Executive Director Jeff Johnson shared a tentative blueprint for our upcoming building project, stressing that the details of the plan are still very much evolving and will likely need to be scaled back.

Some of the details shared about the potential new expansion plans included:

• The expansion will more than double the size of the current facility.
• Parking will be expanded with the addition.
• A new volunteer center is planned for the NW corner of the property, with a driveway from the west frontage road. It will allow volunteers a place to wait inside rather than in their car and have a small garage for transport vehicles. It will also connect with a new veterinary space and be adjacent to the Puppy Program staff offices.
• A whelping center (future official name yet to be determined) will be added to the east end of the current building. This will replace our WAG Center in New Germany, which we plan to sell once construction of the expansion is complete. 
• Two additional client overnight rooms will be added for out-of-town clients to stay on-site.
• Additional office, meeting, grooming, and training spaces are also part of the design.

The exact timing for launching the campaign and its total dollar amount are yet to be determined, as we are still in the initial stages with a consulting company. We are expecting to kick off a campaign this summer or fall. 

All Can Do Canines staff members had the opportunity to see plans for the expansion a few months ago. Since then, small groups of staff members have taken part in discussions to share more feedback on a new version of the project.

 

Puppy Center

Another component of the facility addition will be a puppy center (future official name yet to be determined). Lindy Luopa, our Puppy Program Manager who sits on the Building Planning Committee, spoke about the potential alternatives for caring for young puppies. 

Ideally, volunteers will continue to host young puppies (10-16 weeks … no longer up to 20 weeks) in their homes, exposing these pups to various experiences needed to give them a strong foundation. However, when we are unable to recruit enough volunteers to fill this need, this new center would allow some volunteers to either (a) drop off puppies during the day while they go to work, school, etc., or (b) take a puppy home for weekends, while the puppies stay in the center during the week.

 

Staffing Changes

We are in the process of hiring not only a full-time Director of Finance and Operations but also a part-time Human Resources Coordinator. Previously, one person handled all of these duties, but we have come to a time of needing a designated person for human resources with our growing staff.

As of April 22, Shenna Lemche is serving as Client Services and Training Manager, and Lindy Luopa is our Puppy Program Manager. We’re excited about this new structure.

 

WAG Center Update

Director of Training Julianne Larsen reported that we are waiting to hear if a couple of our female dogs are pregnant, while two more are currently in heat. We hope to have new puppies in our WAG Center early this summer.

We are happy to report that we have sufficient volunteers to help at the WAG Center.

 

Potential New Hosting Opportunities App

We recently worked with a group of students from a post-secondary tech school who designed an app for dog hosts to post a need for a sitter/raiser and for other sitters/raisers to apply for those requests. We are hoping that once we work out some kinks, we will be able to offer this to our Puppy Program volunteers.

 

Marketing and Communication 

Based on some posed questions, Caren Hansen from the Marketing and Communication Department noted that we make specific efforts to track marketing results whenever possible. For instance, when we place QR codes or special codes on materials, we can gauge actions taken. 

A volunteer commented that yard signs have been beneficial not only for introducing others to us but also for realizing other Can Do Canines people who might live near you.

Our current mailing lists are about 6,400 for our printed newsletter, Tails for You, and 10,300 for our e-newsletter, The Howler.

 

Summer Graduation

We announced that we have decided to cancel our June graduation. Based on early responses from clients about their attendance for what was already to be a smaller graduation (as June usually is), it wouldn't make sense to move forward with fewer than ten attendees.

Instead, we plan to have either one larger-than-normal ceremony on October 26 or possibly two typical-size ceremonies that day (late morning and afternoon). We will make a decision about that this summer when we have more information about certifications.