ADCH Conference History
The Association of Dogs and
Cats Homes' 2011 Conference
Following the natural
disaster of the Icelandic Ash Cloud which caused the 2010
conference to be cancelled, the 2011 Conference was held in
Jersey on the 16th and 17th April at The Hotel De France.
Major sponsorship was provided by Pedigree, Medichem, and
Allianz Petplan.
The conference was again structured over two days to maximise the benefit to delegates and exhibitors and received
excellent presentations including:
- Fund Raising in Difficult Times
- Controlling Infectious Diseases
- The Accredited Breeder Scheme
- The House Cat
- The Legal Aspects of Dog Ownership
- Animal Hoarding
- Dangerous Dogs Legislation
- Modifying Dog Behaviour in Rescue
Kennels
- The Use of Pheromones
- The Differences Between Dogs & Cats
The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2009 Conference
The 2009 Conference was held in Dublin on the 22nd and 23rd April at University College Dublin. Sponsorship was provided by Mars Petcare, Medichem, Petplan, Avid and CEVA.
The conference was structured over two days to maximise the benefit to delegates and exhibitors and received high quality presentations including:
- Early Stage Neutering
- Customer Care
- Animal Behaviour In A Kennel/Cattery Environment
- Clinical Trial In Reducing Stress Related Responses In Rescue Shelter Dogs
- How To Run Your Shelter Like A Business
- Veterinary Forensics & Understanding The Abuser
- MRSA In Pets
- Transportation Of Restricted Breeds
- Welfare & The Irish Greyhound Industry
- Managing Feral Cats
- Microchip Developments
Delegate evaluation questionnaires received at the end of the conference confirmed that this was a very successful conference highly appreciated and enjoyed by all delegates.
The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2008 Conference
The 2008 Conference was held in Cheltenham on the 17th April at the Cheltenham Town Hall. Sponsorship was provided by Petplan, Medichem, Mars Petcare, Safe4Pets and Iris.
Delegates were able to visit Trade Stands addressing the needs of both Animal Rescue organisations and Animal Adopters/Owners and received a variety of excellent presentations including: |
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The Ruff Guide to Education (Angela Madigan - Dogs Trust)
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Canine Risk Assessment in Today's World (Sue Ketland - Wood Green Animal Shelters)
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Animal Hording (Ian Farrar - Cats Protection)
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Mergers & Collaborative Working (Claris D'Cruz - Wilsons Solicitors)
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Getting your message across (Adam Kirtley)
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Creative Copy (Robert Shepherd - Press Dispensary)
The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2007 Conference
The 2007 Conference was held in Plymouth on the 25th & 26th April with one session and the evening reception at the Duke Of Cornwall Hotel and a second full day at the New Continental Hotel. The Conference attracted over 280 delegates from all over the United Kingdom and Ireland and was an unqualified success.
Presentations Given:
- Teetering On the Trustee Tightrope - Jeremy Mills (BP Collins Solicitors)
- Communicating in a crisis - Adam Kirtley (HandMade Productions)
- Getting the builders in - David Key
- The Kennel Club's initiatives to improve the health & wealfare of dogs - Dr Jeff Sampson
- A Risky Business? Volunteer Management and the Law - Mark Restall
- Starting from scratch - Dealing with feral cats - Ian MacFarlaine
- Bio-Security in a modern animal welfare establishment: A layperson's view - Abbi Slater
- Animals Helping People - Tony Bell & Damian Harrison
- Update on Health & Safety Legislation in the UK - Lynley Griffiths
- Galen Therapy - Julia Robertson
The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2006 Conference
With an audience of over 250
delegates from all over the United Kingdom, the 2006 Conference, held at the Royal Geographic Society, was a lively and exciting one. The day was a great success - opening presentations on staff management and animal health culminated in
animal behaviour, customer care and legislative matters with a final afternoon debate entitled 'This house believes that animal welfare is best served by offering a range of therapies'.
Feedback suggested:
- Birmingham Dogs Home ~ 'Gets better every year / Excellent venue - good format'
- Dogs Trust ~ 'Excellent Day'
- Battersea Dogs' & Cats' Home ~ 'Best Conference so far'
- Laura Lindell ~ 'Excellent Day, very thought provoking'
- RSPCA Godstone ~ 'Lovely day, see you next year!'
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The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2004 Conference
Professionalism in Animal Welfare
Held at the Victory Services Club, Marble Arch, the Association had another sell out conference. With a lively debate entitled
'This house abhors the use of Electric Training Aids' and quick fire presentations on Volunteers, Health & Safety, The Charities Bill, Stress in Kennels & Catteries and much more, this conference did not disappoint the 220 delegates from over 90 organisations around the U.K. and Ireland.
- Kit Wilson Trust "nothing needed to be
added or could in fact be added - it was perfect. Thank you"
- Wylie Vet Centre "a thoroughly
enjoyable day on all levels"
- NAWT "Very useful and informative,
well put together, found every person helpful and
interesting... see you next year!"
- Kennel Club "Loved the debate!"
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes' 2003 Conference
Titled "Working Together", the fourth conference held by the Association was hosted by Wood Green Animal Shelters, Godmanchester. The conference was again aimed at everyone who works in the animal welfare forum, with presentation on:
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Controlling infectious
Diseases in cats & approaches to their conundrums
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Importance of a good start
for puppies & the Roles of Assistance Dogs
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The Animal Welfare Bill &
Education in Animal Welfare
Our motivational speaker this year was Bear Grylls, who talked of the importance of working as a team, something echoed on the evaluation forms by two of our delegates:
- "Fantastic day - great to network with
other charities"
- "The ADCH has broken down years
of mistrust between charities, well done"
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes' 2002 Conference
New Continental Hotel, Plymouth, 25th October 2002
Over 180 delegates attended our third conference, which was a major sell out. Opened by Jilly Cooper, the conference incorporated both practical and inspirational presentations on:
- Keeping your charity in the public eye-Amanda Riddle
- Dogs from the Local Authority perspective-David Chambers
- Animal Welfare-Influencing Parliament-Gary Streeter MP
- Trends in companion animal behaviour and behaviourists-Dr Anne Mcbride
- Educating the dog owners of tomorrow-the NCDL's work with schools-Hollie Sevenoaks
- Dealing with difficult customers-Ellen Watts
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The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2001 Conference
The success of the first conference gave birth to the second, which was held in the QEII, London on 12th October 2001. Its slogan
"Today's Solution - Tomorrow's Success" was to lead it to be an inspirational rather than grass roots practical conference.
The conference was opened by Jenny Seagrove, and progressed with presentations on:
- Self belief in achievement-Mr. Robin Sieger
- The legislative framework as it affects companion animals in a welfare environment-Mr Mike Radford
- Vets as an indigenous part of animal welfare-Professor Bob Michell
- Ethical management and treatment of companion animals-Professor Colin Spedding
- Resource Management-Mr. Bernard Ross
Comments such as:
- "An excellent conference, which would be hard to improve upon"
- "So well done, impressive indeed and I've left with many ideas too"
- "More of the same"
...confirmed that delegates had left feeling both empowered and enabled.
The Association of Dogs and Cats
Homes' 2000 Conference
The first conference organised by the ADCH was aimed at managers working in the companion animal rescue environment. It was felt that the managers were out on a limb and that a two-day conference would help to give them all a much wider view of new and best practices.
The conference, held in Birmingham was very well attended and presentations covered subjects such as:
- Infectious Diseases
- Career Development
- Animal Behaviour
- Rehoming
- Euthanasia
- Fund Raising
On the second day of the conference, the delegates visited the
NCDL's Evesham shelter, the Cheltenham Animal Welfare Centre and the Birmingham
Dogs' Home, where they were able to see for themselves how different organisations run and develop their shelters/rehoming centres.
The conference was deemed a success, with delegates feeling that it had been a very useful forum, from which they took many ideas away with them. |
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