found many overlaps between mediation and negotiation. I then returned to my local center and began court
mediation, using the co-mediation model, which meant
that I was always learning from my co-mediator as well
as helping the parties.
As both dog massage and mediation were progressing
nicely, I thought about connecting these two activities. I
asked myself how dog massage relates to mediation. As
I turned this question over in my mind, I realized that my
thinking was too rigid and my question was not broad
enough. I reframed the question to “How can I use my skills
as a mediator/negotiator to assist animal care and welfare? With this question in mind, I started a little venture
called Forevercare Mediation forevercaremediation.com. I
invited a more experienced mediator/lawyer in our mediation group to join the venture, and we decided to give it
a try as partners. We both put in a bit of money to get it
going and designed a marketing plan. We would offer both
legal and mediation/negotiation services to the animal
care community, first focusing on dog breeders in Massachusetts. Breeders are a wonderful and devoted group of
people who fall in love with a particular breed and want it to
thrive. As a rule they are hobby breeders and don’t make
much money. We began giving talks to breeder associations throughout Massachusetts. They wanted help on
their puppy contracts and my partner and I became very
knowledgeable in this area. Some breeders hired us to help
them with specific conflicts with their clients.
As we started to become well known in the breeder and
the larger animal welfare community, we sought out the
head of the animal law division of the Massachusetts
Bar Association. Fortuitously, the division head was also
the lead advocate for legislative issues for the MSPCA.
She told us about the Massachusetts Animal Fund that
had recently been founded to help homeless pets and
also support the education of animal control officers
throughout the commonwealth. There was one spot on its
advisory committee for a member of the public, and she
asked if I would be interested in applying. I agreed and was
appointed for a five-year term. During that time, I became
connected with many animal-related people and organizations. These individuals and groups became natural
marketing agents for our services. We chose a sliding scale
payment approach to be able to serve the entire animal
care community. After two years my partner and I had a
harmonious split as he had other interests on his personal
horizon. I continued my venture.
A SAMPLE CASE
A highly acclaimed and experienced breeder found me
through one of the many talks I have given to breeder
clubs throughout Massachusetts. Her dogs had won
many championships, and had competed in either the
Westminster Kennel Club show in New York, perhaps the
most prestigious competition in the country. In addition,
she had a deep sense of community, had helped other
breeders throughout the years, and was much admired
and appreciated. Beyond that, she had a supportive relationship with a few groups that helped disabled veterans
and she donated some of her wonderful dogs for the soldiers who needed help.
SO, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
The reason she needed my services was because of
a recently passed Massachusetts law requiring animal
control officers (ACOs) of every town to inspect every
dog kennel in their town. The law was intended to protect
animals from being abused. When the ACO inspected my
client’s kennel he discovered she had over 20 dogs. All
were in terrific shape, well trained and socialized. There
was no sign whatsoever of mistreatment. The property
was on a very large parcel in a remote part of town with
no neighbors. There had been no complaints. However,
the ACO could not get his head around the number of
dogs living there. My client believed that there was adequate space both inside and outside for the dogs. The
ACO was OK with the outside space that actually looked
like a large park designed specifically for dogs. However,
he found the inside space had insufficient ventilation and
not enough room for the number of dogs she had. Keep
in mind that there had been no issues either recently or
in the past with any of the dogs. The ACO told the owner
that she either had to get rid of at least half the dogs
or build a far more modern internal facility for them. He
gave her a month to resolve these issues. If she did not
comply, he could seize all the dogs and close the kennel. It was soon after that that the owner called me for
assistance.
The owner and I began a series of conversations on the
phone and through email. She was very angry and indignant that she was being forced to do this. She was also
clear that she did not want to go to court. She wanted
this situation resolved and did not know how to proceed.
I often find that my clients are stymied and need help. My
mediation/negotiation training is very useful in assist-
