03/23/2026
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: NATIONAL ANIMAL CARE & CONTROL ASSOCIATION (NACA)
Spencer Conover, if you don't mind, would like you to think differently about animal control.
"Professionalism," he says, is the new watchword.
And as chief operating officer with the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA), he's in a position to help make it happen.
"Most people don't understand animal control," Conover says. "It really comes down to battling an image issue, the guy who drives around in a truck with a big net to take dogs away."
The key, and this is where NACA comes in, is training, training and more training, Conover will tell you, along with professional certification, NACA is on a mission to carry the word to a national audience of people who work every day with the animals among us, whether it's out in the community or as shelter workers.
"Our goal is to provide enough training and resources to help animal control professionals make a positive impact on their communities," Conover says. "We want animals to be home and safe with their owners, and we can provide the resources to assist professionals who work with them."
The vast majority of what NACA does is provide training wherever it's needed, one day in Florida, the next, perhaps, in Waco, Texas, then on to North Carolina and beyond, including Michigan. Conover says it's what they do best, the thing that can change people, as well as organizations. He likens the process to "getting people on the bus and in the right seats."
Sometimes that can mean helping an animal control department bring its practices in line with professional standards, at others providing shelter workers with the mental health resources they need to overcome compassion fatigue.
No matter the end goal, Conover says, the work of NACA and their partner organizations can change communities, whether it is helping shelters save more animals or helping animal control officers reach their professional goals.
Through NACA and his own experiences, Conover preaches the gospel of positive change to the organizations he's comes in contact with.
"All communities can learn from that," he says. "You have to involve all community stakeholders. It's just really about bringing people together."
That tenet is fully embraced by Michigan Pet Alliance. NACA and MPA share the belief that everyone working together, while speaking with One Voice, creates life-saving and life-changing results.
NACA was formed in 1978 to "provide resources, standardized training, and support for animal care and control professionals across the United States." Throughout the organization’s history, NACA has been a leader in providing guidance to its members as the role of animal shelters and animal care and control staff has evolved.
But, Conover, whose background was in sports media before he made the seismic shift to animal welfare work via experiences in Denver and Utah, will tell you that the kinds of professional training needed today and the needs of the organizations they help train are vastly different from what you might have found in those early days. Still, he says, NACA's job all along has been to track those changes and keep the organization's services relevant.
NACA recognizes that today’s field officers provide a wide array of services and support to their communities, including saving pets in danger, protecting human health and safety, enforcing laws and ordinances, providing support and education to community members, disaster response, investigating cruelty and neglect claims, helping lost pets get home, and helping wildlife, livestock and exotic animals, in addition to cats, dogs and other pets.
NACA understands the unique role that animal care and control professionals play in each community and is dedicated to ensuring its members have the resources, tools and training necessary to perform this role safely and effectively."
NACA will bring its mission and the experience that buttresses it to Michigan this October, sponsoring sessions at the 2026 One Voice: Michigan Pet Alliance Conference & Expo. NACA members Eric Thompson and Angela Miedema will present three breakout sessions throughout the two-day conference, including Disaster Planning & Response and Emergency Sheltering for Animals.
Michigan Pet Alliance appreciates NACA's membership, sponsorship and support.
