Impact on Shelter and Animal Control Staff

Shelter workers work there because they love animals

Since 1995, I have conducted Compassion Fatigue workshops for hundreds of shelter and animal control staff throughout the US. In one of the workshop exercises, participants have an opportunity to discuss and write their responses to the following questions:

1. The Reasons I Do This Work are. . .
2. The Rewards and Meaning From This Work are. . .
3. The Hardest Part of This Work is. . .

Here is what they have to say:

The Reasons I Do This Work:

Love of Animals!
(this is the predominant, number one response given at every workshop)
? Care about animals and people
? It is my purpose in life
? Doing something worthwhile with my life
? Sense of calling
? Enjoyment of working with animals
? Playing with and being with animals
? Compassion
? Hope
? Desire to help
? Concern for the welfare of animals
? Giving animals a better way of life
? Alleviate suffering
? To be part of the solution
? Finding good homes for animals
? It is important work!
? Help educate people
? Making a difference in the lives of animals and people
? Making a difference through education
? Educating public/pet owners
? Making a difference in the pet overpopulation problem
? Help animals in need
? Belief in animal welfare

The Rewards & Meaning From This Work Are...

Loving the animals
Finding homes for animals:
Facilitating happy endings and success stories (reunions and good adoptions)
Knowing I am part of the solution and having a positive impact on animals' lives and pet owners' perceptions (these three are the most predominant, repeated responses in every group)
? Success stories: seeing animals and owners reunited; adoptions
? Reuniting animals with owners
? Placing animals: Seeing a good adoption
? See an animal get a lasting, loving home!
? Seeing animals leave with responsible new owners
? Adoption to the right home
? Adoptions of hard-to-place animals
? Hearing back from those who have adopted
? Picking up strays before they are injured!
? Rescue and bring animals to safety
? Relieve suffering of an animal
? Rehabing animals
? Turning around animals, helping them become adoptable
? Rehabilitation of special animals
? Giving the animals love and care during their time with us
? Turning some hopeless situations for animals into positive ones
? Saving an animals life or improving it
? To make a positive difference in the animal's life and to show them love, however temporary their life may be
? Educating pet owners
? Seeing people learn more about caring for animals
? Working with the public, day in and day out challenge of education and seeing changing perceptions
? Being an advocate/voice for the animals
? Having a direct impact on animals lives
? Helping animals
? Making the world a little bit better
? Limit the abuse and neglect of animals
? Sometimes seeing those who have mistreated animals actually have to take responsibility for it
? Improve world and environment for animals
? Providing the pureness of necessity (shelter, food, water, love)
? Satisfaction of knowing you're helping
? Working with compassionate people; helps maintain hope
? Happiness from working with animals and co-workers
? Compassion from co-workers
? Working with animal centered people
? Working with other people who love animals in the same way
? Being part of the solution
? Knowing you are useful and important
? Trying your hardest and knowing you have done everything possible in your power
? Reminds me everyday that life is precious
? Interacting with the animals
? Time with the animals; exposure to animals
? Affection with animals
? Enjoyment of being with animals
? Providing comfort to the animals
? Rescue and caring for the animals
? Coming across reasonable and responsible clients

THE HARDEST PART IS...

Euthanizing animals:

? Deciding who will be euthanized
? Euthanizing animals we love
? Euthanizing healthy animals
? Saying good-bye to the animals we euthanize
? Loving the animals and knowing some will be euthanized
? Having to euthanize healthy animals for incoming stray or owner surrendered animals
? Knowing animals lives end due to overpopulation which can be prevented
? Choosing healthy animals for euthanasia because we don't have the space
? Euthanizing animals who are so young; haven't even lived a life
? Euthanizing animals we have become attached to
? Hating euthanasia but believing it's better than a lifetime in a cage or the streets

Having to justify euthanasia to the very public who brings us the animals

Feeling overwhelmed by guilt, sadness, anger and helplessness (these three are the predominant, repeated responses at every workshop)

? Critical public
? Being criticized by "no-kill" shelters who have the luxury of turning people away when they are full; criticizing us for euthanizing the very animals they wouldn't take!
? Dealing with people who dump their animals here and blame us
? Lack of public understanding
? Having to say "thank you" to the public for giving up their animals to us, even when their reasons are irresponsible
? Public in general ~ their excuses for not keeping their animal companions
? Verbal abuse from the public
? Lack of support from the public for what we do
? Dealing with public who make us feel like bad guys (also sometimes volunteers and board)
? Public denial ~ refusal to take responsibility for their actions and the anger it causes me
? Frustration and anger of not being able to control the public's awareness and actions
? The despondency of staff feelings there is no hope of public ever progressing in its animal care and commitment levels
? Public ignorance, irresponsibility and lack of response to education
? Demoralizing to deal with ignorant public
? Dealing with irresponsible pet owners
? The public not knowing anything about what we do, yet criticizing us
? Frustration with pet owners ~ having to be nice to people who have neglected animals
? When we can't get through to people to spay and neuter their pets
? Euthanizing a pure bred animal on the same day I hear a breeder say that the type of animals he breeds will never end up in a shelter. Wanting to scream, "Yeah well I just euthanized one."
? Carrying other people's guilt
? Bringing stray animals to shelter knowing they may not get adopted
? Volume of animals in shelters
? No end in sight ~ the size of the problem
? Emotional drain
? Feeling of being alone
? Overworked, stressed
? Breeders and unspayed/neutered animals
? Irresponsible owners having no idea what the animal needs
? Not finding homes for all of them
? Seeing cruelty, abuse and laws not strong enough to stop it (or enforce it!)
? Knowing we can't save them all
? Seeing animals in cages
? Depressed animals
? Abuse and cruelty

Facts to Consider:
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