Animal Shelter Staff Survival Guide

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Animal Shelter Staff Survival Guide To help animal shelter staff deal with the complexities of everyday life at an animal shelter

27/02/2024

Cat people:

Catnip? Yes or no?

Very curious, I have never gotten a solid answer on the benefits or drawbacks in all these years.

Thanks for the education!

26/02/2024

Few things on this earth make me happier than seeing a dog walking with its owner on a loose leash without a care in the world because he/she knows they have an owner they can trust and they don’t have to worry about anything.

It’s really like a beautiful sunset to me. Every dog deserves that kind of peace.

Can anyone else appreciate this or feel the same?

24/02/2024

Welcome to all our new followers! Thank you for what you do and for wanting to learn more!

20/02/2024

God morning friends

Do you visit any other shelter specific related pages that you find helpful?

If so, please list them here so others can join and hopefully learn more!

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

PS, don’t forget to make the animals your top priority today.

You are doing a great job

19/02/2024

Employees,

You wouldn’t be okay with your employer not giving you the full pay you worked for each week, right?

Why, then should they be okay with anything but your full effort then?

Consider this please

Have a wonderful day everyone

16/02/2024

Are you okay with not being right all the time?

As a supervisor, im comfortable with that. It takes a lot of pressure off me and I feel it makes people look at my as more of a teammate, than someone who supposedly “knows it all”, which i dont (although i like to think i know quite a bit)

Bonus tip: If this post has you pondering if perhaps, you know it all, you don’t, trust me.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

09/02/2024

Member submitted question !

My shelter has recently taken in a dog from our local vet. the dog is 4 years old and was brought in to the vet to be euthanized because she is 'sick'. the same vet has seen this dog every month for a year and has consulted with specialist and could find nothing wrong with the dog. the people insisted they wanted her euthanized and left her at the vet. so, he did not euthanize her and instead asked the shelter for help. I see there are a lot of problems with this but the shelter had nothing to do with it until after the fact. the problem is the dog has a microchip. I am afraid if we try to change the owner info on the chip, it will trigger a call to the former owners. and I am afraid if we don't change it, her new rescue or adopter will find out about the chip and it will get back to the owner and cause the vet (who helps the shelter a lot with his time, discounts on treatment and even donates to us) to get into legal trouble. so, I guess the question is...will trying to change the owner info on the chip cause a call to be made to the original owner? is there any way to "turn off" a microchip? what can the shelter do to make sure the owners don't find out the dog wasn't euthanized?

09/02/2024

Could you imagine what shelters could accomplish if we all worked together and were linked somehow?

Let’s say even all the shelter in the same state. They could transfer animals between shelters when they aren’t getting looked at, send dogs to shelter that have better handlers or send sick animals with a better vet program?!

This is not a new idea, but sometimes I think about it.

What do you think ?

What else could be done if we were all linked together ?

Thanks for reading

09/02/2024

MEMBER SUBMITTED QUESTION

Hi. Is anyone is signed up with Hill's Science Diet Food Shelter and Love program?

A few questions I have are:

If they require you to feed exclusively their food, does that mean donated food also?
What is the cost to the shelter as far as the food goes?

I basically am wondering it's worth trying and if people whose shelters are signed up like it?

Thank you

07/02/2024

Hi all.

Just a reminder to try to be compassionate and understanding toward your co workers and people around you .

I realize this is easy to say but we all need to work to make this happen.

We all have different opinions and values but remember , just because they are different, doesnt mean they are wrong. You dont need to be friends with everyone, but at least make an attempt to understand them or at the very least, work alongside them in peace.

Remember, while you are arguing or upset, there is an animal in its cage counting on you.

Thanks for reading

07/02/2024

Anonymous member submitted post

Hi all. I am a chronic people pleaser. I avoid conflict at all cost. However one conflict I can’t avoid is conflict among other coworkers who can’t get along.

My question is: How does everyone stay calm and sane when being surrounded by people who tend to argue?

Thank you in advance !

06/02/2024

MEMBER SUBMITTED QUESTION!

Good morning, I work part time with a ver small shelter in a very small town as a kennel tech. I also work with a cat rescue and we are looking to start a TNR. I have heard many pros and a few cons on it. I would love to know what shelter staff thinks about it. Is it a good thing or something that just causes more issues down the road? I want to have done all my research from every point of view before going to the director. Thanks

05/02/2024

Do you have a particularly good dog or cat handler at your organization ? What makes them so good?

If they follow this page, please tag them and show them how you feel.

Let’s share with people how we appreciate them more, especially in a sometimes thankless job like this.

03/02/2024

I think we can all agree that a good veterinarian of any kind is amazing, but a SHELTER veterinarian, one that understands the limitations of a shelter, the idiosyncrasies of how things work, and what is realistic and what is not is priceless!

Any DVM’s with us on this page?

Thank you for what you do!

Thoughts?

01/02/2024

Today I overheard a coworker complaining about a person who relinquished a dog to us because he/she thought they did not give the dog a chance.

I agreed (in my head) based on what i heard and continued with what i was doing.

Then I started thinking…….

I then recalled a conversation recently where staff at our shelter was saying what a “piece of sh*t” a person was who recently dumped their dog on the side of the road.

My thinking here is that we cant “hate” and be mad at everyone. These are drastically different situations.

Does it suck that a person gave up on a dog to soon? Yes. Did that person also have the heart to make an appointment at our shelter, pay the fees involved, return the dog safely to us and accept any potential judgement from us over the situation in person ? Also yes.

My point here is that many people would put both of those people in the same category when they 100% do not belong there together.

More than willing to hear any and all opinions you may have.

Thanks for having an open enough mind to be willing to look at a situation differently

29/01/2024

Working at a shelter is hard. Give yourself some credit.

Unlike what our friends and family think, we don’t just “play with animals all day” If only it were that easy

22/01/2024

Please tell me about your best volunteer!

What is his/her name and what makes him/her your best volunteer ?

Thanks as usual

14/01/2024

I would recommend you not make your job your entire life.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Find other things in life that give you joy, you will be happy you did.

Happy Sunday

13/01/2024

There is no substitute for EXPERIENCE

12/01/2024

The following hangs in a frame on my office wall to this day. This is my response to those who want to attack me for my decisions

“You don’t know what it’s like, you don’t have a clue , if you did you’d find yourselves, doing the same thing too”

This is from a band named Judas Priest

Ask for advice, talk to yiur supervisor, agonize, cry, whatever you have to do, but once you have made your decision, stick to it and don’t accept abuse from anyone.

You have to live with your decision, they dont. You are in your position for a reason, so are they.

I hope a few of you keep these words in mind

05/01/2024

Don’t take it personally, just take it seriously . - Gordon Ramsay

Don’t play folks. They have no power if you don’t.
05/01/2024

Don’t play folks. They have no power if you don’t.

03/01/2024

My 2024 resolution at work is to……..

01/01/2024

2024!!! You got this! It all starts again now!

01/01/2024

Thank you all for another wonderful year of shelter life!

Remember how many animals are celebrating the new year in a home surrounded by their family because of you!

You all deserve a moment to take a step back and recognize everything you have accomplished.

2024 will be great!

Be safe tonight and drink responsibly

30/12/2023

How would you define a TOXIC coworker ???

26/12/2023

For all of those grappling with it, there is nothing wrong with leaving the animal field completely.

There are many appropriate reasons to leave this field, more than I can even list.

The point is, you have to do what you have to do for you! YOU HAVE DONE YOUR PART, that is more than most do.

25/12/2023

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

Big thanks to everyone who is working today! Even if your boss doesn’t say it, sincere thank you from me for your sacrifice !

Are you working today? I know I am!

Feel free to post any pics of what you’re up to!

22/12/2023

Like it or not, having well run Facebook/social media pages can set your shelter apart from all others.

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS I RECOMMEND YOU SHOW A LOT ON YOUR PAGE:

Pictures of your animals going home

Pictures/video of your animals for adoption

Pictures/video of your staff

Pictures/video of your shelter/grounds

Pictures/videos of your accomplishments, positive outcomes and improvements

Pictures/videos of you showing what you did with requested donations. Thanking donors by name. (Never underestimate mentioning donors names if they are okay with it, people want credit, even if they say they dont)

Happy ending stories

HERE ARE A FEW THING I RECOMMEND YOU SHOW SOMETIMES ON YOUR PAGE:

Gruesome pictures

Very sad stories

Fundraising

Selling items

THINGS TO NEVER POST:

Anything to do with politics

Nasty remarks towards people, other shelters, specific areas people.live in, ect

Venting about people who come to the shelter

Animals that do not reside at your shelter.

If all your page ever shows is links for fundraising, and nothing new and fun, there is no reason for people to come back to your page. There are so many groups that have amazing pages that are fun, ever changing and original. THAT IS WHAT WILL SET YOU APART FROM THE OTHERS. THAT IS WHAT GET YOU DONATIONS, TRAFFICE TO SHE SHELTER AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ADOPTIONS!

YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY YOU PUT TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS.

VIDEO IS KEY IN MY OPINION

CHECK OUT Chesapeake Animal Services FOR AND EXAMPLE OF A GREAT PAGE! I VISIT DAILY.

I'm sure I missed some! Please add to the list!

20/12/2023

Obviously I'm big on taking care of the workers at animal shelters as well as the animals.

I'm wondering, being right in the middle of the holidays if anyone on this page would be willing to bring in snacks or do something nice for the staff OF ANOTHER SHELTER?

Would you be willing to do this?

The hidden meaning of this post is teamwork

Have a wonderful day

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