Foreclosure dog crisis takes toll on animal shelter workers


Posted on Mar 13, 2008
By Julia Szabo

As reported here Friday, the staff at animal shelters across the country are witnessing heartbreaking scenes of separation as more and more dog owners are forced to surrender family pets due to home foreclosures. The stress is felt not only by the anguished owners and traumatized dogs, but by the shelter staffers as well.  

Many animal shelters are operating at maximum capacity, and lack of available cage space means dogs have at best a 50 percent chance of making it out - and at some overcrowded urban shelters, owner-surrendered dogs are killed upon intake.  

The stress of having to make life-or-death decisions on behalf of more homeless dogs than usual is taking a toll on shelter workers. And at this critical time, shelters cannot afford to lose burnt-out staff due to compassion fatigue.

"Animal shelter staff and volunteers who witness owners' agony at leaving their animal friends at the shelter are prone to vicarious traumatization (VT)," explains Dr. Laurie Nadel, author and FetchDog authority. "Many employees and volunteers will have nightmares, flashbacks, severe anxiety, and other symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder simply because they see, hear, and feel the emotional shocks that owners and pets are experiencing."

For anyone suffering what she describes, Dr. Nadel has this advice: "Animal shelter management can seek critical incident stress management briefings for staff and volunteers through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, which has a list of trained volunteers who can help staff members process their own emotions so they are less likely to develop PTSD or compassion fatigue symptoms later on."

For pet owners facing impossible choices, Dr. Nadel reminds, "It may be harder to take care of your pet during tough times, but it's important to think past the immediate crisis. How will you feel about giving up your pet a few years from now? Chances are, you will wish you had done everything possible to keep her with you. The emotional price of sacrificing an animal companion during a period of financial stress is likely to haunt you later on. Instead of giving in to panic, visualize yourself growing closer to your pet during the crisis; make a list of the top 10 positive things you will get by keeping him or her." 
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