Compassion Fatigue

How can we balance our dedication to animals with our need to take care of ourselves?

After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of them.

We have to find some balance.

Those involved in the front lines at animal shelters and rescues face heartbreaking situations every single day. We give of our time, our energy, our hearts, and even our pockets.

And sometimes our commitment and our compassion cause us to drain ourselves completely.

The work of saving homeless and abused animals is never-ending, and it takes a toll on those of us who take part in it. When you work with trauma victims, you absorb their stress and trauma. So when we work with terrified animals who have been dumped, abused, or worse, we find ourselves with compassion fatigue. The symptoms include recurrent nightmares, recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the trauma, flashback episodes, intense psychological distress at exposure to cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event, restricted range of feelings (i.e. blocking feelings), difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, hyper vigilance, and exaggerated startle response.

Any of that sound familiar?

Teresa Wagner, an expert in this field, offers some ways we can balance service and self-care.

I have an uncle who once told me a story about volunteering at an animal shelter in South Carolina many years ago. He told me that he went back the next day to find that his favorite dog was gone. When he learned that the dog had been put down, he said that he could never go back. He was too heartbroken.

And when my mother went to pick up Arthur from the shelter, she was horrified by the sheer amount of animals waiting for a home. She asked one of the shelter workers how she copes and how she keeps coming to work every day. This worker told my mom that she chooses one animal every single day and focuses on saving him or her. In this way, the worker knows that she is saving lives and doing what she can. The work of people like her with the sheer determination to find rescue and forever homes for as many animals as they can is what saves the lives of many.

This reminds me of a wonderful rescue in Rhode Island that has saved many, many cats and dogs from gassing shelters in North Carolina. The name of the rescue is Help Save One. (And they also happen to have chosen a great song for their homepage!)

That’s what it’s all about.

Help save one.

Do what you can. Raise awareness. Educate your neighbors. Raise animal-loving children. Fight for legislation. TNR and feed feral cats. Foster an animal. Donate money to a rescue or a spay/neuter clinic. Volunteer your time at a shelter. Troll Freecycle and Craig’s List for items that you can collect and donate to your local shelter or rescue. Sew blankets for a shelter. Drive a leg for a rescue transport.

Whatever you do, do not allow yourself to feel so overwhelmed that you do nothing. Identify what you can do, set your boundaries, and get to work while remembering to take care of yourself so that you can take care of the animals!

P.S. Anyone got a thing for blue eyes and floppy ears?

Check out Dotty! Can she be any cuter? This poor girl is having trouble even finding a foster home in Istanbul, and what she really needs is a permanent home. Geography is not a barrier, so please let us know if you’d be interested in learning more about Dotty. We’re always happy to answer your questions, and transport can always be arranged.

And since you asked…

I happen to think that Dotty and Genny would make quite a striking pair for anyone who would like to adopt two Turkish beauties!

Genny is still in a wonderful foster home fighting distemper, but our fingers are all crossed that she will be healed up and ready for her forever home sooner rather than later. Would you be interested in adopting her? Or perhaps helping fund her medical costs? Most of us can’t afford to give huge amounts right now, but even if we all contributed the cost of our morning coffee or the cost of our lunch today, we could make a huge collective difference for Genny and the other Let’s Adopt! animals.