you don't need to feel this way while working with animals
🐾
you don't need to feel this way while working with animals 🐾
this is scary to share, but it’s true…
You probably know this, but current data suggest that animal welfare workers suffer from higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, all risk factors that lower the quality of one’s mental health. Substance abuse is a common amongst staff and volunteers.
The rate of psychological distress among veterinarians has been steadily on the rise since 2019. Their veterinary team members suffer too. A CDC study shows vets as 2 to 4 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. This is a serious problem that needs addressing.
It’s like being on a plane. Just as we’re told in the case of an emergency, put your own mask on first before you help someone else, the same thing applies here. You and your team must make sure you’re able to function before you can help others. We cannot give what we don’t have.
The Thriving Volunteer Is Designed to Support You
Organizational Support for Shelter STAFF & Teams
As an Animal Welfare Wellness Consultant, I design workshops and ongoing support programs specifically for animal shelter staff + volunteers — so they can continue showing up for the animals in a steady, sustainable way.
Your staff is essential to shelter operations, yet the emotional weight of this work is rarely addressed with structured support.
Compassion fatigue, grief, and overwhelm are predictable realities in animal welfare — and when left unaddressed, they impact retention, morale, and culture.
My work integrates:
Trauma-informed breathwork
Creative grief processing
Writing and reflective practices
Practical, shift-ready tools
Designed from years of first-hand shelter experience
These are not abstract wellness concepts. They are usable techniques staff and volunteers can rely on:
During a difficult interaction
After a euthanasia
When conflict arises
When overwhelm starts to build
Each program is customized to your shelter’s unique culture and needs.
👇 Book a FREE Discovery Call today
For the SHELTER Volunteers who give so much
If you spend your weekends at the shelter…
If you’ve cried in your car after a shift…
If you love the animals so much it hurts…
You’re in the right place.
I created The Thriving Volunteer Community because I know what this work costs. I’ve fostered 70+ dogs. I’ve stood in the kennels. I’ve felt the tension between loving the animals and navigating the system.
And I know this:
You should not have to burn out to be devoted.
The Thriving Volunteer Patreon Community provides:
Practical, in-the-moment tools you can use during or after a hard shift
Grounding resets designed specifically for shelter life
Honest conversations about grief, overwhelm, conflict, and compassion fatigue
A private space to connect with volunteers across the country who truly get it
Live support circles (if you want face-to-face community)
You don’t have to fix yourself.
You don’t have to “be stronger.”
You don’t have to do this alone.
You just need a place to land.
👇 Join The Thriving Volunteer Community today
“I felt relaxed and realized that my intention or what I needed was time to just be me in my space, check in with myself or take stock of my body. I absolutely got that, the time to center myself and focus on me.”
- Alexis, from Austin Pets Alive!.