08/01/2025
It’s been a week. This post was on the Friends of Campbell County in Tennessee, posted by their director, and I requested permission to share it with a few revisions. The words are theirs, but the situations are true at every shelter I know.
“FB is always asking what's on our minds...
FB would probably be scared.
*Animal sheltering is really rewarding. Animal sheltering is really heartbreaking.
*Animal sheltering is tiring. Animal sheltering is energizing.
*Believe it or not, we are humans with families, lives, and crises, just like most of you. We didn't create the animal welfare mess that we see every day. We are simply trying to clean it up in our little corner of the world.
*Animal sheltering is hard. We can't please everyone. We are condemned for not allowing some potential adopters to adopt because they don't meet our adoption requirements, That same day we get bashed for adopting a dog to your neighbor who leaves the dog outside all day and he barks and climbs the fence while his parents aren't home.
*People complain that animal control picked up their dog that was playing in traffic. Other people complain that we aren't picking up enough animals.
*We sometimes ask owners to hold a dog due to overcrowding until we have enough space to take in the pup, but others don’t bat an eye when they are told honestly their dog may be euthanized for space.
*The community thinks a dog out and about is a stray and should be taken to the shelter, regardless of where they are seen. Yet then we hear, “Don’t kill that dog!”
*Take in all of the unwanted animals in this community but don't euthanize anything. How would that even work? What size facility would we need? How many staff? How much money would it take to fund such a place?
**Animal sheltering is hard. I'm not gonna lie. Some days are hard. Some days are harder. Yesterday was one of those harder days. Compassion fatigue is real. If it takes a reset every now and then, that is what we will do. Please support us and give us a little grace. We will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, squeeze our pack a little harder and get right back to the job at hand. To our wonderful, unrelenting supporters, thank you! We appreciate every one of you.”
Thanks to the Director, Friends of Campbell County. TN, for her insight, and for allowing us to share. We are all in this together.
