06/10/2026
More than 90% of animal shelter staff are experiencing secondary traumatic stress at high levels.
Let's talk about what that actually means ⬇️
Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is the emotional and physiological response that comes from being consistently exposed to the trauma of others. In shelter work, that's the fear, grief, and suffering of the animals you're caring for, day after day, shift after shift.
It doesn't require you to be the one making the hard decisions. It doesn't require a "big" traumatic event. It builds slowly, from proximity. From sitting with a scared dog. From watching a hoarding case come in. From being the person a struggling animal trusts, when everything about their story is heavy.
And the impact is real. STS can look like:
🐾 Trouble sleeping, or sleeping but not feeling rested
🐾 Intrusive thoughts about specific animals long after your shift ends
🐾 Emotional numbness, or sudden waves of grief you can't place
🐾 Irritability, cynicism, or feeling detached from the work you used to love
🐾 Physical symptoms: headaches, stomach issues, tension you can't shake
🐾 Difficulty concentrating or making decisions you used to make easily
If any of that sounds familiar, you are not weak. You are not "bad at this." You are responding exactly the way a human nervous system responds to sustained exposure to another being's suffering.
The first step is language. Naming what's happening. The second is not carrying it alone.
Come find your people inside my free Facebook community for shelter leaders, staff and volunteers. It's where shelter folks talk about this openly, share what's helping, and remind each other that this work is hard AND worth it 💜
👉 https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18r3VuCtEv/
Stat Source: Faunalytics, "Compassion Under Pressure: A Study of U.S. Animal Shelter Staff Well-Being"
