EXCLUSIVE
The metal bucket clings against thick kennel bars, sending the dogs around me into a barking frenzy.
Soapy water slides down from the sponge and splashes my shoes. My feet are soaked. But right now, that doesn’t even bother me.
I’m scrubbing the kennel of one of my favorite dogs at the animal shelter – the one who died this morning.
It had to be done immediately, because another homeless dog was already coming in to take his place.
My body is tired, but not as tired as my heart.
I close my eyes and picture Rocky – a bumbling sweetheart of a dog, and I pick up his favorite blanket to wash. It’s the same bedding I always used to put over him at night. Now, it will warm someone else. A voice comes over my walkie – I can barely hear it through the wailing of the dogs.
“K14 needs to be cleaned next,” the radio says. I fight back tears and get ready for the next job.
Attachment is a Liability
This scene plays out every day in this field. And it contributes to a culture of poor mental health in animal welfare – a culture perpetuated by the lack of support in the industry.
In this world, you fall in love with the animals knowing that you likely won’t get to keep them.
Sometimes they’re adopted – those moments are bittersweet. Sometimes they pass away.
Crystal Navarette, a San Angelo local with nearly a decade of experience in animal welfare, has seen firsthand how painful moments like these linger.
“I remember my first ‘favorite dog’ – a petite blue heeler that just stood out to me.
“She felt so special. I remember the feeling of looking into her eyes one day, and into an empty kennel the next.”
Crystal started her career as a kennel worker at the San Angelo Animal Shelter, and was cross-trained to fulfill multiple roles, a common practice due to short staffing.
She eventually became an Animal Services Officer, and a seasoned rescuer in the community.
Animal welfare professionals like Crystal face chronic mental-health threats that often go ignored, or are “treated” with underfunded band-aid measures.
Animal welfare professionals are tired, dirty and worn. But we keep pushing, because we love the work. Because we love the animals. And because, if we don’t, who will? At least, that’s the unwritten motto.
We are gritty folk who pride ourselves in our ability to push through the hard days.
But pushing through isn’t always the answer, and unmet mental health challenges can cause further harm down the road.
Addressing these challenges is essential for the humane care of the animals and the people; when caregivers aren’t cared for, everything suffers.
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Some of the Challenges
I used to post photos of the animals from the facilities where I worked.
I remember one in particular – a selfie with a goofy doodle — tongue hanging out of his mouth, with a paw on my shoulder.
One friend commented, “You have my dream job.”
That’s a line we hear a lot, and when it wasn’t that, it was, “I could never do your job.”
This contradiction always confused me, and I wondered, “If it’s your dream job, then, why aren’t you doing it? What’s preventing you?”
In reality, it’s not too difficult to figure out why people aren’t flooding into animal caregiving roles. And why, when they do, they often don’t stick around for long.
Come for the Challenges; Stay for the Low Pay
Animal caregiving roles are notoriously under-paid, and shelters across the country routinely run staff ragged, offering little in the way of predictable time-off or benefits, and leaving workers feeling unappreciated.
In short, animal care professionals say they feel like their contributions aren’t taken seriously, and that they’re often dehumanized by the public, who only see one side of the kennel.
Crystal talked about enduring criticism from animal advocates in the community, judging her for trying to make a difference – like some nights, Crystal would be out at 2 a.m. responding to an injured dog call.
“It never felt good enough; even though me and co-workers worked so hard, and cared so much,” she told me, “I would just love for someone to wear my shoes for a day at that time.”
Despite what people might believe, animal care is more than playing with cute puppies all day.
It’s scrubbing kennels; it’s handling aggressive dogs; it’s trying to work through the sounds of 50+ animals wailing in fear behind caged doors.
It is heartbreak. And it is also crisis.
Professional Hazards
The morning before that picture with the doodle was taken, I had to suddenly evacuate more than 30 dogs by myself from a play yard, and tend to a dog who was suffering from a seizure. The photo didn’t show that part.
Just like instagram reels of playful kittens don’t show what’s often happening behind the scenes: burnout.
What is burnout? Burnout feels like you’re driving on empty – you know you should stop, but you keep on going. You push forward when you need a break because you feel like you must.
But true love and care for animals includes taking care of ourselves as part of the process.
Animal care professionals also experience compassion fatigue, which is something that can happen when a person is repeatedly exposed to trauma, until they essentially start to feel numb to it.
Compassion fatigue puts animals and people at risk.
Tipping Points
Everyone has their own tipping point. Crystal reached hers after suffering a major loss in her personal life.
This pushed her compassion fatigue into full-on burnout.
Even with therapy, she knew she needed to step back.
“I still miss it sometimes,” she said, “But ultimately, I had to put myself first.”
Crystal came back to the animal welfare world when she was ready.
She now assists with adoptions for a local rescue, and she takes pride in supporting the animals from a place that feels good for her.
The Challenges are Real
Mental health challenges aren’t reserved for shelters and kennels.
The risk is there for veterinary professionals, too. According to a national survey published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, approximately 17 percent veterinarians have considered suicide since graduation — 1-in-6, a rate that far exceeds that of other healthcare professionals.
These numbers cannot be ignored.
The emotional toll of animal care is clearly systemic, and stretches far beyond our local rescues.
America must start taking animal-welfare professionals seriously – and that includes prioritizing their mental wellbeing.
The System
As always, these problems aren’t happening on an island. Animal rescues face funding challenges.
They’re dependent on donations, they don’t offer benefits and they rely on volunteers.
They also let cultural narratives shift the way they treat their employees.
The consequences don’t stop at the animal-handler’s leash – they impact organizations as a whole.
Compassion fatigue, burnout, and mental health neglect often lead to high turnover, closures, stigma, recruitment challenges, reputational harm, and most importantly – diminished quality of animal care when burnout leads to mistakes.
How do we fix it?
Crystal says it all starts with valuing the work.
“One way to help animal caregivers that do it for a living is to value them more. Lighten the load and help. If anything, stop and at least tell them thank you.”
She reminds us that there’s always something we can do to help.
“Volunteer without judgment, foster animals that are at risk, donate to help animals in need, help get the word out, ask rescues and shelters what they need.”
As far as the shelters and rescues themselves, change may start with a reassessment of current policies and practices to best meet the needs of the team.
Shelters and rescues should
- Budget for mental health support and paid sick leave
- Offer reasonable caseloads and rotate duties (especially when workers are outside in the heat or cold)
- Create mandatory decompression time after traumatic events, such as injury, death, or animal fights
- Normalize shift coverage so staff can take breaks
- Create clear crisis protocols and go over them with staff
- Provide employee assistance programs and sliding scale therapy stipends
- Publicly appreciate staff contributions
- Create a culture of psychological safety, keeping in mind that we are all human and deserving of dignity and respect
Caregivers can
- Lean on your support network and utilize buddy system when needed
- Respect the scope of your abilities
- Confide in trusted friends and colleagues
- Remember your “why”
- Take temporary leaves when needed – this is an ethical responsibility, not a moral failure
As it turns out, it’s not a cliché: you really can’t take care of anyone properly if you aren’t taking care of yourself first.
I think of Rocky’s blanket, now draped over another sleeping dog. I hope the person cleaning that kennel gets a moment to catch their breath. Because they work hard – and because they deserve it.
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Chrysanthemum Crenshaw Cohen covers a wide variety of topics for The Concho Observer, and has an extensive background working to improve social services and animal welfare.
She is a trained advocate who supports survivors of sexual violence, serves on local boards, and acts as a bridge between animal welfare and human social services.
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