A Drink with a Hero, or What About the Shelter Workers?

Tonight, I'm in New York City where I attended Bideawee's Gala on the Green where Iams (the company I work for) was the Corporate Honoree for the work we do through Iams Home 4 the Holidays. I will write more of the event this weekend (when I have more time).

For tonight, I wanted to capture a conversation I had with Mike Arms, of the Helen Woodward Animal Center. He is in town with us (I'm here with my buddy Kris Parlett, who manages our Iams Home 4 the Holidays) because Mike is a big part of Iams Home 4 the Holidays.

After the event, Kris and I met Mike in our hotel bar (the Crown Plaza, in Times Square thank you very much!) for a drink.

I love talking to Mike, because he is so wise about the workings of shelters and so passionate about getting pets into forever-homes. He does shelter consults--he goes to shelters and consults with them on what they can do to make things better (no pay for him, strictly expenses). Mike always has interesting shelter stories to tell.

Tonight we talked about a shelter he had recently visited. This shelter takes in 50,000 animals a year. He told me about the young shelter workers he met--young people whose only wish is to help make life better for the animals of the shelter. They work hard to keep the shelter clean (cleaning a kennel is not work for the unmuscled). They bond with the animals in their care. This shelter that Mike was consulting on adopted out around 1500 animals a year.

So every week, something close to 1000 animals were being euthanized.

These shelter workers, who bonded with the dogs and the cats in their care, also had the responsibility of putting them to sleep.

Mike tells me that shelter workers have the highest suicide rates. Often, they take the same cocktail injection that they use on the dogs and cats who they have helped to cross over the Rainbow Bridge--like a "me too" kind of apology for taking their lives.

When you have a pet, and the time comes to help them over the Rainbow Bridge, you can morn the loss openly. Death happens at an appropriate time when the pet's quality of life has been deminished. Your friends can offer you sympathy. And you can work through your grief.

People go into shelter work because they love animals. They bond with the animals they care for. But at many shelters, there's a clock ticking. And once time runs out, those pets that the shelter worker has bonded with must be taken to the back room where (often) the shelter worker will hold the pet as their eyes close for the last time.

The shelter worker does not have the same kind of outlets for their grief as a pet owner does. The grief is there, along with the guilt. So they are forced to internalize it, and (often) young, idealistic and under-paid people get old before their time.

We talk a lot about the importance of getting shelter animals adopted. I think we also need to focus attention on the mental health of our shelter workers. God bless them, their work takes a terrible toll.

The good news for the shelter that Mike was working with is that the shelter's board understood Mike's message and changes are being made.