If you’re an animal care worker, then it’s no surprise to you that your work can be filled with a range of emotions. These include the joy and satisfaction of saving or rehabilitating an animal to the sadness, guilt, and frustration of having to witness … More …
This article is a follow up to the one I wrote previously on how animal care professionals are impacted by compassion fatigue. If you’re an animal care worker and think you’re experiencing compassion fatigue symptoms, it’s important to address them. Ignoring them can make them … More …
A day in the life of an animal care worker includes many emotions, including joy and satisfaction that results from helping save or rescue an animal in need, or sadness and burden the of witnessing animal suffering, neglect, and (often) euthanasia. If the distressing emotions … More …
The first time I lost an animal, I was 39 years old. It was my first pet, Lynx, who I adopted as a kitten when I graduated college at age 22. He was 17 when he passed and meant the world to me. I spent … More …
“Lily has a tumor [hemangiosarcoma] that has attached itself to every blood vessel near her hind legs. I don’t know what else we can do for her…” I sat there in shock as I heard my veterinarian tell me this at the other end of … More …
“I feel like we just brought one-year-old Hokie home from the shelter, and now he’s suddenly a senior dog with a terminal illness. I can’t imagine my life without him” ~ Debra G. If you’re a pet owner, chances are you’ve experienced a thought or … More …
I recently had a conversation with a client about her need to defend herself and her choices to her (grown) children. Without sharing too many details, suffice it to say, as she enters into her retirement years, she is making some new choices on who … More …
I’ve been working with a client recently who’s had a tough few months. Last week she came to Ashlyn Cottage for a private retreat and had an interesting breakthrough. Perhaps some of you will be able to relate to this. She’s been in business for … More …
Did you ever think about the fact that the one common denominator in all your life experiences is you? I say this because I used to think that if I moved to enough new houses or made enough external changes in my life, then things … More …
I recently had a conversation with a friend about how we both wasted so much time in our lives, making decisions to “save face.” The dictionary definition of this is to avoid humiliation or retain respect. In our situations, these decisions were both related to … More …
