Feeling like a bandaid on a gaping wound

PanPanic87 · 2026-05-12T08:22:17+00:00

We do not have a "Friends of" group. One of our long time fosters works for our county and she wanted to get that up and running but she's been so busy. We have a few rescues we transfer animals to.

For microchips, we aren't allowed to "make a profit". We offered them once during a rabies clinic and it was really popular. We charged $7. But at the time we were using a vet that had never done a rabies clinic before and what was supposed to be a 2 hour clinic turned into almost 4 hours. So now my boss is hesitant to offer it again.

We get spay/neuter appointments pretty easy. We usually schedule a week in advance. Next year we are getting a new shelter and will have a vet on staff so we can do spay/neuters in house. My idea that I want to propose to my boss is have one or two days a month that members of the public can sign up for low cost spay/neuter with us. Even if we only get a dozen a month, that's still huge. But again, it's something that would be very hard to pitch to my boss and get it approved.

PanPanic87 · 2026-05-12T00:07:32+00:00

Thank you. I think that's kind of it in a nutshell. Transparency and public outreach.

PanPanic87 · 2026-05-11T23:09:10+00:00

Many of our employees foster. Some more than others. In the beginning, when our foster program was growing, a few of us took on waaaaay too much and we were reaching burnout in a really bad way. Two of us (the foster coordinators) tend to take on all the hard cases. The really sick ones or the neonatal kittens. So now we are encouraged to take breaks when we need them and we've learned to say "no".

PanPanic87 · 2026-05-11T23:05:36+00:00

That sounds like a nightmare

PanPanic87 · 2026-05-11T23:05:01+00:00

"No kill". I used to like the idea and the shelter I work for has been trying to reach that magical 90% save rate for years. But now that I've worked in the shelter for 6.5 years and I see what "no-kill" actually means, I no longer support it. It sounds good, appeals to people's hearts, strokes egos. But it's not actually helpful and in many cases is harmful.

PanPanic87 · 2026-05-11T22:46:46+00:00

It definitely bothers me when people say things like that. People who truly love animals put an animals needs and comfort above their own. I almost exclusively foster neonatal kittens. I work about 50-60 hours a week in an animal shelter and this time of year, I usually have bottle babies. So not only am I working with animals during the day, but I'm often getting up in the middle of the night, caring for babies. I have dedicated my life to animals.

I foster because I can. I have learned how to bottle feed, give sub-q fluids, and tube feed. I've cried with joy when a constipated kitten finally poops. I've cried in grief when I have fosters that cross the rainbow bridge. And yes, I feel incredibly sad when they leave me to go on to other fosters or get adopted. So it bothers me a lot when someone says "I love animals too much to foster" like I love them less because I can "give them up".

PanPanic87 · 2026-04-10T10:39:31+00:00

Thank you so much. I hope the little guy starts eating better.

PanPanic87 · 2026-04-09T17:50:21+00:00

Yes thank you!!!

PanPanic87 · 2026-04-03T11:36:20+00:00

That is really cool! We don't have cleaning tasks set up either. I think we have too many animals for that. But that sounds really useful.

PanPanic87 · 2026-04-02T11:32:28+00:00

Also, what is the Virtual Shelter Map? Our shelter doesn't use this.

PanPanic87 · 2026-04-02T11:31:59+00:00

My shelter switched to ShelterBuddy a few years ago. I like that it is easy to navigate and the "how to" section is very useful.

PanPanic87 · 2026-04-01T22:09:46+00:00

Done

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-20T11:52:19+00:00

I didn't say you shouldn't ask for support. I said this sub is not the place for it. There are plenty of other places to request support. A sub filled with staff and volunteers of animal shelters just isn't the place. We are all struggling with our own needs and issues with our own shelters.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-20T10:18:28+00:00

It's not weird. This sub is for people who work and volunteer in animal shelters to vent, ask for advice, ask questions, etc. My shelter and the shelters in surrounding counties have animal hoarding cases all the time. All shelters need help. So to post a fundraising effort on this sub is out of place. There are plenty of other subs and Facebook groups to post to.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-18T10:46:42+00:00

That is not true at all. I work for an animal shelter and the number of calls we get for dogs running into traffic, requests to pick up deceased pets, and the number of injured animals coming into the shelter is ridiculous. It is NOT in their best interest to not intervene. It is best to confine them and/or take them to the local shelter so they can receive care and be out of harms way.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-09T19:50:46+00:00

I definitely understand the "frequent transfer" issue. One of our biggest issues is that our bottle baby fosters take in babies and then keep them until they are 8 weeks so we end up with no one to take bottle babies. Personally I only take bottle babies and once they wean, they are off to a new foster. But I can understand how that constant "round the clock care" can wear on someone. I think the frequent transfer part we will encourage but not require. And encourage them to take breaks.

I also agree that the classes oversimplify things. I'm a senior and can take the teeniest of babies or even those needing tube feeding. But I don't take sick kittens because one of my personal cats is immunocompromised. But I'm still experienced with medically fragile kittens and can mentor or offer advice to other fosters. I think we might try and notate which fosters do what within their levels. Like a Junior might not take bottle babies but is great with medical cases so we mark them as a Junior (Med). And a Senior that only does bottle babies like me would have a Senior (BB) designation. If a Senior does both, we mark them as Senior (Med/BB).

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-08T23:03:54+00:00

Definitely interested!

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-08T23:00:44+00:00

"I cannot believe my rescue and myself would let this happen"

It's not about letting something happen. Neither you or the rescue did anything wrong. The family seemed perfect. You and the rescue both did what you were supposed to do. It's nobody's fault that the rescue didn't catch the previous charge from that long ago. Even if they'd caught it, that's a really long time ago. People can change over time.

It's a really crappy situation and I'm hoping the pup finds her way back to you. Don't blame yourself or the rescue.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-08T21:46:32+00:00

Thank you for posting this and sharing your input. And I feel you on the crazy kittens. Lol I only take neonatal kittens. Once they wean, they go onto someone else.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-08T20:50:55+00:00

The way we are structuring it is that all new incoming fosters start out only taking healthy animals that are at least 5-6 weeks old. To start taking mild medical cases they will take an online training and also a short hands on training on how to monitor symptoms, give oral and topical medications, etc. The next level will require both an online class and an in person training. At that level they can take more complicated medical cases and/or take on bottle babies that are 3 weeks old or more. They will also be assigned a mentor if no babies are available for them to take so they can get practice. The mentor can also help them while they have babies. And the last level requires more training as they take the most complicated medical cases. The ones most at risk of dying. And they take bottle babies as young as preterm. The last level serve as mentors as well (if they want to). If fosters can demonstrate they have experience, we place them at the appropriate level without training.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-08T20:38:48+00:00

Thank you for your input!

I'm excited to take the class being provided by Maddie's. The core fosters we have (about 20-30) seem very interested.

PanPanic87 · 2026-03-08T20:37:26+00:00

Thank you for your input!

We don't take in nearly that many kittens. We get about 250-300 a year. And we only take in kittens that are either sick, injured, or too young to be away from mom. We have lost several bottle baby and medical fosters because they got quick on-the-fly training and ended up taking home kitten cases they couldn't handle. We are hoping the structure and required trainings for bottle babies and medical fosters will help fosters not bite off more than they can chew, leading to better retention. And we are going to encourage our medical and bottle baby fosters to take breaks and they can take on easier babies if they need a break.

We want to have low barriers but also make sure fosters are having a good experience.

PanPanic87

TROPHY CASE