It’s so important for us all to start talking about this — the sheltering system as we see it now cannot continue and is unsustainable, requiring us all to ask some questions and re-think what’s feasible. We have a system that is chronically misunderstood, unsupported, underfunded, and under-resourced with pressures that only increase and no end in sight on need. We need community and government support as we work through huge questions like this and the potential solutions of the future. We need systemic solutions to these systemic problems. #animalwelfare #animalsheltering
Recently, I was part of an email thread in which Dr. Kate Hurley spoke with such clarity and passion about the current state of animal sheltering and the challenges that we face, that I asked her if I could reformat her emails into something we could share more broadly. Dr. Hurley is one of the most significant thought leaders in our movement and her words resonated deeply with me, as I imagine they will for many of you. Here's the longer version of the quotation in this image: "The struggle that many shelters are experiencing right now is an expression of an inherently unworkable system, where there is no mechanism to match expectations of intake and service to the community, with capacity to meet those needs in a safe and humane way. The larger the shelter, the more dramatic this mismatch tends to be and any wobble in staffing or surge in intake leads to more severe and often spiraling consequences." This coming Monday, I'll share Dr. Hurley's message in full, which includes her thoughts about a different way forward. Subscribe to my newsletter to be among the first folks to see it! https://lnkd.in/gFRKVnnn