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50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally a book to help those who care for our animals., April 12, 2006
This review is from: Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community (Paperback)
"Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community" is a supportive book for those in the animal care industry, particularly those who work in shelters and see a lot of abused and sick and lonely animals.
Animal Care workers are vulnerable to Compassion Fatigue, a form of PTSD., physical, mental and emotional exhaustion because of their unique job stresses. Job stresses include very ill animals, euthenasia, not enough time, lack of team work, and at times difficult pet owners.
This book explains what Compassion Fatigue is, how it is different than Burnout, and how to measure that against Compassion Satisfaction. What are the stressors that can lead to compassion fatigue? What can you do about it if you see it in yourself and others? This book by psychologists, Figley & Roop present self help resources, exercises, suggestions and tips to help yourself and your co-workers.
The book is sensitively written and extremely respectful to those who entered the field in the first place because they love animals. They don't always feel that their work is valued and this book encourages the self-care they deserve. This book would be useful for those entering veterinary schools, animal care managers, shelter employees and volunteers. P.S. This would be a wonderful book for people in the helping profession not just the animal community.
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why We Wrote This Book, April 21, 2006
This review is from: Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community (Paperback)
Several years ago, Bob Roop, a VP at the Human Society US approached me about writing a book for the Society because of the enormous need. The need was reflected in the research conducted by the Society among members of the animal care community utilizing a survey measure I helped to develop. The results were very revealing. Although the people who dedicated their lives to working for the protection and care of animals had very low burnout and very high job satisfaction, they had surprisingly high compassion fatigue; that they were literally traumatized by their work. It was as if they were addicted in that they were doing things they liked despite it hurting them. This is not unlike others who worked with the traumatized - social workers, the clergy, nurses, child protection workers, war journalists, and so many others.
Being an academic researcher, most of my books are geared to fellow academics. Bob and the Human Society Press staff helped me shift my writing to make it more practical and readable. Together, Bob and I did our best to convey what we know about the compassion fatigue (secondary or vicarious trauma effects from working with the suffering), how to recognize it, how to get rid of it, and how to avoid it. We tried to include as many practical tips and methods to achieve these goals. Did we succeed? We hope that the reader will tell us any everyone else reading these reviews the answer to this question.
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12 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Answer to fatigue is what they did in Calgary, June 22, 2009
This review is from: Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community (Paperback)
This book is like so many about homeless animals it doesn't tell the reader about the most successfuf program in North America. Everyone spends so much time doing what PETA and HSUS say when in reality these organizations want to end animal ownership altogether. The No kill shelters seem to be working. The best one is Calgary and they have no laws against pets in any form and they have 95% compliance which makes their programs pay for themselves. "The Best Animal Control Program in North America"
None of the 5000 dogs a year that end up in Calgary, Canada shelters are euthanized for population control. The dog licensing rate is over 90%, where 10-30% is the norm in the US. Many stray pets that are picked up by Calgary Animal Services are returned straight home, they aren't impounded. This saves money and it saves lives. It also ensures that the owner will license the pet as its the only way it can get a ride back home.
Over the past 18 years, the city of Calgary has cut their number of dog bites and chases by more than 50% (all the while, the human and dog population of Calgary has doubled). The taxpayers of Calgary pay nothing for this excellent service. It's all paid for by pet licensing fees. "Your pet's license is his ticket home" is the motto.
Calgary, when it comes to animal control, is the envy of the continent.
The leader of this superb organization is Bill Bruce.
no - mandatory spay/neuter
no - breed specific legislation
no - pet limit laws
no - anti-tethering laws
yes - providing valued services rather than simply punishing citizens into compliance
yes - buy in and cooperation among community stakeholders
yes - extensive education and PR campaign to emphasize responsible pet ownership
yes - low license fees and modest fee differential for intact pets
Calgary's phenomenal success depends on a sense of trust among pet owners that they will be treated fairly by and obtain good services from Calgary Animal Services. Trust makes for unprecedented high licensing compliance. High licensing compliance means that the taxpayers do not foot the bill for animal services, and it means that nearly all stray pets are quickly reunited with their owners which saves lives and keeps costs low. There is no way to achieve this kind of licensing compliance in an environment where citizens feel they must hide their dogs and cats from pet limit laws, BSL, or mandatory spay/neuter laws. Without the voluntary licensing compliance of 95% of the population, none of the rest of the success could have happened. Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community
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