I work at a non-profit in animal welfare at a large metro area animal shelter. This particular shelter has contracts with the local city, surrounding municipalities, and the county. This means if a stray, confiscate, or animal involved in a court case goes somewhere, it goes to us. We're also “open-intake” and this means we take in all owner surrenders. To say we're busy is an understatement. On an average day, we'll adopt out anywhere between 15-30 animals. On an average day, that many animals or more comes in through the doors. Since covid has “ended” and everyone is being forced back into the office, we've been inundated with animals.
The downstairs of the building is dog kennels, the cattery, receiving and intake, adoptions, the laundry, the vet clinic, and surgery. The upstairs is all offices and boardrooms.
In this shelter, the people who work “downstairs” are all union. That's receiving and intake (where the animals are taken in), kennel aides (the people who feed and clean the kennels), and adoptions (the people who adopt out the animals), maintenance (the ones who keep the place standing up) and vet staff (except the doctors). The pay isn't the greatest, but there are benefits like health insurance, life insurance, pension plan, 8 paid holidays, and 2 weeks of vacation a year. The benefits are good, but the work isn't easy, especially considering that most people get into this line of work because they love animals. Some of the things you see make you reject the idea that man is even civilized.
The people who work “upstairs” are salary. They have offices, wear nice clothes, drive nice cars, and work 8-4 Monday through Friday. Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Social Media…these are the words that preface their names: in other words MANAGEMENT.
Since I've been working here, I've seen an incredibly huge disconnect between the two different areas. I've always known there was a difference between MANAGEMENT and the workers, but over the past few months it's become even more pronounced, to the point where I'm not even sure if the shelter can remain viable and working – which would be to the detriment of all the animals.
Every department downstairs is short handed because they won't hire anyone to replace the ones that quit. Last week, there was ONE kennel aide scheduled working in dogs. This one person was expected to clean over 100 kennels and feed all the dogs. There is supposed to be 2 people in the morning, and 2 people in the afternoon. So, one person is expected to do the job of 4. I have four words now: Thank god for Volunteers. If it weren't for the volunteers, the dogs would have been eating and sitting in their own shit and piss all day. Of course, this means the dogs can't get walked, and our dog walker volunteers shouldn't be forced into cleaning kennels. It's not why they're there.
The people upstairs decided to have a multiple week long “adoption event” and “adoption weekend” events. Of course, all the departments downstairs were short handed. People were waiting upwards of 4-5 hours to adopt an animal on the weekends because there aren't enough people in the adoptions department. Not enough kennel aides, so all these people are walking through the kennels seeing (and smelling) shit everywhere. People in adoptions aren't getting their lunches until 4 and 5 pm, because there is literally no one who can send them to lunch.
When you walk upstairs, what do you hear from the offices? Crickets… Of course, no one in management could be bothered to CHANGE THEIR SCHEDULE to work these extremely busy weekends. Couldn't be bothered to come in and help out the SOLO kennel aide scrubbing floors and feeding by themselves. Couldn't be bothered to do cattery tours, answer phones, or even just wash dishes or fold laundry so the people doing that could move over to cleaning kennels or helping elsewhere.
Once again, this week, kennel aides are extremely short handed. A lone kennel aide is coming in to do feeding and trying to clean kennels, and what are they worried about upstairs? The Halloween door decorating contest. They are worried about their fucking DOORS and whether they'll win the Halloween contest when downstairs the staff trying to help ill and sick animals, adopt out healthy ones, and trying to clean kennels so cats and dogs don't have to literally sit in their own shit to eat.
We're drowning downstairs, not enough staff, too many animals, and the animals are suffering. People upstairs are completely oblivious. The disconnect is real.
Also, Thank you so much to everyone that volunteers or donates at your local animal shelter. Without you, we'd fall apart. Also, please spay and neuter your animal!