Every animal lover has dreamed of working at a rescue centre at least once in their lives. What could be more enjoyable than ditching the 9 to 5 office job to spend all day playing with puppies, feeding rabbits and cuddling cats? Except, the job isn’t exactly all dog treats and play pens. “Realistically it is very overwhelming working in rescue, people come in thinking the staff play with fluffy animals all day, but that’s not what the job is,” Nicky Spanswick reveals.
Cheltenham Animal Shelter (CAS) is one of over 1000 similar organisations in the UK. This Animal Welfare Association was formed in 1926, and for just under 100 years they have been rehoming and taking in animals looking for their forever home. They also run training classes, manage pet and charity shops, a veterinary centre and have boarding and grooming facilities. It’s a mecca for our furry friends.
What was originally planned as a visit to CAS, turned into a virtual tour and Teams call. Nicky Spanswick, the Operations Manager, accompanied by Duchess, a fluffy long-haired cat, tells us about the running joke her and her team have. A lot of people get overwhelmed at work but crying at Cheltenham Animal Shelter is definitely not a rare thing.
“It’s not necessarily bad tears. They’re happy tears on a regular basis. Like when we send animals off to their new homes or see medical transformations. Alfie is a very stressed boy; he was so sensitive when he first came in. He was self-mutilating, chewing on his own skin. With the support from Rosie and her colleague Esther, we’ve got him under control. Now he’s a very happy dog. Seeing the change that the team can do is really amazing.”
I for one can back that up, Alfie really is a happy dog. He joined Rosie Taylor-Trigg, a behaviourist at CAS, on our call. Every now and then you would be able to see his wagging tail across Rosie’s screen, or see him stick his nose in boxes. Probably looking for treats. Success stories is something all the team, including Rosie, work towards. Even though they can be small, it’s the little wins that make the job worthwhile.
“You kind of live for the moments where you get to make a difference and see something rewarding,” adds Tasmine Illes-Potter. As one of the small animal rehomers at the centre, she joins us from a pen, while Dutch rabbit, Willow, jumps around.
Every career comes with its ups and downs. Rosie and Tasmine love to see animals grow and find their forever home but hate making the tough decisions on an animal’s welfare. Nicky explains exactly why working in animal rescue is so mentally and physically hard: “The staff are on their feet all day, every day walking 10 miles a day with the dogs, sometimes further. These dogs have come from homes and aren’t used to being in a kennel all day. They are jumping all over you, frustrated to go out and you’ve got to try and keep them calm else they get stressed. Emotionally, it is very conflicting for the staff, they love these animals the way you love your pets. And a lot of the staff don’t have animals at home because they work full time. You adore them with all that you have, but yet you’re so happy that they’ve found their forever home.”
The reality of a shelter is that there are a lot of medical cases and unfortunately some animals do have to be put to sleep. However, its sometimes worse when it’s not all bad news. Saying goodbye to an animal you’ve cared for can often be the toughest thing Rosie, Tasmine and the rest of the staff face day to day. Rosie likens her job to scales: “It’s a balancing act. You’ll have a rubbish day. Then you’ll have a fantastic day. And within one day you might have lots of good moments and a sad moment.”
The team are encouraged to share their feelings, talk to each other not only about the fun times, but also about the tough moments. Mental health is import to CAS. They have three mental health first aiders and often have team meetings showing each other pictures of the animals that have had their happy ending. Nicky gives an example of one such case: “A dog that went home two or three years ago had originally been brought into the vets to be put to sleep. But their owner shared with us that he is still here. It’s fantastic. It really drives us to do what we do. Things like this really spur the team to keep coming in every day.”
Working in rescue may not be how I imagined it would be, but the good clearly outweighs the bad at Cheltenham Animal Shelter. Despite the heartbreak the staff go through, “the next day they do the job all over again and put all of their love into the next animal that comes tough the door.”
To support the team and animals at Cheltenham Animal Shelter make a donation, hold a fundraiser or leave a legacy. For more information head to https://gawa.org.uk, and to adopt an animal reach out here https://gawa.org.uk/rehoming/.
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