Two professionals who travel the country counseling those who work with animals say Angels for Animals, a local animal shelter, is a miracle still happening.

Carol Brothers PhD and Connie Toverud, founders of the Maryland-based Support Services for Animal Care Professionals (SSACP), recently conducted workshops for 40 people at Angels for Animals. The Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Workshops, conducted over two days, were designed to help animal care professionals and volunteers deal with the feelings that lead to burnout and restore their hope, energy and enthusiasm.

"The new building takes our breath away!" said Toverud. "We have seen shelters all over the country, and to find such a state-of-the-art facility located in a small community is remarkable. Even more remarkable is the fact that services of such outstanding quality are performed by only three fulltime paid employees and nearly 300 volunteers!"

Toverud noted that president Diane Less Baird, and Shelter Director Polly Wardle, are still realizing their dream of a shelter for animals that started 12 years ago in a chicken coop. Today thousands of animals have found new homes, sick animals have been treated and educational programs have been instituted in the schools.

Toverud joked that the rooms that housed the cats were so inviting she nearly cancelled her hotel reservation and moved in.

"I think it is extraordinary that such a large group of volunteers can function so effectively. The shelter, under Wardle's supervision, is immaculate, the counseling and post-adoption support given to people adopting pets is extensive. We saw that the animals are bathed, groomed, fed, temperament-tested and socialized in order to make them highly adoptable. The medical care, including spaying and neutering, given to each animal by resident veterinarian Parker DeWitt and her assistants is also noteworthy.

"Dr. Brothers and I were impressed by the commitment and countless hours of fundraising Baird has spent bringing this level of service to the public of Beaver Township [and the surrounding region]. It was certainly a privilege for us to meet the staff and so many of the volunteers. We hope the financial support for Angels for Animals will continue so that public awareness will mean that there are no longer injured and abandoned animals needing angels to care for them," declared Toverud.

Brothers, a psychologist, has been in private practice for more than 24 years. She specializes in grief and trauma and was trained by the staff of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., who is known for her work on the subject including her popular book, On Death and Dying. Dr. Brothers has staffed residential workshops for grief and trauma survivors, is a member of the Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Team and is a trained Critical Incident Stress Debriefer.

Toverud, a former high school counselor, was a member of Kubler-Ross’s staff. For 17 years, she has led workshops for people suffering from grief, trauma and abuse including survivors and families of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. She has worked in Norway and South Africa. She trains mental health professionals to work with grief and trauma issues and, since 1986, has written a weekly newspaper column addressing issues of compassion fatigue and trauma.

SSACP is a non-profit service which presents over 20 workshops and presentations annually to animal care facilities and conferences including the HSUS EXPO and CHAMP conference. The organization also provides consulting services to staff of the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SSACP also is involved with Perdue University in a research project to determine effective ways in reducing the stress of animal care professionals.

SSACP also provides workshops for Animal Control Officers providing tips in dealing with the public in a professional way. It offers Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for Animal Control Officers, shelter workers and veterinary staff faced with situations such as a raid on an animal collector or continual exposure to animal abuse.