The Human Side of Shelter Work (Part 1): Building Compassion Satisfaction and Resilience
Recorded On: 09/25/2025
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This course is part of Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection, monthly webcasts about pet behavior - supporting pets in our community and animal shelters.
Working in animal shelters can be deeply meaningful—and emotionally draining. In this session, Valerie Bogie, MSSW, Veterinary Social Worker, defines key terms while sharing fresh strategies to help you to increase your well-being and continue the work you are so passionate about!
Attendees will learn:
● The signs and impact of secondary trauma, burnout, burden transfer and compassion fatigue
● Navigating moral distress and tough ethical dilemmas
● The importance of compassion satisfaction—and how to cultivate it
● Tools to better understand yourself, build resilience, and practice sustainable self-care
This webinar is for anyone working in or around animals in shelters—especially those feeling the weight of the work. Leave with renewed clarity, practical tools, and a reminder that you matter, too.
Speaker: Valerie Bogie, MSSW, Veterinary Social Worker, Fear Free Certified Professional
This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association.
Visit Maddie's Pet Forum to comment, access the resources, follow a discussion or ask questions:
keywords Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection, Valerie Bogie, Fear Free, compassion fatigue
Valerie Bogie
MSSW, Veterinary Social Worker, Fear Free Certified Professional
Valerie is a passionate advocate for enhancing well-being for caretakers within the animal world. While the majority of her 20+ year animal care career was spent training exotic animals in zoos and aquariums, she also has experience in a variety of other settings, including animal shelters, veterinary clinics and dog training. Like so many others in animal care, Valerie experienced burnout and compassion fatigue, eventually leaving the career that had once been her dream job.
Her journey took a transformative turn upon discovering Veterinary Social Work—a field focused on the human side of human-animal interactions. She understood firsthand the profound impact this kind of support could have, and a new dream job was born. Valerie is now dedicated to raising awareness and creating resources for the growing and expansive field of Veterinary Social Work.
Valerie graduated from the University of Tennessee with her Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) and a Veterinary Social Work Certificate. She currently serves as the Director of Partnerships for the International Association of Veterinary Social Work (IAVSW), offers dog and cat training sessions as a Behavior Consultant and leads Human Support Services- both for Insight Animal Behavior Services (a DACVB practice), and provides psychoeducation and consulting through Valerie Bogie, LLC.
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