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Word on the Street with Sarah Hicks, DVM
February 8, 2025, The Association
Deep thoughts, good advice and tough talk on hot topics
When shelters are covered in local media these days, headlines very often include references to overcrowding. We in the field understand that the overcrowded shelter in question is likely operating beyond its capacity for care. As The Association of Shelter Veterinarians defines this concept in their Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters, “Every organization has limits to its ability to provide care. Limits include financial and physical resources, personnel hours and skills, housing and operations space, and the opportunity for live outcomes. These limitations define the number and type of animals for which an organization can provide humane care.”
One of the biggest challenges shelters face today, capacity for care was a hot topic at last November’s Network Live event. Here’s what featured panelist Sarah Hicks, DVM, had to say about it.
As you work to make necessary changes to establish capacity for care, be transparent. Explain to staff that changes are hard, and walk through each one—not just posting it Monday on the corkboard. Know that incremental change can be incredibly powerful. Figure out that one string to pull that will result in dramatic change pretty quickly to get buy-in. Something that’s going to result in visible change that is not hard to do, like eliminating landlord checks. As you get that time back, people will be hungry for more change.
Remember that capacity for care is NOT aspirational—it’s not the ideal, it is not the ultimate goal, as we should always be operating at capacity for care. And when we operate over it, we create self-perpetuating systems. Doing so will ensure that you continue to have too many animals in your care, that they will become sick, and that they will experience behavioral concerns.
– Sarah Hicks, DVM, Outreach Veterinarian and Clinical Instructor, University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine Program
Hear More from the Field
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