One Health

Thank you for the post @Sheila Kouhkan!

We hope to see you on the next Maddie's Community Conversation on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 11am PT / 2pm ET  for a conversation on "Caring for the Caregivers" with @Kayla Anderson, LMSW, Veterinary Social Worker for the Center for Pet Family Well-Being at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. 

Animal services professionals carry the emotional weight of animal suffering, euthanasia, and the profound experiences of the communities they serve - work that can quietly erode well-being over time.

Veterinary Social Work serves as a vital bridge between the human–animal bond and human mental health, offering proactive, compassionate support to the people behind the mission. By intentionally including caregivers within the circle of care, we strengthen their resilience, sustain their capacity to serve, and ensure pets and their families continue receiving the support they deserve.

This session is ideal for adoption & foster staff and veterinary staff - but all are welcome. 

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Veterinary Social Work acts as a bridge between the human-animal bond and human mental health, providing proactive support to the mental well-being of animal care teams.
• In animal welfare, significant focus is on assisting pets and their people. However, we must include those providing care within the support network. This helps ensure that caregivers have the bandwidth to continue providing assistance to pet families in the future.

Don't forget! Maddie's Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants each month! You can enter for a chance to win each time you attend a call or watch it on demand during the month by completing the monthly giveaway drawing entry form. 

Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom. 

🧠 Got Topic or Speaker Suggestions?
We want to hear your ideas! If there's a topic you're curious about or a speaker you'd love to hear from, please share your suggestions with us on our Community Conversations Suggestions thread. 

Looking forward to being in community with you! 

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#EducationandTraining
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

#OneHealth

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T' Fisher, Director of Operations
Center for Pet Family Well-Being
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Thanks for sharing this-such an important topic. It's easy to focus on helping animals and forget how much emotional strain caregivers carry every day. I really like the idea of Veterinary Social Work as a support system-it feels long overdue. I'll try to join the session, it sounds genuinely valuable. Also reminds me how important it is to have support resources in general-I once had to look up the Guideposts customer service phone number for something uplifting to read, and even small things like that can make a difference mentally.

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Tyrone Pierce
Veterinarian
Maryland Hospital
MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-26-2026 12:01 PM
From: T' Fisher
Subject: Maddie's Community Conversations - "Caring for the Caregivers"

Thank you for the post @Sheila Kouhkan!

We hope to see you on the next Maddie's Community Conversation on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 11am PT / 2pm ET  for a conversation on "Caring for the Caregivers" with @Kayla Anderson, LMSW, Veterinary Social Worker for the Center for Pet Family Well-Being at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work. 

Animal services professionals carry the emotional weight of animal suffering, euthanasia, and the profound experiences of the communities they serve - work that can quietly erode well-being over time.

Veterinary Social Work serves as a vital bridge between the human–animal bond and human mental health, offering proactive, compassionate support to the people behind the mission. By intentionally including caregivers within the circle of care, we strengthen their resilience, sustain their capacity to serve, and ensure pets and their families continue receiving the support they deserve.

This session is ideal for adoption & foster staff and veterinary staff - but all are welcome. 

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Veterinary Social Work acts as a bridge between the human-animal bond and human mental health, providing proactive support to the mental well-being of animal care teams.
• In animal welfare, significant focus is on assisting pets and their people. However, we must include those providing care within the support network. This helps ensure that caregivers have the bandwidth to continue providing assistance to pet families in the future.

Don't forget! Maddie's Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants each month! You can enter for a chance to win each time you attend a call or watch it on demand during the month by completing the monthly giveaway drawing entry form. 

Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom. 

🧠 Got Topic or Speaker Suggestions?
We want to hear your ideas! If there's a topic you're curious about or a speaker you'd love to hear from, please share your suggestions with us on our Community Conversations Suggestions thread. 

Looking forward to being in community with you! 

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#EducationandTraining
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

#OneHealth

------------------------------
T' Fisher, Director of Operations
Center for Pet Family Well-Being
------------------------------