i am now on substack! My first essay is about the need for spiritual care in the animal welfare community

In this short essay available on Substack, I talk about what motivated me to become ordained as an animal chaplain and why I think spiritual care is the next frontier for animal caregivers.

By all measures, he was a tough guy. Strong, driven, outspoken.
He had built a rescue compound with his own hands, piece by piece, dollar by dollar. The property was well thought out. It was his dream, a haven for dogs in need and a resource for his community.

But in that moment, the man was tiny.
Nestled in my arms, crumbling, sobbing, his shoulders convulsing under the weight of his desperation.

“What am I going to do with all these dogs?” he begged.

At least half of his kennels were filled with unadoptable dogs others had dumped on him. Some dangerous, some feral. His rescue dream had been exploited, violated, and turned into a nightmare.
His beautiful rescue compound had become a dead end for unwanted, unplaceable dogs.

“People keep leaving these dogs with me,” he said. “How can I say no? I thought we would all work together. But nobody is helping me.”

I had heard versions of his story countless times before, in my years volunteering as a photographer and storyteller with rescues and shelters around the world. Everywhere, I witnessed the same pattern of abuse, abandon, and exploitation.

And I’m not only talking about the animals.

They, of course, carry the brunt of the abuse.
But so do their human caregivers.

(…)