Little improvements any shelter can make.

Some days, working in an animal shelter seems overwhelming.  You think about everything that would need to happen to stop the flow of animals into the shelter and increase the number finding homes.  You look at your ancient building, its peeling paint and cracked floors.  You look at the animals sleeping or stretching or just standing hopefully in their cages, and think about how there never seems to be enough time.

Everyone who's worked at a shelter has been in that frame of mind, and it can be hard to escape.  But one thing that can help is taking a day or two to make a dent in some areas that can benefit hugely from a short, focused burst of attention.

You don't have to do everything all at once, but you might try a team building activity: Pick your least busy day of the week, gather your co-workers, and work together to get just one of these things done.  Do another the following week. 

Take out the Papers and the rubbish

Before an adopter ever comes into your building, she has to park somewhere.  What's that experience going to be like for her?

Check it out: Are there cigarette butts or other pieces of litter scattered through the parking lot?  Get a broom and sweep them up.

Empty the rubbish cans, and establish a system to ensure they continue to be emptied on a regular basis.  The definition of ‘a regular basis' may vary from one organisation to the next, but there's one constant:  they need to be emptied before they overflow or become an offense to the nose.  And put a recycling bin out next to the rubbish bin, it'll show the public you care about the world outside as much as the animals inside.

Bring me ... a shrubbery

What kind of landscaping is around your shelter?  Does the lawn need mowing?  Do the hedges need trimming?  Even if your building doesn't have a lawn, it must have a front door!  Can you add some natural touches to make the entryway more inviting?

Even if you don't have so much as a flower pot, there may be weeds growing up against the building. Pull them up - they give an impression of a sloppy run-down facility.

Scrub-a-dub-dub

Every good shelter maintains a regular cleaning schedule for its animal housing areas, but what about the parts of the buildings more often occupied by people?

When your lobby is grubby and footprinted, when a puddle of pee from the latest canine arrival sits for an hour before anyone does anything about it, tells visitors bad things about your facility.  Walls may not talk, but when they're grubby and grimy and greasy, they speak volumes.

Become a Clutter-Buster

It's time for a clutter-busting day.  Go room to room - straighten up the office, the lobby, the volunteer room, and any other space that looks like Tornado Alley.  Organise your shelves of books on pet care and training.

You know the wardrobe rule - if you don't wear it within a year, get rid of it?  The same thing applies to old, broken-down equipment that's doing nothing but taking up space.  Throw it out or recycle it.

Signs of Improvement

The people who come into the shelter for the first time don't know where everything is.  You can make their visit a lot easier and less intimidating by creating cheerful, user-friendly signage - signage that doesn't look like last week's shopping list.

Take your team through the shelter and pull down any old, faded, water-stained, or hand-scrawled signs.  Then make room for the new.  Use your computer's word processing program to create simple boldface messages and print them out.  Get them laminated, or slide them into plastic sleeves and hang them up in strategic areas of the shelter. 

Signs aren't just for your interior walls either.  It's a good idea to hang a sturdy sign with after-hours emergency contact information on the front door of your building, and make sure that your after-hours voicemail message provides that information too.

The Comforts of Home

Cages and kennels will never be the ideal place for cats and dogs.  While many shelters are moving toward group housing, some facilities are - at least temporarily - stuck with the traditional models: small cat cages, cramped dog runs.  But by providing some toys and blankets to your critters, you can make your shelter seem more like a pet hotel, one that cares enough to pamper pets with little luxuries.

Grin and Bear it

Some days there's more to bear than to grin about, but whatever's going on in your day, when you interact with the public, you've got to remember to flash those canines - and not in a snarl!  It may help to start each day by having a quick team meeting, and forcing everyone at the meeting to show off their pearly-whites!  Yes, it's cheesy - but at the very least, it'll amuse everyone and start the day on a brighter note.

A smile and a friendly greeting can be the determining difference between a client who leaves the shelter annoyed and disgruntled, and one who leaves pleased and impressed. 

It'll get easier to smile if you remember to celebrate the victories, small and large.  Celebrate the adoptions - put pictures of adopted animals up in the lobby.

It'll make you a stronger team, and make your shelter a happier place.

Source:  "Sweating the Small Stuff" by Carrie Allan (Animal Sheltering Org)