In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Holly Cook, author of My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue From a Pet Sitter's Perspective.
She started pet sitting in 1994, and won the Pet Sitters International, Pet Sitter of the Year award in 2004; She has been serving the pet sitting industry by becoming a state Ambassador for PSI in 2005. She has also authored several articles presented at many pet sitting conferences. She has developed donation drives for communities devastated by disaster (From Missouri floods in 1993, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy.).
Holly also became a certified Compassion Fatigue Educator through the University of Tennessee School Of Veterinary Social Work in 2016. To say she is an advocate for the pets and the people who care for them is an understatement.
Bella and Holly discuss what compassion fatigue is and how it differs from “burn out” Holly discloses traits common among those susceptible to compassion fatigue including:
Being a highly dedicated professional
Always expecting positive feedback about work
High demand for personal competence
A personal history of exhaustion
A large workload
Lack of trauma training
Identification with those in their care
Those is a non-supportive work environment or unsupportive friends and family
Holly then details some of the symptoms of compassion fatigue:
Bone-tired exhaustion
Insomnia
Persistent physical ailments
Apprehension
Over exaggerated startle reflex
Anxiety
Depression
Abnormal anger
Rumination or excessive thoughts about an incident
Clumsiness
Nightmares and flashbacks
Difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness
Tendency to isolate from other people
Inability to make a decision
Intrusive imagery
Reduced ability to feel sympathy or empathy toward other people or animals
Denial of any of the above symptoms
Grab her book here: My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue From a Pet Sitter's Perspective
If you feel like this might be you, Holly encourages you to take the quiz on her website
Learn more about Holly and her book in a previous article we wrote back in June when her book originally came out.
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Transcript:
This is episode 25 of Bella in Your Business.
Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella’s got your chute. Let’s jump.
Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where we talk about everything in and around the pet business. I'm your host, Bella Vasta with Jump Consulting. Today, I've got a real treat for you. I've got Holly Cook with me, and she has authored a book that is just going to help so many pet sitters in our industry. To give you a little background, Holly started pet sitting in 1994 and won the Pet Sitters International Pet Sitting Business of the Year Award in 2004. She has also been serving the pet industry by becoming a state ambassador for PSI in 2005 and has authored several articles and presented at several pet sitting conferences. She's developed donation drives for communities devastated by the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and many others. Most recently, Holly authored the book My End of the Leash: Compassion Fatigue from a Petsitter’s Perspective. I've read this book from cover to cover, and it's just incredible. It’s an easy read that can be done in a couple of hours, but with an impact that will last a lifetime.
Holly: Thank you for having me, Bella. I'm fine.
Bella: So why don't we start off with most of our talk about burnout, but I want to know—is compassion fatigue?
Holly: Compassion fatigue is a natural consequence of the work that we do as professional pet sitters. It stems from the physical and emotional exhaustion that comes from the constant demand of caring and from the interaction with the animals we are caring for as well ...
