ARLINGTON, Texas — Ashley Woolnough said she always knew she wanted to work with animals.
Initially, she thought her career would be in livestock management, but after stepping into the world of animal sheltering, she never looked back. Woolnough, Arlington’s animal services manager, said she loves the work because as a manager she gets to have a little bit of experience in every area of the shelter. She can be involved with fieldwork, kennel maintenance or administrative work as well.
Woolnough said she enjoys that no two days are ever the same while working in the shelter and that every day brings new opportunities and experiences. Sometimes, the shelter will get a call different from what she is used to because they can receive and respond to calls about a wide range of animals in the pet trade, whether legal or illegal. There are days where rare animals are brought into the shelter. Some of the animals she has had the opportunity to work with include cobras, lemurs and even some species of monitor lizards.
Despite the rewarding nature of her job, Woolnough said that the most difficult part of her work is dealing with the emotional challenges that come with the euthanasia of animals. There are points where she must make the difficult decision to put animals down to end their suffering.
She said these moments are heartbreaking but necessary, as ensuring an animal does not endure prolonged pain is an act of compassion. Woolnough said that the animal services sometimes get a bad rap as workers, but most people do not realize that they are caring for the animals for several days before they come to the difficult decision.
One of the programs that she is proud of is the volunteer program that the animal shelter has. She said volunteer work is one of the programs that helps ensure the animals get cared for. It also is what helps animals get to their forever homes. Volunteers play an essential role in feeding, socializing and comforting the animals, which helps improve their chances of being adopted and to their forever homes.
Something Woolnough said she wishes that Arlington residents knew is how important it is to spay and neuter their pets. She said there is a nationwide pet overpopulation problem, and many animals are suffering. If someone is looking for a pet, she urges them to come to a shelter and adopt instead of opting for a breeder.
Woolnough said going to the shelter saves pet lives and gives second chances to the wonderful animals they have. She said that there are some animals in the shelter that she thinks are perfect candidates for adoption because of their overall friendliness, behavior—and well, some of them are just really cute.
To hear Ashley Woolnough talk about the difficult decision to euthanize an animal, please click here.