Lawless Off Leash

With Special Guest: Katya Lidsky

What strategies can volunteers use to mitigate against compassion fatigue and burnout?

If you volunteer with shelter dogs, you've probably felt it: the exhaustion that creeps in after weeks of showing up for dogs who are scared, shut down, or struggling. Then there’s the guilt that seeps in with feeling depleted when you love this work. That's compassion fatigue, and it's one of the most common experiences shelter volunteers face, yet almost no one talks about it openly.

Join us for the next Lawless Off Leash webinar, "Supporting the Supporters: The Human Side of Shelter Volunteering," featuring Katya Lidsky and hosted by Laurie Lawless of Shelter Behavior Integrations.

📅 Monday, September 28, 2026 at 6:00 PM EST via Zoom

This conversation is built for you, the volunteer. Katya and Laurie will talk openly about what it really feels like to walk, handle, and show up week after week for shelter dogs who are struggling: the fearful ones, the reactive ones, and the ones who've been overlooked. They'll dig into understanding your role and its limits, recognizing the early signs of burnout in yourself, and what to do when you fall hard for the one dog who's having the hardest time.

Drawing from her own experience as a long-time shelter volunteer, animal welfare professional, trauma-informed facilitator, and founder of The Thriving Volunteer, Katya will share practical, human strategies for protecting your own wellbeing while staying connected to the dogs you love working with.

Topics include:

🐾 Understanding your role as a volunteer and where your limits are

🐾 What it means to feel empowered (not just useful) around shelter dogs

🐾 Recognizing compassion fatigue and burnout before it takes hold

🐾 What to do when you fall in love with the dog who's struggling most

🐾 Practical tools for protecting your own emotional wellbeing

🐾 Staying connected to why you started volunteering with dogs in the first place

This session is designed as a safe space for dog volunteers to share experiences and ask real questions. Shelter leaders are welcome to attend, but this one’s for you, volunteers.

If you can't make it or just want to listen to your favorite insight again - replays will be available for purchase just a few days later 🐶

About Katya Lidsky

Katya Lidsky is the Founder of The Thriving Volunteer, a guided online membership community designed to provide animal shelter and rescue volunteers with support, connection, and resources so they can stay in this work for the long haul. She also offers workshops specifically designed to support shelter staff.

Katya is a certified, trauma-informed Breathwork Facilitator and Creative Grief Coach who has worked in the animal welfare nonprofit space for more than a decade. She is also a long-time shelter volunteer, foster, and advocate.

In addition to her work supporting animal welfare professionals and volunteers, Katya is a writer. Her book, Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Benefits of Mutual Bonding and Relationship Building, was published by McFarland in 2025 as part of their Dogs In Our World series.