For Sagan Lain, starting a career in animal welfare felt like “turning on a light switch in my being.” “After graduating college I was wanting to work in a helping field, but not exactly sure what that would look like with an English lit degree,” they said. “I found a job posting for a high-volume spay-and-neuter clinic. I was an animal lover but hadn’t considered working with animals as a profession. I instantly fell in love, getting to support animals and people in need.”
After pursuing their passion for more than a decade, Sagan has found a home as the Foster Program Coordinator at Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS).
“There’s something incredibly beautiful for me about getting to serve animals that are between homes and in that need, and getting to support community in that work. And I love volunteers! I truly feel so blessed to have worked with volunteers in all my roles in animal welfare in the last decade. It fills my heart, getting to support people who dedicate their time, their labor, their care, their skills to pets.”
The Foster Program Coordinator role is new to SAS, made possible by the funding of the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation’s fundraiser Furevermore. The goal of the position is to provide much-needed support to foster parents, and to have someone be the consistent communicator between them and the shelter, according to SAS Animal Care Manager Tracy Bahrakis.
“We should do better by them, but in the current structure we just don’t have capacity for it,” Tracy said last year.
Now, thanks to so much generosity, they do.
Sagan is currently focusing on building processes and updating resources around those communications needs, ensuring there is more consistency and collaboration. Beyond that, Sagan and other shelter leaders are currently reviewing a consultant’s recommendations for the program, noting “we are on the precipice of making some changes that are incredible.”
And Sagan knows something about transformational changes.
“I was very happy and comfortable with the work I was doing (before moving here), but also was never going to have fewer responsibilities in my life and was ready to spread my wings and come to the most beautiful place I’d ever been to. I also knew that this region had a robust and well-founded animal welfare community, so I was excited to get my feet wet in a different region.”
They certainly have done that. Sagan is fully immersed in their role and is excited to be part of the progress that’s supporting this community and all its animals.
“The future of sheltering is so dependent upon foster programming. In the history of sheltering, we thought that keeping animals in shelter between homes was the most humane thing. But we really have found that the stress that an environment like this inherently entails is not conducive to helping pets heal and grow.
Foster is the future. It makes total sense that the Foundation would identify that, and want to support the animals of SAS by increasing their foster programming.”
If you’re interested in supporting the work and special projects of Seattle Animal Shelter, consider donating to the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation and attending the next Furevermore Auction & Gala.