SASF spoke with Amber Hardin, the SAS Animal Behavorist, about what it is like to work with the shelter’s last-chance animals and how her life has changed since she has been in role.
SASF: Hi Amber. Thanks for taking the time tell us about your work as the SAS animal behaviorist. Can you tell our donors a little about yourself and about the your experience at the shelter? I have always been interested in animal rights and animal welfare. But it wasn’t until I spent time in Guatemala that I came to realize my true calling. I have a master’s degree in conflict resolution and was stationed in Guatemala while serving in the Peace Corps. During my tenure, it broke my heart to see how dogs were treated there, so when I came home, I went back to school to study canine behavior. While interning at Ahimsa Dog Training in Ballard, the director asked me to start a program for puppies exhibiting extreme behavior such as fear, arousal issues, and reactive behaviors towards humans and other dogs. We called it “Puppy Camp.” It was a success and is still part of the Ahimsa curriculum. I also taught basic manners classes and socialization classes for puppies and adult dogs. I started with an in-home session progam, working with people to teach better canine communication skills which in turn helps dogs communicate
BODHI
better with their humans.
THE LAST-CHANCE DOG
I had always known about the Seattle Animal Shelter, as one of my Ahimsa
SASF: How did you find out about SASF?
colleagues was an animal behaviorist who worked with the shelter’s homeless animals. As I learned more about the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation and the tireless work they do to ensure the SAS behavior modification program is successful, I became very interested to learn more and to see how I could help. The foundation is a Godsend. The fact that they are such caring individuals and are willing to contribute their time, skills and passion towards supporting all the animals that would have been otherwise euthanized is amazing to me. I wanted to be a part of this life-changing work. When the animal behaviorist position opened up, I jumped at the chance to work with these last-chance animals. At first it was overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure I could fill my predecessor’s shoes. But as time went on, the work made me so appreciative and I was so humbled by