I don't mind a bit of cold weather. You will rarely hear me complain about having to layer on an extra sweater or pull on a pair of snow pants to step outside. What really gets to me during a cold snap like we had last week is the effect it has on our animals and the change in how we care for them.
When the birds have to stay indoors, they make more work for us. We take them out of their crates in the morning and set them up on their perches for the day, check on them periodically to make sure their leashes are not getting tangled, move them back to their crates in the evening, and clean perches and crates daily.
The extra workload can be tricky to balance, but the worrywart in me also takes a mental drain. I constantly worry about their equipment tangling, whether the perch is bothering their feet, if they are bored, if they are stressed, or if they are happy. These concerns stay with me even as I lock up the Museum for the day and head home. I am always questioning, "did I make the best decisions for the animals today?"
When I start to feel bogged down with compassion fatigue, I remind myself that I have fantastic coworkers that can share the load; wild animals are incredibly resilient, no matter what challenges we throw at them; and all cold snaps will eventually come to an end.
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