Healing Through Sanctuary Work

More than 9 million animals enter shelters each year in the United States. Behind every rescued animal is someone who shows up day after day to feed, clean, comfort, and advocate. Juliette Watt knows this life well. On the Better Life for Animals Podcast, she shares how a lifetime of caregiving took its toll and how she found healing by helping animals and raising awareness about compassion fatigue.

Juliette’s career has included being a soap opera writer, a theater performer, a flight instructor, and a TEDx speaker. But her most soul-stirring chapter began when she joined Best Friends Animal Society and stepped into the world of rescue, recovery, and rebuilding lives for animals who had nowhere else to go.

From Spotlight to Sanctuary

While working for Best Friends, Juliette helped rescue thousands of animals, including during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That experience, filled with urgency, heartbreak, and long hours, brought her closer than ever to the suffering of animals and the emotional overload carried by the people who care for them.

She witnessed extreme neglect, including birds who had been trafficked, traumatized, and eventually self-mutilated. Yet, even in the midst of tragedy, Juliette and her team would say, “Today is the first day of the rest of their life.” It was their way of turning sorrow into hope.

Understanding Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue is often mistaken for simple burnout. The truth is, it goes deeper. It builds slowly, affecting people who continuously give of themselves without receiving support or taking time to recharge. For Juliette, years of overextension culminated in a collapse after her mother passed away. Depression, anxiety, and unresolved trauma surfaced all at once.

She now works to educate others about this condition, especially those in the animal welfare community. Compassion fatigue is not a flaw. It is a response to prolonged exposure to suffering, often intensified when personal grief or trauma has been left unacknowledged.

Horses, Healing, and Rebuilding

After stepping away from full-time rescue work, Juliette found sanctuary of her own through horses. She discovered how simply being in the presence of these emotionally attuned animals could calm the nervous system and restore balance.

Rather than ignoring her pain or pushing through it, she began to listen to what her body and heart needed. Caring for her horses brought her back to herself, offering a form of peace that no accomplishment ever could.

The Third Act as a Time to Give Back

Juliette describes the later stages of life as a powerful opportunity for renewal and contribution. She rejects the idea that aging means slowing down or stepping aside. Instead, she sees it as a chance to ask new questions and live with purpose.

“If you’re in your third act, you’ve got a quarter of your life left. Don’t spend it shrinking. Use it to give, to love, to serve. That’s where the magic is.”

Why Sanctuaries Need Us

Sanctuaries are more than places of refuge for animals. They are spaces where transformation happens. Juliette witnessed young people, some from violent or troubled backgrounds, soften in the presence of animals. She saw how touching the fur of a rescued dog or brushing a horse’s mane could melt away years of emotional distance.

These sanctuaries rely on donations, volunteers, and community support. Without help, they cannot offer the care so many animals desperately need. Supporting these organizations means protecting not just animals, but the people who dedicate their lives to this work.

Getting Involved at Any Age

You do not need to be young or highly skilled to help animals. You just need a willingness to show up. Whether it is walking dogs at a shelter, fostering a cat, or volunteering at a sanctuary, your effort matters. Juliette encourages people of all ages, especially those in their later years, to find small but meaningful ways to give back.

Opportunities exist everywhere. Local shelters are often in need of basic support, while larger sanctuaries may welcome volunteers for short stays. Even a donation or sharing a message on social media can play a role in helping animals and uplifting their caregivers.

Explore Juliette Watt’s Work

Juliette’s memoir, In Between the Magic, is available on Amazon. Her website, JulietteWatt.com, includes her TEDx talk, coaching resources, and links to her ongoing work in advocacy and healing.

Episode Highlights

[00:00]             Introduction.

[01:30]             From Emmy nod to animal rescue.

[03:45]             Why do birds wear pajamas in some sanctuaries?

[05:00]             Decades of survival.

[09:00]             Focusing on animal healing.

[11:00]             How Juliette landed at Best Friends Animal Society.

[14:00]             Hitting the wall of rescuing and how to heal from the trauma.

[19:00]             Dealing with excessive grief through loss of so many animals.

[23:30]             Avoid trying to go this alone.

[28:30]             Making your 3rd act meaningful.

[32:00]             The healing of a gang member through the energy of a horse.

[36:00]             Where to volunteer.

[41:30]             More about Juliette: In Between the Magic

About Juliette Watt

Juliette Watt has been a soap opera writer for ABC Television, a theater writer/performer, and an ATP airplane pilot and Master Flight Instructor. She has won two Writers Guild Awards and has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy.

She also is an animal rights advocate who worked for Best Friends Animal Society for almost a decade. Juliette most recently added TEDx Fargo speaker to her extensive resume.

Juliette’s current mission is twofold; to help people who are struggling with the debilitating and potentially lethal symptoms of Compassion Fatigue; the emotional and physical burden created by caring for others in distress or neglecting your own life-stress and guiding people to create the true life of their dreams.

In her own words: “I want to help people who have lost themselves in who they’ve been for other people.”

Visit www.JulietteWatt.com for more information on Juliette.

Enjoy Juliette’s book, In Between the Magic: My Life from the Playboy Club to Beirut and Beyond available on Amazon. CLICK HERE

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliette-watt-1b150236

https://www.facebook.com/JulietteWattLive

TEDx Talk

https://www.youtube.com/@juliettewatt2784

About Cheryl Moss

Cheryl Moss is the host of the Better Life for Animals podcast, where she shares uplifting stories from sanctuaries and highlights the work of vegan activists, ethical consumers, and animal welfare leaders. A passionate advocate for animal welfare, she is dedicated to ending factory farming and is working to raise $100,000 for Mercy For Animals to support underrepresented sanctuaries.

Beyond podcasting, Cheryl is a banking professional and an accomplished children’s author. A graduate of Main Street Vegan Academy, she promotes plant-based living through her books, Gabriel, Cluck, and Pickle the Pig, which inspire young readers to embrace kindness, sustainability, and compassion for animals.

When not advocating, she enjoys Pilates, and spending time with her rescue dogs and grandchildren. Through her work, writing, and activism, Cheryl continues to inspire positive change for animals and the planet.