Community Voices: Donovan Dodds
Meet Donovan Dodds, a volunteer and an advocate for the LifeLine Animal Project! Donovan has been a long time animal welfare advocate and is now Chair of Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) in Atlanta.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
The most valuable part of my work isn’t helping place dogs into new homes. It’s arming people who already have pets with resources, knowledge, and access to keep their pets, and to help them thrive. The real work is done outside of the shelters.
In your opinion, how does community wisdom play a role in your advocacy and work in animal welfare?
Tapping into community wisdom is the only way I operate. Animal welfare has always had this savior complex. You have to tap into community because there is always someone within a community working to solve their own problems.
What would you like to see for the future of animal welfare and human well-being?
My vision for human and animal welfare is community finding solutions for their community. This work is not monolithic. There is no one-size fit all solution. We have to allow those in community to lead to their own salvation by empowering them with the resources and knowledge to do so.
Help save homeless pets
You can help end the killing in shelters and save the lives of homeless pets when you foster, adopt, and advocate for the dogs and cats who need it most.
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