Phyllis Wright (1927-1992)
Years at The HSUS: 1969-1991
Major accomplishments: Trained thousands of animal shelter employees, helping to improve conditions at animal shelters and professionalize the field of animal care. Helped reduce the use of inhumane methods of euthanasia at animal shelters around the country.

By Sheila Walsh

In 1969, when Phyllis Wright started working for The Humane Society of the United States, millions of homeless cats and dogs were confined or put to death annually at animal shelters around the country. For their thankless work, shelter employees often received exactly that: nothing. They got hardly any support or respect from their local communities, and they were often perceived as little more than "dog catchers" from the "dog pound."

Wright strived to change all of that. She led The HSUS's programs in companion animal care for two decades, working to improve conditions for cats and dogs in shelters and to reduce pet overpopulation by promoting spay-neuter programs. By the time Wright retired in 1991, sterilization had become a routine requirement of cat and dog adoptions, thanks in part to her efforts. She was also a major force in the campaign to get shelters to stop relying on euthanasia methods that caused suffering, and her educational workshops reached thousands of animal care workers, helping to professionalize the field.

Dawn of New Era

Before joining The HSUS, Wright served as chief of dog training for the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and had a Washington D.C.-area television show dealing with companion animal care. While at the Washington Animal Rescue League in the mid-1960s, Wright trained Dale Hylton, an HSUS investigator who had agreed to help the organization develop an educational center that would double as a model animal shelter.

Hylton was so impressed with Wright that he recommended The HSUS hire her in 1969 as a consultant for the National Humane Education Center, also known as Waterford. This 140-acre site in Loudoun County, Virginia, served as a training center for shelter managers in the care, housing, and euthanasia of animals. Wright eventually took charge of the facility as Hylton shifted his attention to developing humane education programs.

At the time, an estimated 13.5 million cats and dogs were being killed annually in animal shelters. Euthanasia was already well-recognized as the leading cause of burnout, or "compassion fatigue," among shelter employees, making it all the more important to find methods that spared both animal and human from suffering, whether physical or mental. Wright led a committee to investigate suitable methods of euthanasia. She put herself through the difficult experience of observing the animals' reactions to various methods of euthanasia, so she could recommend one that caused the least amount of suffering.

The Waterford facility ultimately failed as a training center because of economics: Not enough shelter employees from around the country could afford to travel to Virginia, and The HSUS had no extra resources to subsidize the costs of travel or training. Instead, Waterford became directly involved in the animal control work of Loudoun County, performing almost 5,000 spay and neuter operations and offering a subsidized rate for residents who could not afford the standard fees.

While at Waterford, Wright helped to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of the spay-neuter program by employing two surgical tables—a practice that, according to Hylton, was new at the time. As a veterinarian performed one surgery, a nurse would prep another animal on the second table, thereby reducing the amount of time the vet spent waiting between surgeries.

In Her Own Words "People who let their dogs and cats have litters in order to show their children the 'miracle of birth' should come witness the 'miracle of death' performed in the back rooms of animal shelters all over the country." --Phyllis Wright

In 1973, with the costs of running a local animal control operation drawing off funds needed elsewhere, The HSUS decided to close Waterford, and concentrate on animal sheltering at a national level. Fortunately, Loudoun County itself purchased part of the property, and the facility remains home to the county's animal control agency to this day.

Taking Their Act on the Road

For their part, Wright, Hylton, and others used the knowledge gained at Waterford to train thousands of animal care workers in the following years. The workshops, which became known as "Phyllis's Road Show," brought together experts in animal care issues. Workshops covered a broad spectrum of issues, including reducing the risks of contagion, proper sanitation, humane education, adoption policies, and euthanasia.

By 1975, Wright was serving as The HSUS's chief liaison with the animal sheltering community, a job that was anything but bureaucratic. In 1990, to use but one example, Wright reportedly traveled 15,000 miles to inspect shelters and conduct trainings. "She would go into shelters, roll up her sleeves, and show employees how to clean," remembered Martha Armstrong, who was working at a Memphis animal shelter when she first met Wright and now serves as a senior vice president for The HSUS's Companion Animals and Equine Protection section.

The "Road Show" became something of a "finishing school" for shelter workers who had few other opportunities through which to pursue their training. "Many of the people who run shelters [in the United States] today were trained in some way by Phyllis Wright," said Patricia Forkan, executive vice president of The HSUS. "She was a major influence in the shelter community for two decades."

During Wright's life, there was no greater advocate for animal shelters around the country. At the same time, she believed that even well-run animal shelters had room for improvement. "How humane is your society?" she liked to ask. She also liked to tease her workshop participants with the admonition, "You might as well tell me what you've been doing [wrong], because if you don't, someone else in this business will."

LES Is More

For reducing the surplus of companion animals, The HSUS advocated a three-pronged approach, which Wright designated as "LES": legislation, education, and sterilization. The testimony of Wright and other HSUS officials convinced many state and local officials to support laws requiring responsible pet ownership, licensing of cats and dogs, and the regulation of breeders.

What's more, all those hours that Wright spent observing methods of animal euthanasia proved to be a wise investment of time. She played a crucial role in the abolition of the decompression chamber, testifying in numerous state and local hearings and speaking out in favor of methods like injection which, she argued, were vastly more humane.

Those who knew Wright remember fondly the way she spoke her mind and got to the bottom line. "When it came to the welfare of animals," said Hylton, "Phyllis didn't fool around." Wright's colorful quotes are still cited today by supporters of animal welfare; her essay "Why We Must Euthanize" has been reprinted many times in humane society newsletters.

"She was known as 'Mother Wright,' " said The HSUS's Armstrong. "We all learned at her knee. She knew we were a misunderstood and underappreciated group of people, and her goal was to professionalize the field of animal control and to be a source of support for people in that field."

When Wright retired, friends, admirers and shelter workers alike offered their congratulations on a job well done. "The nicest two things, I think, that can be said about a human being is (1) they care and (2) their concern has had an effect," said then ABC News correspondent Roger Caras who worked with Wright when he was a vice president with The HSUS in the early 1970s. "Surely those are things that can be said about our Phyllis. Her tenderness, her love has had muscle!"

In her later years, Wright battled cancer, yet she still continued to find the energy to help her colleagues at The HSUS and in the animal care profession. "She was there for you literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," said Armstrong, "even when she wasn't feeling well."

Wright died of cancer in 1992, but Armstrong would be the first to acknowledge that the legacy of her mentor lives on. "Although the animal sheltering field lost one of its greatest teachers and fiercest advocates with Phyllis' death," Armstrong said, "many of the 'outside-the-box' programs she initiated and her continual prodding of shelter staff to challenge the status quo, particularly in the areas of pet overpopulation and euthanasia, continue to live on and make a difference for animals through those of us who called her friend, mentor, 'Mom'!"

Sheila Walsh is a freelance writer who lives in the Washington, D.C. area.