Decision Makers:
Lifeline Animal Project
For the past several years, our foster program has run on Marti's dedication far more than it has run on any official structure the shelter provided. We are writing this petition because her resignation means the loss of the person who has, in practice, been holding the entire Lifeline Dekalb County Animal Services foster network together.
Marti has helped save thousands of cats through every season of intake, including stretches this year when she was the only person managing the foster program at all. She regularly worked late into the evening to support fosters. Beyond her official duties, she built and structured a Discord server, entirely on her own time and at no pay, so fosters could share knowledge, ask questions, and support each other. None of this was compensated. It was work she chose to do because she cared about the animals and the people caring for them.
Many of the undersigned fosters are with this program specifically because Marti was there to guide us. Without her, that guidance simply did not exist elsewhere in the organization, and we fear it will diminish further.
What we're asking leadership to do:
1. Publicly acknowledge Marty's contributions to the foster program and to the animals it served.
2. Investigate the management practices that led to her resignation. This role has a documented history of high turnover and burnout that points to a structural problem.
3. Hold accountable those responsible for how she was treated, with real, meaningful consequences.
4. Implement structural fixes immediately: documented processes, adequate staffing, and real support for whoever holds this role, so it never again depends entirely on one person's unpaid goodwill to function.
5. Establish clear, reliable communication with all fosters, including reliable on-call support for fosters providing medical care to animals, often at their own expense and on their own time.
We are not asking for Marti to return to an environment that treated her this way. We are asking leadership to make sure no one who takes on this role after her is set up to burn out the same way.
26 Comments
Marti has been incredibly impactful in the adoption of my cat and fostering of kittens. She is more important than leadership realizes. She definitely the reason why I became invested in Dekalb. Thank you Marti and You deserve better.
Marti has always been extremely kind and helpful to me and everyone else. She has gone above and beyond for all of the foster parents and cats time and time again. She’s spent countless late nights taking care of kittens while attempting to find fosters. Losing her will be detrimental to Lifeline’s cat foster program and the lives of many, many kittens.
Marti has transformed the kitten foster program. Losing her is a massive blow to animal welfare in our county, and leadership must take accountability for the conditions that pushed her out. We need structural change and real support.
I would not be fostering or volunteering if not for Marti. I wouldnt have had the knowledge to raise/save the lives of SO many kittens if not for Marti. I wouldnt have my first ever kitten if it were not for Marti. THOUSANDS of kittens are alive and well because of her knowledge and experience. I have never met anyone more dedicated to a cause than Marti Watson. Marti sacrifices the tiny amount of free time she has to be available 24/7 to her fosters. She goes above & beyond, always.
I have fostered kittens with lifeline since 2019. There have been some great foster coordinators along the way, but no one holds a torch to Marti. Her passion for cats and fosters is evident in everything she does. I trust her implicitly. Not having her at the shelter makes me seriously consider no longer fostering with lifeline, especially DCAS. She deserves to be recognized to the fantastic job she has done.
Marti consistently showed an unwavering love, dedication, and selflessness to the cats at the shelter. She often worked long hours as she advocated for each animal under her care and was a huge support to all of the foster and adoptive cat parents. This was an exceptionally challenging season for cats and kittens being really sick and/or perishing, not just at DeKalb, but at Fulton and other local shelters as well. Her departure is a huge loss for the cats department and community.
Marti is genuinely such a good and helpful person. The most responsive, on top of everything, hard working person at DCAS. Staff, volunteers, and the animals will suffer greatly in her absence.
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Decision Makers:
Lifeline Animal Project
For the past several years, our foster program has run on Marti's dedication far more than it has run on any official structure the shelter provided. We are writing this petition because her resignation means the loss of the person who has, in practice, been holding the entire Lifeline Dekalb County Animal Services foster network together.
Marti has helped save thousands of cats through every season of intake, including stretches this year when she was the only person managing the foster program at all. She regularly worked late into the evening to support fosters. Beyond her official duties, she built and structured a Discord server, entirely on her own time and at no pay, so fosters could share knowledge, ask questions, and support each other. None of this was compensated. It was work she chose to do because she cared about the animals and the people caring for them.
Many of the undersigned fosters are with this program specifically because Marti was there to guide us. Without her, that guidance simply did not exist elsewhere in the organization, and we fear it will diminish further.
What we're asking leadership to do:
1. Publicly acknowledge Marty's contributions to the foster program and to the animals it served.
2. Investigate the management practices that led to her resignation. This role has a documented history of high turnover and burnout that points to a structural problem.
3. Hold accountable those responsible for how she was treated, with real, meaningful consequences.
4. Implement structural fixes immediately: documented processes, adequate staffing, and real support for whoever holds this role, so it never again depends entirely on one person's unpaid goodwill to function.
5. Establish clear, reliable communication with all fosters, including reliable on-call support for fosters providing medical care to animals, often at their own expense and on their own time.
We are not asking for Marti to return to an environment that treated her this way. We are asking leadership to make sure no one who takes on this role after her is set up to burn out the same way.
26 Comments
I wouldn’t be a DCAS foster without Marti’s expertise and the love and care she has for both her fosters and the kittens. She makes fosters feel seen and heard and it’s devastating that these circumstances ultimately led to her resignation. The DCAS foster program won’t be the same without Marti’s guidance and support!
Marti has been incredibly impactful in the adoption of my cat and fostering of kittens. She is more important than leadership realizes. She definitely the reason why I became invested in Dekalb. Thank you Marti and You deserve better.
Marti has always been extremely kind and helpful to me and everyone else. She has gone above and beyond for all of the foster parents and cats time and time again. She’s spent countless late nights taking care of kittens while attempting to find fosters. Losing her will be detrimental to Lifeline’s cat foster program and the lives of many, many kittens.
Marti has transformed the kitten foster program. Losing her is a massive blow to animal welfare in our county, and leadership must take accountability for the conditions that pushed her out. We need structural change and real support.
I would not be fostering or volunteering if not for Marti. I wouldnt have had the knowledge to raise/save the lives of SO many kittens if not for Marti. I wouldnt have my first ever kitten if it were not for Marti. THOUSANDS of kittens are alive and well because of her knowledge and experience. I have never met anyone more dedicated to a cause than Marti Watson. Marti sacrifices the tiny amount of free time she has to be available 24/7 to her fosters. She goes above & beyond, always.
I have fostered kittens with lifeline since 2019. There have been some great foster coordinators along the way, but no one holds a torch to Marti. Her passion for cats and fosters is evident in everything she does. I trust her implicitly. Not having her at the shelter makes me seriously consider no longer fostering with lifeline, especially DCAS. She deserves to be recognized to the fantastic job she has done.
Marti consistently showed an unwavering love, dedication, and selflessness to the cats at the shelter. She often worked long hours as she advocated for each animal under her care and was a huge support to all of the foster and adoptive cat parents. This was an exceptionally challenging season for cats and kittens being really sick and/or perishing, not just at DeKalb, but at Fulton and other local shelters as well. Her departure is a huge loss for the cats department and community.
Marti is genuinely such a good and helpful person. The most responsive, on top of everything, hard working person at DCAS. Staff, volunteers, and the animals will suffer greatly in her absence.
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I wouldn’t be a DCAS foster without Marti’s expertise and the love and care she has for both her fosters and the kittens. She makes fosters feel seen and heard and it’s devastating that these circumstances ultimately led to her resignation. The DCAS foster program won’t be the same without Marti’s guidance and support!