It is with genuine regret that I’m writing this, but I feel that the best thing for all involved, animals and people alike is for VAAR to shut its doors. Everything said in this review is from personal experience and nothing is included that I’m not certain about. There were repeated and consistent issues of staff treatment, derogatory comments about the local people, and at times aggressive behavior towards the animals.
There is a constant shift between acting as a victim or as a hero and pulling down everyone else with their words in the process. There seemed to be a different repeated criticism for every staff member, until the critique didn’t fit the particular situation and then a contradictory critique would be used, ie they have no experience would be turned into ‘I was told they had experience and so they’re to blame for ‘insert situation’. Constant tearing down of ex-staff down to the current staff, nothing was due to her flaws but down to staff age, inexperience, toxicity, immaturity. It left staff very on edge whenever she was around. There is an extremely high staff turnover rate which is detrimental to any rescue, but unfortunately is something that is happening over and over due to treatment of staff from the founder. If you are a follower of the social media accounts you will have seen this firsthand; jobs advertisements every 3 months or so consistently. This should not be the case in an organization with so few animals, and so the high staff turnover should be very telling. Many people are under stress and suffering mentally whilst running a rescue, but the physically aggressive moods where she would shout at the animals at times, or at staff is not acceptable. I believe she cared for the animals but I think the line between their best interests and hers is murky at best. If she wanted to she would chase the animals for affection and force embraces on them even if they clearly did not want that. Scruffing animals at times for deworming when a gentle approach would work on the given animal just as well.
She would lay guilt trips on staff about her own life decisions. Everyone that went there was losing money to care for these animals and most very reluctantly handed in their notices, but yet most of them did. Such issues were so recurring that onsite the founder would tell you that the current staff are the only staff to ever have these issues or complain, yet when you spoke to previous staff they will tell you almost identical stories. I do not wish for anymore people to uproot themselves for this organization, it is something we all ultimately regret to some level and sadly some people have been quite emotionally scarred from their experience. I don’t feel that all the negative happenings there are a conscious decision from the founder, but I also don’t believe anything is going to change for the better, and so I believe it is in the best interests of all, the founder included, for this organization to close its doors and the animals be placed in more suitable sanctuaries or homes.
Concerns Regarding Leadership and Environment for animals and staff at VAAR
I feel it's important to emphasise how harmful the management's behaviour truly is. Their actions don't just have isolated impacts; they ripple through every aspect of the shelter's operations and severely undermine the care that the animals desperately need. It’s not just about poor treatment—it’s about neglecting the duty of care, both to the animals and the staff and this occurs behind closed doors. It is not something you would see or experience handing animals to VAAR. Below is my personal experience…
I began working at the shelter as an animal caregiver and eventually moved into the shelter. From the start, I encountered multiple red flags. Shortly after arriving, I received a call from another employee on a day off, informing me that that management had been screaming and throwing objects around the shelter because the employee had requested help getting a dog into a crate for a vet appointment. The management had reacted by screaming at the employee and throwing the bin in such a way across the room it broke - not caring at all for the animals in the room.
When we arrived, we could hear the management shouting from outside, and upon entering the shelter, it was clear the animals were terrified. One dog, a disabled animal, had urinated and defecated in fear and was lip licking and visibly scared. Another staff member at the time helped calm the staff member management had screamed at, the staff member as a result of the screaming had been visibly distressed. I remember shaking with anxiety from the situation. The management casually remarked that I didn’t need to be afraid of them, but if it weren’t for other staffs support and the time , I believe my time there would’ve been much shorter at VAAR. This incident marked the beginning of several worrying occurrences.
The Management frequently exhibited unpredictable outbursts, often over trivial matters. She explained her behaviour by attributing it to burnout, but regardless of the reason, it created a volatile and unsettling environment for both the animals and staff. Additionally, her approach to animal care was concerning. She forced affection on animals, holding them tightly even when they clearly didn’t want it and often ignored or dismissed advice from vets - believing they knew nothing.
Things escalated when a cat was bitten by another, resulting in a visible ear injury. We followed proper protocol—cleaning the wound, contacting the vet for the necessary antibiotic dosage, and administering the treatment. However, when we let management know what had happened she insisted that the injury was caused by mites, despite the vet confirming it was a bite. She demanded that we clean all the cats' ears for mites, which we refused to do for the sake of the animals' welfare. There was no way we were going to restrain and cause stress to animals who did not require it. This refusal led to a confrontation, with the management belittling me over my age, experience, and knowledge. Despite having worked with animals all my life, including at a veterinary clinic since 2020, my expertise, and that of the vet we confirmed it was a bite with, was dismissed.
The management was also openly rude and discriminatory, making hurtful comments about my accent and showing a consistent racist disdain for the local community, even though she lived there. The locals, understandably, are fearful of her, and many hesitate to seek her help for their animals due to her volatile nature.
She often undermined others, regardless of their qualifications, while exhibiting troubling knowledge gaps herself. For example, management insisted on keeping a chicken, isolated from the other chickens, despite the fact that chickens thrive in social environments. Despite multiple requests to allow another chicken to live with this lonely chicken, she refused, and the chicken passed away alone after leading a lonely, unfulfilled life. Humans simply can’t give social animals the behavioural requirements they need - this is widely accepted. It’s like keeping a monkey isolated for your own need to cuddle them. It’s ridiculous and cruel, and not putting the animal first. Not very vegan of management at all, not very anti-speciesist either.
Despite claiming to be anti-speciesist, management also exhibited hypocrisy in their actions. On one occasion, after we had cleaned the floor, ants were moving their eggs from one nest to another, it was quite a spectacular thing to see. The management demanded that we kill them all with bleach, which was both unnecessary and contradictory to the values of a vegan sanctuary. Thankfully, we refused to follow her directive and there wasn’t ever a problem. The ants moved their eggs and that was it, they lived on.
Additionally, the management displayed inappropriate and uncomfortable behaviour in the workplace, often sharing graphic details about her personal life, who she had sex with, when she had sex, how much she needed sex - making others feel uncomfortable. Once she showed me a nude picture of a lover at the time which was wholly inappropriate. At the time I laughed it off but it made me very uncomfortable. Imagine if a man in a power role showed you a nude of the women he was seeing? Disgraceful.
Management seemed to have a particular affinity for male validation, often favoring men over women, and reacting aggressively toward anyone perceived as a threat. Management was extremely vindictive.
There are countless other incidents, but the core of my experience is clear: the animals in the shelter are incredible, and they deserve every protection, even from management at times. The people in the community are caring, and they’re willing to help when given the opportunity. However, managements behaviour and leadership are deeply problematic. She creates a toxic, crisis-driven environment where employees are constantly on edge, and the animals suffer as a result.
Managements refusal to seek therapy or acknowledge their mental health struggles only exacerbates the situation. They seem more interested in maintaining control and power than in fostering a healthy, constructive environment for both animals and staff. Management is the problem, not the staff, not the veterinary professionals, not the locals or the animals.
The fact that VAAR has not grown in 11 years, despite the potential of the animals and the community, speaks volumes. It’s clear that management is unwilling to listen to feedback or change their ways, and as a result, the shelter remains stagnant. Their projection of blame onto others for their own shortcomings only reinforces this. Everything management claims about staff who came before you, I promise it is a projection of their self.
My heart goes out to the animals who remain there—those who have been confined for years, the disabled dog, who is traumatized, the lonely chicken; and other dog’s who were frequently yelled at without reason. These animals, as well as the staff who dedicate their lives to helping them, deserve so much more than the toxic, abusive, trauma filled environment fostered by the leadership there.
Management lacks an understanding of the profound impact their actions have on the animals in her care, or simply - they do not care enough to change to help the animals. Management has no empathy for the animals or the staff who sacrifice so much to help. It’s a sad reality that the animals suffer, and the people who care for them are subjected to such an unhealthy, volatile, toxic trantrums and damaging environment.
I worked for Vietnam Animal Aid and Rescue after responding to a public plea for help—something I’ve since realised is a recurring tactic used to garner sympathy, donations, and attention. What I witnessed was deeply disturbing.
Animals have spent their entire lives in a dilapidated facility with minimal enrichment. The founder, who has no formal education in animal health, regularly overrules experienced staff and local veterinarians, enforcing harmful and unnecessary treatments—including invasive, expensive surgeries. This appears to feed into her obsession with crisis and “crisis posting,” which sustains the narrative needed to generate ongoing donations to fund her own lifestyle.
Wildlife is also subjected to inappropriate and unethical practices—with the founder branching into the wildlife because they "make more money" (ie attracts more donations) than domestic animals.
There are serious concerns around financial transparency and the founder’s motivation. Abuse, racism, and emotional instability are daily realities. Staff are regularly subjected to verbal attacks and leave deeply traumatised—myself included.
While I don’t believe the founder doesn’t care about animals, her entire livelihood depends on the donations they generate. There is a fine line between rescuing animals and exploiting them for personal gain—and in this case, that line has clearly been crossed.
This is not a safe or ethical place for animals or people. I strongly urge donors and volunteers to look elsewhere.
I feel as though during my short time there the vast majority of the owner's spite was targeted towards female staff, however there was more than enough to go around.
I left because I was simply disgusted at the way the owner spoke to staff on a daily basis, multiple times. I couldn't believe that someone in their position could spit such vitriol towards the people that were running their shelter day and night, and I couldn't believe the lies I was being told about the staff's character. I left due to being completely uncomfortable and hoping that by having some real-world consequences, the owner might think again about treating people like that. There was definitely an issue with the mismanagement of funds, as the owner's house was regularly cleaned using donation money. There were racist remarks, which made building a community network impossible. Then there was the state of the shelter, which you would think would be improving to benefit the animals after 10+ years in operation.
There is a laundry list of issues.
There are many concerns about treatment of the animals being aggressive and forceful. Wild animals have been kept on site illegally, without permits. Staff have not been given the proper safety and tools to handle and rescue animals, including wildlife and once a rabid dog. Some animals die randomly or are put through exploratory procedures that would not be allowed in vet clinics overseas.
Despite that, new animals are always taken in with most recently puppies being fostered from another local rescue specifically because the founder hopes they will help raise more donations during their latest financial crisis.
Due to a lack of funding for many years, the founder has promised to close the shelter with every newsletter and social media post, however has recently taken on a new wildlife rescue project while again promising to raise more funds that never come.
Management has created such an unpleasant work environment for staff that they have come and gone constantly for years. Staff are exposed to inappropriate information about the founders personal life and intimate relationships.
Management’s treatment of their staff is completely inappropriate. This treatment has continued constantly towards all staff for many years, resulting in most new staff members leaving either immediately after or shortly after being hired due to management’s behaviour. The founder is known to throw things and scream at staff, and the animals. In 2024 a female staff member was attacked by a male staff member, and the founder asked the female staff member to quit rather than dealing with the attack. Additionally, the founder’s racism towards local Vietnamese people is completely unacceptable.
There is concern around use of donations for the founders personal frivolity, renting multiple houses, and taking cash from the organisation wallet as needed.
Please reconsider working here or enabling this cycle to continue with your donations
Beware: Sadly this is an unsafe and unsustainable working environment.
During my time at the organization, I encountered significant challenges due to the leadership style. These led to me leaving before my intended stay. Staff were frequently provided with incomplete or contradictory information, making it difficult to effectively do their job, and provide the best for the animals. Staff were micromanaged over little details yet sent into the community unprepared with incomplete information and support.
The leadership approach did not foster a collaborative or supportive atmosphere. The talents of staff were unused. Staff suggestions, contributions and initiatives were dismissed, often negated rudely effecting staff morale and workplace safety. Communication was fraught; messages were inconsistent, inappropriate and, at times very unprofessional. Comments about local people were disparaging. Staff were criticized to other staff.
Additionally, concerns were raised regarding financial transparency and the allocation of resources, as petty cash record-keeping practices lacked clarity.
Staff turnover was very high, as staff found the leadership style unsafe and unsustainable despite their dedication to the animals in their care.