Volunteering at an animal shelter?
So I'm just completing my freshman year at college, and I'm about to move back home to Arlington, Texas. I was thinking about volunteering at a local animal shelter during the summer. What would it be like? What kind of work would I be doing? And how would I get started? I wasn't sure where to put this discussion so I slid it into "other".
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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here you go, way at the bottom.
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Permalink Reply by Allison Musick on
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It probably depends on what the shelter needs. I volunteered when I was a teenager, and their primary needs were for people to clean out cages (which involved moving dogs around, or a very careful maneuver to pull newspaper out from under the cats w/out letting them escape), or for people to walk and/or socialize the dogs. That involved taking dogs out of the kennels individually and letting them get a little exercise, potty time, etc. And the socializing - which was the most fun to me - was just sitting in the cages, petting dogs and giving them some affection. They didn't have me do much with the cats. The only hard part was that I occasionally got very attached to a particular dog and I never knew what would happen to it, if it was suddenly gone. I didn't know if it got adopted or destroyed. Anyway, I don't know if this helps, but that's all the info I have. :)
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I have some one I worked with that has done this for years. I think you might start with feeding and cleaning and exercising the animals. He did many hours a week and was actually helping with the adoptions and many more things before he left! Sorry I don't know exactly but I know he loved it!
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Permalink Reply by Cindy P on
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I live right by that new shelter. It's very nice and they need volunteers. I go to the dog park right behind the shelter. When I went in to get my dog licenses there was a volunteer showing dogs to prospective adopters and bringing dogs to and from the meet and greet rooms.
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Permalink Reply by Sara Carriveau on
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Thanks for your help everyone! After I get my work schedule for the summer settled I will definitely give the shelter a call.
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Permalink Reply by Monica, Orion, and Laika on
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I expect it would be a lot of kennel cleaning and dog walking. You could also volunteer to foster animals :) I've been fostering kittens and special needs cats for about four years now and it is a very rewarding experience. But shelters need all the free work they can get so you should definitely do what you can to help!
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Permalink Reply by Julia on
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I've been volunteering for a long time as an adoption counselor. There are many different jobs to do. Our web site lays out what they are. Here's a link to the volunteer page.
http://www.giveshelter.org/sitemgr/volunteer_opportunities#Voluntee...
Your shelter may have a web similar site. We also have a hand-out (actually a print-out from this site) that we give to people who walk in showing interest. Contact them early, since there may be training involved, and you want to get the most out of your summer.
Hope this helps. And please do it. I find it very rewarding.
Julia
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