Picture a cool fall day in November 2013. You pick up Bay Woof’s Thanksgiving issue, read about the wonderful work done on behalf of dogs by local volunteers, and think with satisfaction, “This year, I’m one of them!”
But how do you begin to earn this good ink, not to mention countless grateful canine kisses? We researched animal shelters and rescue groups around the Bay Area and found volunteer opportunities galore. In fact, these organizations truly depend on the contributions of volunteers to accomplish their life-saving goals.
Regular or Drop-In Hours?
If you’re thinking about volunteering with dogs or other animals, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether you can commit to a regular schedule. Regular volunteer dates and times ensure that the necessary work gets done, so many groups require a set time commitment from their volunteers. This commitment can be for as few as two hours each week.
Every animal welfare group has its own volunteer policies and procedures. Many require a written application, and some require volunteers to complete orientation or training classes. Volunteers typically must be 18 years or older, although “junior” programs are sometimes available.
Some groups welcome drop-ins or please-call-in-advance volunteers. At these facilities, paid staff takes care of much of the day-to-day work, while volunteers typically provide the dogs with bonus socialization and the extra care and attention that can help make them more adoptable. If your schedule varies, this type of volunteering might work for you.
Fostering: A Special Case
Fosterers provide temporary housing and care for animals who need safe and loving homes while awaiting permanent adoption. Fostering involves a high level of commitment because volunteers take animals into their own homes, and also necessitates a higher level of pre-screening and monitoring of volunteers. For these reasons, many animal welfare groups maintain separate fostering and volunteering programs.
Some organizations offer in-home senior and hospice care for rescued animals, relying on special volunteers willing and able to take fostering to the next level.
Fosterers are angels of the dog rescue world, and we salute them. Now let’s take a look at the dog-focused volunteer jobs most commonly available at animal shelters, humane organizations, and rescue groups.
Ten Great Ways to Volunteer with Dogs
1. Walking and socialization
Why are walking, socialization, and kennel enrichment volunteer programs so widespread? The answer is simple: Regular walks give dogs the exercise they need to stay happy and healthy. Playing and interacting with volunteers helps develop good canine manners and establishes that all-important intangible, trust.
2. Event support
Another fun way to get started as a volunteer is to pitch in at special outreach events like festivals and fundraisers. You may be asked to coordinate with venues, assist with set-up, staff a table, help with promotion or mailings, etc. – every skill set is appreciated!
3. Adoption assistance
There are lots of ways to help with the major goal of shelters and rescue groups: adoptions. If you’re free weekends or evenings and enjoy making people smile, consider helping at mobile adoption events. Experienced volunteers assist with adoption support and counseling at some facilities, while others use volunteers to conduct pre-and post-adoption home visits.
4. General support
Shelters always need help with cleaning, laundry, maintaining and organizing supplies and equipment, and dozens of other tasks. Whether glamorous or grungy, every job makes a positive difference for the dogs.
5. Bathing and grooming
Presentation counts! Keeping those cute critters clean and well-groomed makes them more attractive to adopters (and they stay healthier, too).
6. Training
Not every organization maintains a dog training program, but if you’re a qualified trainer you can help make any dog more adoptable.
7. Transportation
Have a reliable vehicle? Help drive animals from Bay Area shelters to local veterinary offices, foster homes, or adoption showcases. Want to do even more? Transport dogs at risk from over-crowded shelters in other areas to locations where they have a better shot at survival and adoption – like the Bay Area!
8. Communications and technical support
Calling all website experts, social media mavens, graphic designers, photographers, writers, editors, and database management gurus – help a shelter get the word out!
9. Fundraising and information distribution
If you’re a dog person and a people person, find out how you can help an organization raise essential funds. You might be able to post fliers or distribute informational literature in your neighborhood or at special events.
10. “Compassion” care
Only saints need apply for the toughest and most blessed job of all. Sadly, there are animals who strain and overburden a facility’s residential capacity or whose medical or temperament issues make them unadoptable. When sanctuaries/fosterers/adopters can’t be found for these unlucky souls, some special love and attention before euthanization can help ease a dog’s stress in the final moments. Not all facilities offer compassion care, but we hope these programs will become more common. Every animal deserves the gift of a loving farewell.
Clearly, there is something to suit every volunteer’s schedule, temperament, and skill set when it comes to helping dogs. Ready to take the next step? Check out our comprehensive listing of Bay Area animal shelters and rescue groups. Contact a volunteer coordinator near you and ask how you can help.
Just imagine all the tail-wagging soon to come your way, not to mention the heartfelt gratitude of dog lovers everywhere.
Bay Woof Assistant Editor Deb Hirsch voluntarily cleans the domestic dove aviary each week at Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs, and loves the work (really!). She and her husband recently adopted Demimonde the “Dire Terrier” from Living Free Animal Sanctuary.
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