What's it like volunteering at an animal shelter? This is probably an insanely stupid move on my part but I've been trying to get a job elsewhere and getting nowhere, but I feel like I would like everything more if I just volunteered to help the dogs at my local humane society place. They're always looking for volunteers, I know.
Just curious about what it's like and what goes on. I read the duties and what their volunteers do and I am 100% sure I would enjoy doing them, even if it's cleaning up shit since that'll help the dogs. I'm not a trust fund baby or anything I would just rather help animals and get through some stuff and at least try to make a difference as opposed to make a profit for someone else if that makes sense.
Anybody else do it and can offer some insight as to what it's like? Either way, I'm hoping to go there tomorrow and ask what I could do. Is it possible to be like a night guy or something? My sleeping schedule always rearranges to night time and I don't know just curious.
>>2131594
no idea, but thanks for pic of Diogenes.
>>2131596
Any time, lad.
I've been volunteering at the humane society in my area. It might be different because it's 100% volunteer run and we only keep up to 8 dogs at a time but i'll explain how it is anyway.
I love it. I work a 4 hour shift every monday and 90% of that is hanging out with the dogs. So either walking them, grooming, playing, or training. The other 10% is cleaning accidents or doing laundry. It's incredibly rewarding. I've seen some amazing transformations. We've had dogs who were scared of leashes get excited to go for walks, or dogs who were scared of humans in general rush to the front of their kennel for kisses and cuddles. The only thing that sucks is when you get attached to a particular dog and they get adopted...I know it's inevitable but it's hard. I
Pic related, one of our dogs who's having a really hard time getting adopted
If you have any more questions, let me know!
>>2131795
I suck. here he is
All I did was clean the dog room every Monday and Friday morning and then proceeded to play with the cats while checking up on the dogs to see if there was a new mess to clean
Sometimes I'd help people find a dog they wanted
>>2131797
Poor dog, he's beautiful too.
>>2131875
He's a great dog too. Cuddle bug and eager to learn. But he's 80% blind and spend the first 2 years of his life in a cage so he's still trying to figure out how to play and interact properly with humans. It's not easy to find someone willing to take in a special needs dog like that.
>>2131888
Maybe they just don't know how. I myself have considered a blind dog but I wouldn't know how to take care of it properly.
>>2131594
I work at an animal shelter and used to volunteer at the same one. That being said, every single shelter is vastly different in the way it is operated and ran.
At my shelter, it's completely closed at night. I have a strong feeling this is usually the case for other shelters too. As a volly, you will not be a part of things like euthanasia and you probably won't be a part of things like aggressive or very ill/contagious dogs. Volunteers generally deal with the good matured, adoptable dogs. That's ideal for you. Sometimes, depending on the shelter, you may notice dogs come and go but not necessarily be adopted. There are many reasons for this, including euthanasia (but never jump to conclusions). A rescue will generally euthanize less (or not at all) due to the ability to refuse dogs, but a rescue doesn't often have workers so you may have more work on your hands, or you may have hours where you are basically required to come in to help. It is very wise to ask these sort of questions before commiting to volunteer; Do you have fixed/required hours, what would be your tasks, what happens if you feel uncomfortable with a person/dog? Another thing you need to look into is the shelter/rescue policy and make sure you can agree to them. Can you handle euthanasia for reasons like 'not enough space'? Are you OK with a very loose adoption policy? Ask about their training methods to make sure you are all on the same page. Most shelters wont use chokers or prong collars because of the already stressful environment and unpredictability of the animals.
Either way if you decide to go through, ask to see if you can shadow a veteran volunteer. This really, REALLY helps, because not everything is written in manuals or talked about in classes.
