So You Want to Be…a Shelter Volunteer
- Sep 19, 2014
- 3 min read
by Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO and Pet Industry Entrepreneur
If you ask any group of pet industry professionals how they got their start, quite a few of them will probably say, “I volunteered at an animal shelter”. If you are considering a career switch, volunteering at a shelter in some capacity is a great way to learn about the variety of positions available in this part of the pet industry.
Job requirements:
Be able to wait a while before being accepted as a volunteer. Many shelters have a backlog of applicants, and it can take quite a few months before you can schedule an orientation.
Be comfortable with a fairly extensive application process, reference checks, and, in some cases, fingerprinting.
Be able to commit to a certain number of hours per month (this will vary by shelter).
Be willing to go through basic training and hours of shadowing before being allowed to volunteer on your own.
Be willing to work in a program that may not have been your first choice until space becomes available in your desired program. (For example, if you really want to socialize cats but the program is full when you join, you may be asked to work in customer service for a while until the cat program has space available.)
Be willing to work in lower-level programs before being allowed to cross-train in higher-level or different types of programs. (For example, you might have to do basic dog care for a certain number of hours before moving up a level to dog training, or being allowed to cross-train in cat care.)
Compensation: Intangibles only.
Equipment: You will probably be asked to purchase a volunteer t-shirt, but other than that your equipment needs should be minimal. Many places do have a dress code – long pants, volunteer shirt, sensible shoes, etc.
Pros:
The chance to work with a variety of animals in many different capacities. Some of the available opportunities may include dog and cat care, adoption counseling, training, puppy socialization, play groups, fostering, social media, special events, education, clinic assistance, rescue intakes, customer service, office and administrative assistance, and photography.
The simple pleasure of being with animals. Many volunteers do what they do because they can’t have pets at home.
You will gain a lot of valuable experience in a very short time.
Discounts, or even freebies, for lectures and continuing education.
Shelter experience looks great on a resume. If you have an employment gap, or are looking to make a career switch, a history of increasing involvement and responsibility at a shelter can be as valuable as a “real” job.
It’s a good way to get your foot in the door at the shelter itself, if you’re interested in becoming a paid staff member.
It’s a great way to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. Your fellow volunteers will all have different back-stories, and programs like Safe Humane Chicago focus on putting volunteers and shelter dogs together with at-risk youths.
The chance to change, or even save, an animal’s life. You may not think that your half hour of dog or cat socialization after work will make a difference, but taken cumulatively with everyone else’s half hours throughout the days and weeks, it can mean the difference between an animal remaining well-adjusted and adoptable or losing his ability for appropriate interaction and becoming unadoptable.
Cons:
The shelter may have policies that you don’t agree with. Do your homework before signing up. (Annual reports are a great place to start.)
You will see a lot of physically and behaviorally ill animals come through the shelter. You will not be able to save them all, and you will have to come to terms with that in order to be an effective member of the volunteer team.
Unpredictable bouts of volunteer fatigue, because sometimes it can all be too much to deal with.
You will be expected to follow the rules and procedures as determined by that particular shelter. They are there for everyone’s safety, including the animals in your care.
Looking for a good place to start? We have a lot of students, alumni, and colleagues who volunteer and work at these organizations:
Where do you volunteer? Let us know in the comments!
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Photo courtesy of Josh Feeney, for Safe Humane Chicago. To see more of Josh's work, follow him on Instagram and Facebook.
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