Volunteer Requirements

 

To volunteer at the shelter you must complete 3 steps:

1. Submit and successfully pass a Background History Check for Adults or Minors
2.  Complete the Volunteer Application and attend one volunteer orientation meeting
3.  Attend one cat & dog handling class

 You must complete a Background History Check prior to volunteering at the shelter.  Please download the Background Check and  Volunteer Application from the homepage and fill them out and turn them in to the shelter (You can also fill out the application online from the homepage of this website).  Upon successfull completion of the background check we will notify you of the date and time of the next available volunteer orientation meeting.  This background check is performed at our expense.  If the background check is cleared you will be notifed by email of the next available volunteer orientation date. 

 Next you must complete one volunteer orientation meeting.  For the dates of upcoming orientation meetings check our calendar of upcoming events under the Events menu at the top of this screen.  Someone will contact you with an available date after you have completed the background check successfully.  It is a good idea to turn in your Volunteer Application when you submit your Background Check form.

After you have completed a successful background check and have attended the volunteer orientation meeting you will sign up for and attend a Cat & Dog Handling Class.  Times and dates for these classes are posted on the calendar under the Events section of our website.

 

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Adoption Counseling/Customer Service
One of the areas in which the shelter is very understaffed is adoption counseling.  We have no one on staff who can do this full time.  The front desk staff and the kennel staff try to help customers looking to adopt an animal, but with their other primary duties, they don't have much time to devote to this and we lose a lot of customers and adoptions because of that.  Our adoption rates are always higher when there is someone available during shelter open hours to do adoption counseling.  We are in need of volunteers who can help with important function on a regular basis.  Duties include showing animals to potential adopters, answering general questions about the shelter and the adoption process, and helping customers look for lost animals.  We are especially in need of volunteers for the month of September when we will be running a special adoption promotion for kittens. 
 
Ideally we would like to have enough volunteers to cover the hours that the shelter is open to the public (12-6 on Tues through Friday, and 11-4 on Saturday and Sunday).  We will have a class specifically to train volunteers for this function.  The class will be held on Saturday, August 21, from 1-2 PM and again on Monday, August 23, from 1-2 PM.
 
If you are able to commit one day a week, especially for the month of September, please email Nancy Jacobs at nancyjac@swbell.net.  Please provide your name, email address, phone number, which class you would like to attend, and the day/hours you are available to volunteer.
 
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Volunteer for Kittens
Kitten Home Foster Care
 
Many of our kittens have been reared in foster care. Kitten foster parents are volunteers who have taken young abandoned kittens that had been brought to the shelter into their homes to rear. They have received the individual care and attention that just isn’t possible at the shelter. Once these kittens are eligible for adoption, the volunteers bring them back to the shelter to be adopted.
 
Foster care kittens are socialized, litter box trained, and will make wonderful pets.  
 
Unfortunately, this time of year there are always more kittens brought to the shelter than can be fostered, and we always need more kitten foster parents. If you would like to become a kitten foster care volunteer, please complete a foster care application available on the homepage of this website.  You can download and print the form or you can fill it out and submit online from the homepage.

Kitten Volunteer Day Care
 
Kitten Day Care is a new program at the shelter. Kittens who are not in foster care but still too young for adoption attend Kitten Day Care at the shelter several days per week. Day Care is a time when kittens can be out of their kennels to play and interact both with the other kittens and with people. It allows frightened or timid kittens that had been abandoned to become socialized and receive additional care and attention. Volunteers monitor these kittens during their formative growth and development, similar to foster care kittens.
 
Day Care kittens are socialized, litter box trained, and will make wonderful pets.
 
If you would like to be a Kitten Day Care volunteer,please complete the volunteer application form.  You can download and print the form or you can fill it out and submit online from the homepage.

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Volunteer of the Month for August 2010 Nancy Jacobs

 

 


Thank You Nancy!

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ADOPT A DOG Vests

Check out the great "Adopt Me" dog vests that our volunteer Girl Scout Micaela made for our shelter dogs.  We hope other volunteers will make them too!   If you go to her website to the sewing instructions section there are complete step by step instructions with photos!

http://adoptmevests.wordpress.com/sewing-instructions/

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WCRAS Volunteer Handbook

 

Check out our new Volunteer Handbook
Click on the link below

Manual

 

 

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