Why You Should Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
Helping animals can have benefits for you too!
Imagine being in a confined space every day, surrounded by new faces and noises. For animals in shelters and rescue organizations, this is part of their daily life. It sadly may be better than where the animal came from, but a little love can go a long way. Luckily, with the help of volunteers, many animal shelters and organizations give these animals the care they need and help them find a forever home.
Volunteers play a huge role in animal shelters and rescues. Some transport animals, some foster, some donate money and food, and some come in to care for pets. There are even administrative, fundraising, and marketing tasks that these organizations may need assistance with. Whatever you’re good at-animal shelters and organizations can likely use your help.
When I was looking for a way to volunteer that would work with my 9–5 job, I found a local rescue organization that had volunteer openings that fit my schedule. I had already fostered kittens during the summer in college and pet-sat for neighbors and friends, so I was excited to spend more time around animals.
Since it’s a rescue organization, the office typically only has cats to care for (most of the dogs are fostered). I opted to be a cat care volunteer. I get to play with the cats, clean their rooms/cages, empty litterboxes, and feed them while noting any behavior/health changes. I also can sign up for shifts whenever I want (although can be removed for inactivity). I started last spring, and I continue to enjoy it!
You may not get paid for volunteering, but it can provide you with other benefits! It can help your mood, social life, and potentially even your career. I’ll expand on these below.
You get to play with animals.
Who wouldn’t want to spend part of their day playing with animals? While yes, you will have to put in work to care for them, you typically have some time to play and cuddle with pets. Even if you have a role that doesn’t interact directly with animals, you’ll likely be surrounded by cute pictures of dogs and cats.
This is perfect for people who are currently unable to adopt pets themselves. While many animal lovers have pets of their own, some cannot due to finances, housing, work, traveling, etc. Pets are known to improve your health and mood by alleviating loneliness, elevating serotonin and dopamine, and reducing stress and anxiety. They can provide a much-needed mood boost. Even if you show up once a week to take care of cats or walk dogs, it can give you a break from a busy day.
Looking to adopt a pet in the near future? Volunteering at an animal shelter can give you a better idea of how to care for animals and expose you to behaviors and ailments you may not have considered. If you do find you can handle it, you’ll be able to interact with many pets and may fall in love with one to bring home to your family.
You meet other animal lovers.
It can be difficult to network and meet people in your area. If you’re looking to meet other animal lovers, an animal shelter is a great place! People of all ages and backgrounds can volunteer, and you already have one thing in common: your fondness for animals.
Many organizations will have occasional appreciation events for volunteers where you can also meet people, along with fundraising events that you can attend to additionally support your rescue.
Even if you don’t connect outside of volunteering, it can be a great way to get a little socialization in while also helping animals. Or, if you prefer to forgo social interaction, you can focus more on the animals when volunteering.
You gain experience working with animals.
If you aspire to work with animals in the future, volunteering can give you experience and help you confirm this is the right career path for you. Some places will have hands-on positions that can teach you to trim nails, give medicines, and assist with clinics (although you can also likely volunteer directly at vet offices if you hope to gain more experience in the medical side of things).
If you wish to dog walk or pet-sit, pet owners will be happy to see you have experience with a variety of animals from volunteering. Plus, working at an animal shelter will show employers that you are responsible, dedicated, and caring in any field you hope to go into.
Most importantly…you help neglected animals by showing them compassion before they find their home.
Some of these animals come from tragic backgrounds. Some are abandoned, and some are abused. Some had loving homes yet found themselves back in a cage. Either way, these animals are likely confused and lonely. Having volunteers provide them with temporary care before they find their forever homes can ease their anxiety and make this adjustment period as smooth as possible.
Some animals are shyer than others, so it’s nice when they have friendly volunteers to open them up and get them used to interaction. This can help them break out of their shells and become more adaptable.
Many cities have plenty of shelters and rescue organizations that you can find and a simple form to apply to be a volunteer. As long as you are 18+, have experience with pets, can physically move around easily (depending on what position you’re applying for), and have the availability, most places will be happy to have you help!
Of course, some places require regular hours while some are more flexible. You can look around and find what works for you — many places have slight variations in criteria.
A few other concerns to consider before signing up to volunteer with animals:
- Some shelters do euthanize animals when overpopulated. If you do not want to see/hear about this, I would recommend seeking a no-kill shelter or a rescue organization to volunteer for.
- Animal-handling jobs do usually include cleaning. You may be faced with pee, poop, vomit, blood, etc. If you have an issue with cleaning these types of things, you may want to look for another role (admin work, social media, etc.) that doesn’t require this. For liability reasons, you may have more cleaning tasks instead of interacting/playing (depending on where you volunteer).
- Keep in mind that some animals are more aggressive than others. In my experience, shift leads were required to take care of any animals with behavioral issues-other shelters and organizations may not be as strict about this. Be prepared to deal with many personalities and temperaments if you hope to work directly with animals.
If you have the time and energy, volunteering at an animal shelter/rescue can be a rewarding experience. The animals will certainly appreciate it!
