Saturday Shift Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in a volunteer position with Animal Services. The animals need all the talent, energy and love you can offer. There are many ways of helping the animals, and there are never enough hearts and hands to do all the things they need. We are grateful for your interest.
 

What does a volunteer do?

Some of our volunteer opportunities include:

• Kennel helpers - provide direct care for pets at the Shelter;
• Office helpers - file, mail out licenses and assist visitors;
• Public events - help staff information booths at fairs and other public gatherings;
• Project helpers - assist with special projects as needed;
• Publicity - take pictures of our animals for Petfinder and create educational posters, displays and campaigns;
• Foster animals - provide a  short-term home for young litters or older injured animals;
• Shelter helpers - maintain the grounds and pick up the dog areas;

         ...and many more!

Most volunteers spend a lot of their time working with the animals in cat and dog adoption.  The first priority for all volunteers in this area is keeping the animals’ environment healthy and clean.  This means that all volunteers working with animals are expected to clean the kennels.  Other opportunities include socializing, walking, grooming, bathing and matching adopters with the right pet. 

The longer a person volunteers (allowing us to get to know their skills better), the more options we can provide.
 

What kind of a commitment is required?

The Shelter is open Monday-Friday, 9:30-4:30 and Saturday, 9:30-4:00.  See Saturday guidelines below.
 

Volunteers can foster pets
like this 3-week old kitten.

How old do I have to be?

You must be at least 14 years old to volunteer at the shelter.  Potential volunteers, 11-13 years old, must be accompanied by a responsible adult volunteer at all times while at the shelter.

Because of inherent danger when working with animals (especially stray animals), opportunities for younger volunteers for hands-on animal care are limited.
 

You can meet other great people!

What if I have community service hours to complete?

If you need to fulfill community service hours for school or the courts, you will need to talk to the Volunteer Coordinator before you begin volunteering.   We cannot sign off on any hours unless we have made arrangements in advance.

School-Required Community Service:

We will accept school-required community service for any amount of time; however, we require a minimum of 24 hours of volunteered time at the shelter before we can sign your form. 

Court-Ordered Community Service:

We cannot accept court-ordered community services for anyone under 18.  We will consider adults with 60 or more required hours.  A full list of the requirements and expectations for court-ordered community service volunteers can be found here.

How do I become a Shelter volunteer?

Just stop by the Animal Shelter and pick up a Volunteer Application and Volunteer Information Sheet. Please fill out and return the application at the next orientation at the shelter.  You can call the Volunteer Coordinator at (360) 352-2510, ext. 1009 or email her for orientation dates or if you have specific questions.

Are there other ways to help?

Absolutely!  We always need supplies and money to properly care for the 160+ animals that enter our shelter each week.  With all the economic problems our community and country currently face, homeless animals and their needs are often overlooked.  We can always use blankets, towels, quality canned and dry pet food and other pet supplies.  Like most shelters, our greatest need is money--medication and veterinary care are costly.  We appreciate any  support you can offer!

Donations can be dropped off at or sent to:
Animal Services, 3120 Martin Way, Olympia, WA  98506.
You can also donate by phone at (360) 352-2510.  Please have your credit card ready.

Have a car you'd like to get rid of?  You can donate it to the shelter!
Northwest Charity Donation Service can do all the footwork and paperwork for you, including towing the vehicle, if necessary.  They keep part of the proceeds of the sale as an administrative fee and send the rest to us.  Please visit their website for more details.

SATURDAY GUIDELINES

We have the great fortune of having lots of volunteers. While this is a fantastic accomplishment and a huge benefit to the staff and critters at Animal Services, it also causes logistical issues. We have to find a balance between volunteer attendance, the tasks that need to be done and how much space we have to work in.

Saturdays are one of our busiest days, but the volunteer numbers vary from week to week.  Some Saturdays we have over 2 dozen volunteers at the same time and other Saturdays we have only 1 or 2. 

To balance the number of Saturday volunteers, we need to schedule Saturday volunteer times.  We’ve tried to devise a schedule that will allow as many people as possible to volunteer without overloading any one area. 

Here’s how the process will work:

• We can have up to 3 volunteers in cat adoption at a time (ex. 1 parent-child combo plus 1 other).

• We can have up to 6 volunteers in dog adoption at a time (need to rotate between cleaning and walking).

• We can have up to 2 volunteers in cat stray at a time. (You must have spent at least 20 volunteer hours in cat adoption and talked to Chandra before signing up for these shifts.)

• We can have up to 2 people working at other tasks around the shelter at a time (see Chandra for a list).

• You can sign-up for up to 2 hours on Saturdays:

  If you want to volunteer for more shifts, and they are still available on the Thursday before that week’s Saturday, you can sign up for as many additional shifts as you’d like.

  You don’t have to come to the shelter to sign-up for these shifts.  You can email the Volunteer Coordinator or leave a voicemail at 352-2510 x1009.
   

• You can sign up for Saturday hours up to a month in advance.

The sign-up sheets are in the white binder on the volunteer desk that is marked “More Volunteer Information.”