SUPPORT

Willingness, reliability and a cheerful attitude come first!  After that, all volunteers, regardless of program or level, need to:

• Understand and support the SHS Mission Statement and the purposes and goals of the Volunteer Program
• Show respect, sensitivity and kindness toward the animals at all times
• Have a strong desire to learn
• Be able to follow instructions, both written and verbal
• Be able to work safely at all times when working with the animals
• Follow our established health, safety and training protocols completely and exactly
• Read assigned materials, such as this handbook
• Communicate effectively with Staff and others
• Be courteous, professional and friendly to Staff, public and other volunteers
• Show up reliably at chosen times and complete assignments in a timely fashion
• Attend scheduled volunteer meetings and training sessions
• Work without supervision

We encourage and welcome volunteers of all ages–but all volunteers must be able to do their jobs! For young people under 18 years of age, rather than set exact age limits, we prefer to evaluate each volunteer based on their maturity, reliability and commitment. For reasons of legal liability, all volunteers under 18 must have the written consent of their parents before working at the Shelter, and volunteers younger than 14 must be accompanied by a guardian or adult.

What you do will depend on your interests, how hard you want to work and what you want to achieve. Training and socializing dogs and cats, helping Staff with cleaning, feeding and treating animals, learning to work with the public in our office, helping us at off-site adoptions, working in our thrift store, or fund-raisers are all jobs that need doing!

Suggested: Comfortable, easy-to-move in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, stained or bleach-spotted. If you are working with cats, loose-knit sweaters are usually a bad idea–cat’s claws catch in them easily–and avoid anything that is a magnet to hair or fur.

Required: Close-toed shoes with good traction and long pants. Dog nails can be painful if they jump up to say Hi! and even a tiny kitten can cause damage if it decides to use your leg as a scratching post.

Not pay attention.  People not paying attention cause more accidents and mishaps than anything the animals might do.  Slipping in puppy piddle, closing a cage door on a cat’s tail, forgetting to latch a kennel gate, opening a door when an animal is loose, putting the wrong kitten in the wrong litter, mixing up black cats, tripping over a mop… the possibilities are endless.

It is vital to your safety, the safety of the animals, and the safety of everyone around you that you pay close attention to what you are doing when you volunteer at the Shelter.   If you are tired, sick, on medications or other substances which might impair your reaction or judgment, or simply having a bad day, please reschedule your volunteer visit for another day.

Make assumptions about the animals.  Assumptions like: he won’t hurt me, I love animals or I’ve worked with her before, she trusts me or Animals just know that I like them.

We know you love animals.  And we know that you’re an exceptional person, or you wouldn’t be considering volunteering.   Because you are an exceptional person, we ask you to please, please respect and believe that the behavior animals display is an honest report of their feelings.  A cat who looks frightened, or a dog who is showing threat displays, means what they tell you: they are frightened, possibly dangerous, and don’t in the moment care whether you love them or not.

Sometimes what shelter animals need most isn’t cuddles, petting or kisses. Sometimes what they need most is to have their personal space respected.  So we ask you to please, put their feelings ahead of your own, be sensitive and respect what they tell you.