SUPPORT

Make a difference.

  • Increase Adoptions
  • Reduce Overpopulation
  • Enrich the Lives of the Animals

VOLUNTEER & FOSTER

We always need volunteers at the Siskiyou Humane Society Adoption Center and our Thrift Stores!
Opportunities available include:

Dog & Cat Socialization
Daily Animal Care
Fostering

View All Opportunities

Grounds Maintenance
Office / Administration Assistant
Thrift Store Assistance

Sign up for a Shift

Volunteer Program Goals

  • Animals in the shelter receive on-going training, education and enrichment which results in them being happier, better behaved, healthier and more adoptable.
  • SHS staff has more time, which allows them to improve animal care, improve customer services, and work on special projects in education, out-reach and promotion.
  • SHS clients are impressed with our services, so that they adopt our animals, make full use of our programs, and speak well of us in the community.
  • SHS volunteers are safe, effective teachers of both shelter animals and their own pets, experience satisfaction and empowerment in their efforts, and feel appreciated for the work that they do. The volunteer program expands as current volunteers advance to higher levels and new volunteers join.
  • Through our volunteers and programs, pets owners in the community have access to the education and support they’ll need to be successful with their pets.
  • As you work with us as a volunteer, we ask you to always keep these questions in mind:
    • Is what I’m doing now advancing the purposes of the program?
    • Is what I’m doing now helping us reach the goals of the program?

We are building up our Foster Program and we need YOU! 

Fostering is an easy, direct and short-term way to make a lifetime of difference. It simply means temporarily opening your home to pets in need and ensuring love and care while they wait to be adopted. 
 
SHS provides everything you need, including food, supplies, support and medical care.
A shelter can be a noisy and stressful place, especially for shy or frightened animals. 
 
By providing a loving, quiet place for pets to learn and grow, you’re helping to alleviate the burden for a local shelter. You’re also preparing your foster pet for life as part of a family. For orphans, newborns, and pets with medical or behavioral challenges, a foster home can make all the difference in the world.

 

Our Dog Foster Opportunities Include:

Enjoy Overnights/Sleepovers with a shelter dog! We’ll provide everything you need!
 
Need a hiking buddy or a lake dog? Our dogs love adventures! 
 
Do you own a business and would like to have a “Shop Dog” for a day or a few hours? We can help with that!
 
Do you travel a lot? Aren’t wanting pet ownership to get in the way of travel plans, but are missing the companionship of a dog when you are home? Fostering is a wonderful option for you then!
 
Fostering can range in one day, a few hours, or a few weeks depending on what fits your lifestyle. Studies show that even ten minutes away from the shelter can significantly improve the quality of life for a shelter dog. 
Foster a Dog Application

Our Cat Foster Opportunities Include: 

Love kittens but don’t want the commitment of your own? Help us by socializing a single kitten or even a litter of kittens until they are ready for adoption!
 
Have extra time and love to give? Become a “bottle baby” foster parent for young orphaned kittens! We’ll supply everything you’ll need to get those babies ready for adoption! 
 
Do you have a quiet, calm home and want to help socialize a shy, older cat? Sometimes the shelter is overwhelming for a shy kitty and they do much better in a foster home while they wait for their new family to find them! 
Foster a cat application

VOLUNTEER AT A THRIFT STORE

Proceeds from our thrift stores go directly to supporting the adoption center operations.  Please consider giving us a hand at one of the locations and do your part to better our community!

Siskiyou Humane Society Thrift Store in Mount Shasta

530-926-8878

FAQ

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.