What is it like to work at an animal shelter?

Rockstar11p · February 2011

I am an animal lover, always have been, always will be. I currently have 2 cats, a hamster, and a yorkie named Roxy. My third cat Oreo recently died earlier this month. I am very mature for my age ( If I do say so myself). I love researching animals. I literally go on a crazy spree, researching animals, how much they cost, yearly costs, health concerns, everything! I researched plenty of different animals before I got my hamster. I already had my 3 cats and it was a year after I got my dog. Though I loved them, they weren't "mine" They were my families. I had no influence over my dog ( training or otherwise) because she was at my dad's house. Even though I made a Word Document booklet on anything they would need to know! My cats are very independent and rarely need me. So When I got my hamster, i researched EVERYTHING about them. I paid for all of her expenses myself and even though one half of my room is a mess, all of her supplies are tucked away in a neat corner. I've been seriously for the past year now considering to volunteer for a local shelter. I have tons of spare time, and love animals. The only problem is that since I'm younger, a lot of shelters won't allow me to volunteer. I did find one that actually considers people under 18 for volunteer work. I am very responsible, so I know I can be dependable. I was Just wondering what it was like to work at a shelter? I would probably do their feline program ( playing and petting the kitties, socializing them) because for me cats are sometimes easier to work with. I might also take on dogs if I have a choice in the matter.

LaLa_Laru · February 2011

Yeah, I don't know of many shelters that would let you volunteer at your age...but it's worth asking. I've volunteered since I was five : D if it counts when you're that young, because my mom worked at one for years. IT IS AWESOME..the place is just filled with...LOVE. lol. The only sad part was when a animal's time was up, or when dogs or cats were given up by their owners and they had no idea what was going on, those are the ones that you should pay extra attention to when they first come in, comfort them. When I would see a dog getting taken into the back I already knew what was going to happen, and I cried everytime I saw it. It was also hard saying goodbye to an animal that you bonded with, but at the same time you're happy that he/she gets a new home. At the shelter that I volunteer at supposed "no kill" shelters bring in dogs to us, and ask us to kill them...well talk about a loop hole in their system. There is so much that you can learn there and so much that you need to know before actually trying to help there, I can't even explain it all in this post XD But if you ever have any questions you can always ask : )

Kazuko · February 2011

I tried volunteering at your age. They said I could IF I paid them $400 every three months. $400 to clean up dog poo? No thanks. From what I understand, it can be pretty tough working at an animal shelter. Especially if you have the gotta catch 'em all mentality that I do. ("But it wants to go home with me! *takes home*") Dogs and cats are put to sleep, go to new homes, are sometimes returned from these new homes... It's just tough for some people. I know now that I wouldn't be able to handle it, and would be much happier volunteering at the dog park or something. xD

RoyalRaccoon · February 2011

You should review VP's rules again. It's dangerous to give out your age, or info that will allow someone to guess your age, so VP prohibits it. Anyways, I haven't worked at an animal shelter, but I have volunteered. It's a lot of work, and typically you won't get the "fun" jobs, at least not until you gain a lot of supervised experience doing grunt work like cleaning kennels, washing pee soaked blankets, changing litter, etc. If all you want to do is play with the animals, then you shouldn't volunteer at the shelter, unless that's all they expect of volunteers. You also have to take into consideration all the risks associated with working/volunteering at an animal shelter. Other than the disagreements I had with some of the policies at the shelter where I volunteered, I stopped volunteering because I was worried I would bring home something nasty that my own animals could catch, which does happen just like nurses or doctors bringing home bugs to their family. I mostly worked with the cats, and almost all of them were ill. From experience, I know that illness among cats spreads like crazy, which put my 3 cats at risk every time I volunteered, even though I would put my shoes in a plastic bag, and shower immediately upon getting home. Working with scared, sometimes sick, animals means you could very well get bitten, or scratched as well. Normally they won't expose you to it if you aren't okay with it, but animals will be euthanized, and sometimes you might see it, even if you have stated you aren't okay with it. The first day of my volunteer work consisted of watching a dozen cats and kittens get euthanized, and that wasn't even all the animals that were euthanized for the day. I personally would not recommend volunteering in a shelter until you are older. If you really want to help animals though, then I suggest getting your family approved to foster kittens(or whatever else you are interested in). Once again, there are risks that you could bring something home, but overall fostering tends to be more enjoyable, and safer than actually volunteering at a shelter. However, if you go to school, then you will need to make sure someone is home to look after your foster animal, which might not be easy to do if your family doesn't share the same interest. Another option to help animals is fund raising. You can do car washes, bake sales, and so on, and then donate the money to your local shelter.

SC`s Stars II · February 2011

I work at a humane society so hopefully I can help ya out. ^.^ My humane society takes volunteers 16 or older. If they wish to volunteer at a younger age, they must be with an adult at all times. From what I've seen, this seems to be the usual regulations for humane societies, I'm not so sure about animal shelters. Just remember that volunteering may not be what you expect. It's not all just playing with puppies and kittens or walking dogs. More often than not, we get volunteers come in once, never to return because they didn't enjoy it. I started out as a volunteer and worked my way up. It takes some getting used to. There is a lot more involved than you would think, and it's not for everyone. There is a lot of cleaning involved. A lot more than I would have thought. Every morning, staff members (besides me because I have to be in school, but of course I'm there weekend mornings) come in and bleach, scrub, spray, rinse, vacuum, dust, change litter, change towels, scrub the outside kennels, bleach them, clean food dishes, clean toys, bleach toys, rinse everything again, dry everything, scrub and bleach the floor, clean the floor gutters and bleach them. And that's just the morning cleaning. There's also feeding and watering and walking and whatnot. But if you stick with it, it can have great benefits. I've grown very close to my co-workers. They're all fun! I also get the opportunity to attend Pet Expos and Pet Events and bring some of the dogs with me. I get to spread the word! Of course, when you have downtime, there's nothing better than sitting down and cuddling up with a dog, and there are plenty there do play with. I've also gotten attached to a certain dog, who I plan to take home eventually. <3 You may also get the chance to rehabilitate dogs, and give them a new life. That's always a great feeling. It's kind of hard to explain the types of joy I get out of going to work. Of course there are some sad times, but the happy outweigh the sad by a ton! It really is great if you feel that it is right for you. ^.^ Feel free to PM me with any questions!

Patty · February 2011

I haven't worked at an animal shelter, because around here, they are volunteer based most of the time. What is really neat about the place I volunteer at is they let minors volunteer. They have strict rules to keep you safe, I started volunteering when I was only eight years old. I really enjoy helping out there and it is exciting to see the dogs get adopted. At the shelter I volunteer at you just do basic things. Such as, cleaning out the dog's runs, mopping, brushing, socializing the dogs, and showing people around, and more basic housekeeping.But I guess to actually be hired as an employee, you would have to be 16ish or older?

RyleeLorr · February 2011

OMG you are like me twin!!!!!!!! i research anythink about anythink that moves !!!!! i bet you if you give me some random pic of a dog i would tell the breed of it

and i was going to do the same and vollente at a animal shelter

EmoChickk · March 2011

I voulenteer at the Humane Society, and people of all ages can voulenteer, but the keymaster (one in charge) must decide if you need to be accompinied by an adult (if under 18) or if you are mature enough to be without.

Zagari Wolf · March 2011

At my shelter, you have to be 14 years old to volunteer without a parent. Any age can come out and socialize the animals with a parent present. We love when people want to play with the cats because most of the time they just want to play with the dogs.

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What is it like to work at an animal shelter?

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