How can children volunteer at an animal shelter?

[Deleted]

If they don't have a web prescence I wouldn't bother.... I can think of three smaller, independent animal places in my area and all have also been written up in the paper for what they so. Maybe don't start with volunteering offer, start by asking for a tour...

Are there any more like 'zoo' type rescues around? Where he might get to see the animals, even if his big contribution at this age is a food or supplies drive/fundraiser? 

[JustLurkin]

My son's therapeutic riding facility takes younger volunteers, you know--brush, feed the horses, help with stall chores. Try a place like that.  Oh, just re-read, read 14 first time, not 7--but if you'll be there with him...

[ginpin]

Does your humane society let you walk dogs? Ours does, and while an adult has to maintain control of the leash, your son could tag along. Otherwise, does he get an allowance or does he have a little money? Perhaps your son can make a donation to the animal charity of his choice. At least he will know that he is helping animals!

[Deleted]

The local exotic Animal rescue lets you Sponsor an animal. They also have Animal Rescue educational events. You have to be 18 to volunteer, (but I know they run summer camps for kids younger than that...)

The no kill private shelter also has Sponsorship, especially for those animals that are unlikely to place due to special needs. They say they don't encourage bringing small children, but their volunteer form has Child accompanied by adult as a category... And teenage as a category, so older children are ok... Guess it would depend upon definition of small..

But see, I got all of that info from their websites. I'd keep searching... 

[sarcasticgirl]

Have you contacted anyone and asked if he could volunteer while you accompanied him? We have a city organization that has family volunteering so young kids are allowed with a parent.

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[mollyanna58]

The rescue organization I volunteer for requires that anyone under 18 be accompanied by a parent. I think that 7 will be way too young for most rescues and shelters for walking dogs or most animal care.  Animals are too unpredictable, and the rescue doesn't want anyone to be hurt. 

I know that one local shelter has volunteers who socialize their cats. They hold, brush, and play with the kitties to get them used to human contact. That sounds like something a 7yo could do.

[Deleted]

what about fostering a dog?

[sarcasticgirl]

Dec 28, 2013 9:24:24 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Dec 28, 2013 9:19:45 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

Have you contacted anyone and asked if he could volunteer while you accompanied him? We have a city organization that has family volunteering so young kids are allowed with a parent.

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I called the Humane Society closest to me and they said no. I found 2 or 3 other organizations that had minimum ages listed on their websites, but I didn't call to see if there was wiggle room for kids volunteering with parents. I'll give them a call. Maybe even if the answer is still no, they might be able to point me somewhere else.

if all else fails, he can come over and take care of my dog 

[tloonya]

Dec 28, 2013 10:18:33 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

what about fostering a dog?

I was thinking about it since the beginning of the thread. However I thought she is probably not wanting to have a dog in the house - otherwise who wouldn't think of it first?

[mmhmm]

I imagine this is an insurance problem, wrongside.  The organizations would have to have insurance to cover children taking part in animal care.  People are pretty quick to sue when a child is injured, so the cost would probably be astronomical.  I feel for your little guy, though.  He really wants to help and he's just a bit too young.  I'll try to do some looking around online for possibilities this afternoon.

[tloonya]

Dec 28, 2013 11:49:20 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

My house is small and I REALLY don't want another dog here (or anything else that I need to keep alive).

Do you have an older neighbor with animal? You must have one...

[Tennesseer]

How about when the weather is good, your son offers to help neighbors with age appropriate chores for a nominal fee. He can explain to the neighbors he has 'adopted' a local pet rescue group or ASPCA. The money he collects will go towarded food and medical care for the animals in need of homes.

He can do this until he is actually old enough to physically help pet groups.

[Peace77]

There are other options:  
non-profit farms
pure breed rescue organizations (often run in volunteer homes)
horse rescue organizations
start a dog walking business - you can pick the dogs and reject the very large, aggressive or untrained dogs.
start a dog sitting business.

You can advertise the business at the local senior center or library.  A dog belonging to a senior citizen is more likely to be a mature animal and easier to handle.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Is there a wildlife refuge near you?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

or a DVM school with children's programs?

[Deleted]

How about you volunteer and just bring him with you.

[Tennesseer]

Dec 28, 2013 17:45:50 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Dec 28, 2013 13:32:51 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Is there a wildlife refuge near you?

No, it doesn't look like it.

I found an "animal rescue league" that says they have volunteer opportunities for kids 12 and under. It looks like a nice organization. I sent an email with a few questions. Hopefully there will be an opportunity there.

Tennesseer, ds is disinterested in money and doesn't really appreciate how helpful monetary donations can be. He wants to feel helpful and he wants to contribute in a meaningful way, which to him would be something that he physically does to help an animal in need. Does that make sense?

It does make sense.  But he needs to understand there is little he can physically do because of his age.  What he could do with the money he could earn is financially support a dog/cat at the pound/shelter and provide it with treats and toys until a home is found for it.  He could bring the treats and toys to the animal if the pound or shelter would let him into the area. 

Explain to him how donations, direct or indirect, do help others (be they man or beast) in time of need until such time of hands-on assistance.

But I do understand the money issue.  Just a thought.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 28, 2013 17:47:11 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

How about you volunteer and just bring him with you.

I don't know about the OP's animal shelter, but the one that my friend volunteers at it isn't a simple 'come in and walk the dogs'.  She had to go through quite a bit of training before they would let her loose with animals by herself and she was an adult with quite a bit of animal experience (she was pre-vet, didn't get accepted into vet school), including volunteering in vet offices as a part time job as a tech.

I really doubt that the humane society would consider it acceptable if the OP comes in and brings her son along.  They do not want to run the risk of him being injured and all the liability considerations.

[msventoux]

Dec 28, 2013 8:00:54 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

 Anyway, I realized I have no idea how to verify if somebody really is running a non profit organization.

You can go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check to see if they're listed as a valid charity.  You can also go to www.guidestar.org and review their prior tax returns and other info.

Are there any specific animals or breeds he's interested in?  Often the local dog breed clubs have ongoing events and training around here where kids can tag along and help set up the obstacle and training courses, clean up after dogs, etc.  Usually it's kids of the people attending who are involved, but they often bring their friends along.  People who are active in the clubs are usually also involved in breed rescue in some manner.

[cronewitch]

Maybe your vet could find some chores for him in the pet room in the back. Mine has a room where they work on animals and might even board some. I have been back there and seen cats in cages. They spay or declaw or do other things to them and might hold them a day or two. He could be taught to clean empty cages and put in things for the next pet even if you couldn't handle the pets. If you were helping him you could remove the pet while he cleaned then put it back in a clean cage.

[mmhmm]

I did some sleuthing online, hon, but I didn't find any large organizations that allow children as young as your boy to volunteer, wrongside.  Let's hope the animal rescue organization you found will allow him to help.  Gotta love the little guy's determination!  Good luck to him!

[zibazinski]

Everywhere I know makes them be 14 as well.

[Peace77]

You may have better luck helping someone who is a senior citizen or disabled and unable to walk their dog due to illness or recent injury.  
I  suggest charging a nominal amount such as $1 or $2 to help cover the cost of gas and to purchase treats.

If you get the newspaper, save the bags the come in, they are good for cleaning up dog poop.

[raeoflyte]

You might check if the fostering groups would let him help volunteers in their home. You'd have to go with, but at the height of our in house fostering I was spending 3 hours a day cleaning "kennels".

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[Deleted]

Dec 29, 2013 9:11:54 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

You might check if the fostering groups would let him help volunteers in their home. You'd have to go with, but at the height of our in house fostering I was spending 3 hours a day cleaning "kennels".

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Can you explain what you've written here, I'm confused?  fostering is done in an individual's home. so I agree to foster a dog and it lives with me and my family.  I don't understand how you would be cleaning kennels in a foster home.  Also, if I was fostering, I wouldn't want someone else coming over to my house.  What you've listed sounds more like volunteering at an animal shelter.

wrongside - I suspect that until he's much older, he's going to have a hard time finding volunteer opportunities.  perhaps he could collect old towels and sheets or food and toys for the local shelter.  Have him talk to them and then put up flyers in the neighborhood for collections.

[Peace77]

Some people that foster animals have a lot more animals on their property and/or in their home than a normal family with a few pets.  There may be several (or many) kittens or puppies.

[raeoflyte]

Dec 29, 2013 9:30:11 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

Dec 29, 2013 9:11:54 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

You might check if the fostering groups would let him help volunteers in their home. You'd have to go with, but at the height of our in house fostering I was spending 3 hours a day cleaning "kennels".

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Can you explain what you've written here, I'm confused?  fostering is done in an individual's home. so I agree to foster a dog and it lives with me and my family.  I don't understand how you would be cleaning kennels in a foster home.  Also, if I was fostering, I wouldn't want someone else coming over to my house.  What you've listed sounds more like volunteering at an animal shelter.

wrongside - I suspect that until he's much older, he's going to have a hard time finding volunteer opportunities.  perhaps he could collect old towels and sheets or food and toys for the local shelter.  Have him talk to them and then put up flyers in the neighborhood for collections.

We would foster a mom cat and litter in the 2nd bedroom, bottle baby litter in the bathroom, another set of kittens in an oversized cat condo in the living room, and a bottle baby puppy or adult dog in the basement. So our "kennels" were usually full sized rooms and I had an hour and a half routine morning and night to keep things in order. I would have loved it if someone wanted to help out feed/clean or just play and occupy the critters while I cleaned. We fostered through an animal shelter and lots of volunteers had more fosters than we did.

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[Deleted]

Dec 29, 2013 9:51:14 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Dec 29, 2013 9:30:11 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

Can you explain what you've written here, I'm confused?  fostering is done in an individual's home. so I agree to foster a dog and it lives with me and my family.  I don't understand how you would be cleaning kennels in a foster home.  Also, if I was fostering, I wouldn't want someone else coming over to my house.  What you've listed sounds more like volunteering at an animal shelter.

wrongside - I suspect that until he's much older, he's going to have a hard time finding volunteer opportunities.  perhaps he could collect old towels and sheets or food and toys for the local shelter.  Have him talk to them and then put up flyers in the neighborhood for collections.

We would foster a mom cat and litter in the 2nd bedroom, bottle baby litter in the bathroom, another set of kittens in an oversized cat condo in the living room, and a bottle baby puppy or adult dog in the basement. So our "kennels" were usually full sized rooms and I had an hour and a half routine morning and night to keep things in order. I would have loved it if someone wanted to help out feed/clean or just play and occupy the critters while I cleaned. We fostered through an animal shelter and lots of volunteers had more fosters than we did.

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thanks for the explanation....I'm tired just from reading it :-)

I would love to foster but my dog doesn't like other dogs and my cat will not tolerate another cat....