Requirements to Voulenteer

[Jen]

Hello, I was planning on voulenteering at shelters when my kids get in school. I have no experience taking care of animals (other than my own, but no professional experience) So I was wondering if there were any steps I needed to take to make my chance of being accepted higher? My long term goal is to become an Animal control officer or Animal Cruelty Investigator, but I thought I would start off by voulenteering. Also, do you just go to the shelters in your area and ask if they are accepting voulenteers or how do you go about getting started with the whole process! Thanks so much!

[Diane Wilkerson]

Volunteering is a GREAT way to get started and most shelters provide free training too! The ASPCA requires all volunteers to be trained on basic animal handling and we hold the classes monthly. Check your local area shelter to see their specific requirements. Volunteers play such a vital role to the success of most shelters and it is a great way to gain experience for careers dealing with animals.

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=shelter_2k5_searchShe...

[Dee]

Alot of the shelters have websites where u can go in and fill out volunteer forms right from the site.. Also I have found that going to the site directly and letting them know you are willing to do whatever needs to be done gives you a better chance.. There are alot of things that need to be done around the shelter from laundry to answering phones, and for other things they do teach the volunteers how to properly handle the task at hand..