Do You Work Here??
You would be shocked at how often people ask that! There we are, in our pretty purple shirts that read our rescue name and logo on the front, an inspiring little rescue quote on the back. We are walking, talking to people, petting the dogs...and then there it is...the question of the day. Do you work here? Well, yes and no? It's a hard question to answer...but of course like any other person, I want people to know that I am a volunteer. And to many volunteers that really means something...so, I shall share with you the correct and acceptable definition of a volunteer.
This is generally how volunteers (including myself) generally start out...
I'm not really exaggerating here either....
For most volunteers, we do what we can. Maybe that means we work our 40 hours a week and then try to spend an addition 10-12 hours a week working adoption events and helping share things online. For other volunteers like our board members, that means working their usual paying jobs/careers and then devoting another 20+ hours to the dogs in our rescue. In a typical day (and I would love to actually film a documentary titled "A Day in the Life of a Rescuer"Don't steal my title either! - perhaps that will be something to watch in the future!) rescuers may do all of the following..usually twice...
- Feed the dogs in boarding/kennels
- Try to give them some exercise
- Change their bedding
- Give them fresh water
- Clean their crates
- Bath them (if it's adoption event day)
- Answer emails
- Return phone calls
- Update all social media: facebook, blogs, petfinder, adoptapet, website
- Do transports if necessary
- Make trip (often trips plural) to the vets office to drop off dogs, check on dogs, get medicine for dogs
- Organize paper work
- Make deposit to pay vet and other rescue expenses
- Balance the bank account
- Handle adoption applications and foster applications
- Check on dogs in foster homes
- Check on dogs that have been adopted in the last 2 weeks
- Plan and organize adoption event for the following weekend (We have them every weekend)
- Try to come up with creative ways to showcase dogs
- Deal with behavior issues
- Deal with people wanting to "surrender" their pet that they just love so very much
- Plead for more fosters
- and...... somewhere in there find time to take care of our own animals..
So by the time we actually get to speaking to the public or done with our day we often look like this....
or this....................
Why Volunteer??
Common Excuses & Misconceptions
1. I don't have the time or money to volunteer.I totally forgot that we are all stay at home, retired, rich individuals. NOT! Most of us work as nurses, teachers, for the city, for corporate businesses, in the school system...you name it. Our volunteers do amazing work every day in their full time jobs. It isn't that we have loads of extra time and money to spend. We do it because we love it...give it a chance and I am sure you will too.
2. I would get too attached to the dogs.
Well, it is what it is on this one. Yes, you will get attached. Some of these dogs will break your heart into a million pieces when they go...but then, you'll see them in the arms of their new family, you'll see updates of them sleeping safe in a bed, playing with their new toys, and spending time with their new family and believe me...every single second you have spent with that animal will be more than worth it.
3. I have animals of my own to care for.
Um...did you read somewhere that you can't have any pets to volunteer or foster? I didn't think so. All of us have pets and families of our own. It is up to YOU to decide how much, how often, and when you want to volunteer! That's part of the joy of volunteering! There will always be a solid base group of volunteers that continue to make sure the show keeps on going...but we want you to be a part of that..no matter how big or small your part is!
4. I did my part, my last dog was a rescue.
Hello! All the more reason you should volunteer! Share your rescues story and then honor them by helping those that still haven't found their forever home yet. I realize that not everyone is a straightforward, say what they think, animals rights activist, and rescue advocate. I get that...but guess what..YOU can do something! We appreciate people telling us what a great job we do... but to be completely honest....the animals thank us more than we could ever ask for. If you really want to thank us..then help us..volunteer, donate, share, transport, foster...every little bit helps. Every small amount goes farther than you may think.
What if we all said, "Oh, there are people out there caring for those animals"? I challenge, I encourage you to step up, step out, better your community, better you life by giving back!
Have another passion? Maybe you want to help kids, the elderly....it doesn't matter. Being a volunteer means doing something good for someone or something else...so get out there and do it already! You won't regret it!!
