Community Chat

[Isobel Archer]

Even if you are in excellent physical shape, I don't think they should be expecting you to shovel snow at 70.

[hckynut]

We have a great love of animals, especially helpless and homeless. @elated Thank you for caring enough to volunteer at your Humane Society.

All Humane Societies do not have the funds they need, but! I cannot imagine too many people wanting to run errands as a volunteer for their causes. If they don't tell volunteers upfront all of this, it is a their mistake.

Seems to me doing this would make volunteers harder to find. Shoveling snow/getting licenses and going to car dealers? Not my idea of what most volunteers would want to be doing. I can't even shovel my own snow(not willing to risk possibly precipitating heart attack #3), so obviously for me, that would not happen.

Hopefully you can work something out with them for the sake of the animals. If not, I see it as a great loss of a caring volunteer.

hckynut(john)

[Moonchilde]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

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@ciao_bella wrote:

My daughter, who is an adult, volunteers at the county SPCA as a cat socializer.  She picks the days she wants and hours and they don't put any pressure on her for other jobs.  She loves it!

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That sounds like a great job!

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I would LOVE to do this - at a no-kill shelter. I don't think I could bear getting emotionally close to animals who might be put down for lack of space and no other reason.

[susan kay]

I think that it's very important for agencies to fully explain what volunteer positions they have open and what they expect from their volunteers.  In the same sense, if I am interested in volunteering for an organization, I will definitely ask them what the specific responsibilities are, and, also, if they don't explain it, what they do expect from me.  I think that whether it's a paid position or a volunteer position, expectations are critical.......on both sides.

[DiAnne]

I went to orientation at our local Humane Society a few years ago.  They had a huge response of people wanting to volunteer there.  They needed more volunteers for cats than dogs.  The only dog activity available was walking them and I figured my two dogs would picket my house if I was walking dogs at the shelter instead of them!  I moved on and volunteer at a local food bank one day a week.  They post what positions they need help in and what the physical requirements are.  

[sallybusky]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

Taking dogs to car dealers?

Maybe...taking those goldens to make their Subaru commercials?

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[Lila Belle]

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@sallybusky wrote:

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@chrystaltree wrote:

Taking dogs to car dealers?

Maybe...taking those goldens to make their Subaru commercials?

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My mom went to school with a Sally Busky @sallybusky. Cool!

[chiclet]

I would love the help out since I love dogs so much but afraid I would be adopting more as I already have three and it costs a lot keep them cared for.  However, I could not stand the noise.  I am a person who just cannot tolerate loudness.  I almost quit a retail job because the had the music so loud. 

[goldensrbest]

I think it is just so nice that people do this, i really do i wish i could, but it would worry me so, seeing these animals,wooring if they will get good, loving homes,i am sure i would see dogs that my heart would want so badly to have, i just could not do it.

[RipleyGirl]

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@elated wrote:

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I do love walking the dogs but if you are not a certain level, there are very few dogs that you can walk. One time when I came in to walk the dogs, there were only four or five dogs. So, you have other volunteers that are on your level and there is no way you can walk the same dogs every half hour or so. I have asked over and over how they rate the dogs. I used to walk one dog every week and he was at my level. The next week he was rated at a different level so I could not walk him. This dog was very gentle and was no problem. They have done this on many occasions and it did not make any sense to me. I have asked the full time employees why it changed and the answers were very vague. One time they had the small dogs (10 lbs and under) on a level above mine. I asked and was told some of the dogs were acting up. This was very disappointing. I have asked if I could give the dogs water and was told someone else would do it. One time the water was spilled in the kennel and I asked to clean it up. They told me it would be ok and not to bother. I have taken dirty blankets out of the kennel and replaced them with clean blankets. I don't mind helping but it is not encouraged.

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@ elated wrote:

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I would like to go up to the next level to walk the dogs but I have asked several times. I was told a class would be offered in January. We were required to take a training class on how to put on gentle leaders and chain collars,how to enter and leave the kennels and how to get the dogs to do what you want with treats. I have walked dogs that were on my level and pulled me and wanted to run. I would run with the dogs. I am in good physical health (70 years old) and can handle most dogs. I owned two pitbulls and never had a problem. I have never been afraid of large dogs, in fact, I prefer them. I do not need light work. I can walk/run 5-6 miles so I have no need to pare down my  activities. I will need to re-think this decision.

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I think I see what you're saying now. I walked dogs at my humane society for a few years and I remember some frustration. It can be difficult when you truly love animals to see things happening that you feel aren't in the animals' best interest. Unfortunately, I think like any agency/company, there's bureaucracy at play and, like any other place, employees who aren't particularly effective.

I've only read a bit about this, but I know some humane societies try to implement a "best practices" type set up. There's some well-known trainers that offer courses to humane societies in this area. From what I've seen, there's disagreement amongst trainers about some of the practices. Maybe this is what is happening at your HS. It could even be an insurance issue.

None of that can take away your frustration of course. One of the things that did help me was something my husband always said "Remember who you're doing this for - the animals." That being said, if you're asked to do something you're not comfortable with (for whatever reason), I still think you should stick to your guns.