Volunteer

Volunteer for MCAS - Lend a Helping Paw

Volunteering at MCAS is a special experience - for both you, and for the animals that can't wait to meet you! There are lots of choices when it comes to volunteering. There's plenty of cleaning, grooming, and dog walking to be done. But you can also choose a quieter volunteer experience, just spending time with a favorite animal. We are always looking for compassionate, animal-loving volunteers. Our volunteers are the cornerstone of our operation and without them; we would not be successful in meeting our no kill goal. We have so many rewarding volunteer opportunities ... there's something for everyone!

Volunteers must be at least 16 years old to volunteer unsupervised. Once you have completed your New Volunteer Orientation you will be able to help with a variety of activities, such as feeding, cleaning, grooming, walking, petting, brushing, singing, or just sitting with the animals - you can spend as little or as much time as you wish. Click here to review our General Volunteer Policies.

Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

What Can Volunteers Do?

Dog Walking
Dogs in the shelter need regular exercise and affection, just as we do! Some also need help with their manners, so volunteers may help teach basic commands. Dogs may be walked on the property, and some may be signed out for group play at local dog parks. Dogs need exercise and social interaction. Why is interaction so important? Interaction with our animals socializes them. The more social they are, the better their chances for adoption. Spend time with them - they'll love you for it. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

Cat Care
Who says cats are independent? Cats and kittens need lots of attention to help them adjust to their temporary shelter home. Volunteers who hold them, pet them, play with them, and talk to them help them put their best "paw" forward. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

Off-Site Adoptions
We want to market our wonderful animals to as many people as we can. So, if customers don't come to us, we go to them! And, offsite adoption venues are the primary means for our foster parents to find forever homes for their "kids". Many local businesses allow us to showcase our animals on their properties, mostly on weekends.

We need volunteers to coordinate offsite adoption events, to transport animals to events and set up, to help with the animals during the events and to assist customers. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

Foster Family
Some pets have special needs that are best met by being cared for in homes of foster care volunteers. Pregnant animals, young animals, animals recovering from illness or surgery, and animals that have been at the shelter for a long time are some of the pets who would thrive in foster care. Foster care volunteers must be at least 18 years old. Foster parents' animals at home must be spayed or neutered and current on all vaccinations. Foster parents must be willing to transport the animal to the Shelter for medical care. In addition, the foster parent must take the animal to offsite adoptions to increase the chance of a successful adoption.

People interested in fostering must be screened and approved. This involves submitting an application and participating in a telephone interview or in-person interview. We want to ensure our fosters are committed to taking care of our animals, and providing a safe and caring environment.

As a foster parent, you would decide when (and if) to accept a new foster dog. Some foster homes have just one dog at a time; more experienced foster homes may decide to have 2 or more. The foster family provides the dog's food, monthly flea preventative, collar/leash, toys, and plenty of love.

Click here for our foster FAQ.

Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/, then search for MCAS-PETS and join the foster distribution list. Please note, you must complete a Foster Application Form.

Dog Bathing
Our dogs need regular bathing, particularly those that are going to an offsite adoption event. Cleanliness is part of an animal's health and well being. We want our critters clean and sweet-smelling! Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

Shelter Hosts
Our front counter staff is always in need of volunteers to greet and assist customers. We have customers looking for lost pets, and those who are interested in adopting our dogs and cats. It's so rewarding to have a hand in finding a forever home for one of our furry friends! We also need office wizards that can help with administrative tasks such as answering phones, returning phone calls, data entry, and copying and filing. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

Cat Care at Petsmart Locations
Certain Petsmart locations allow us exclusive use of its indoor cat adoption room. We need volunteers to maintain the room on a daily basis including cleaning, feeding and socialization. This high traffic location allows us to market our cats and kitties - we want a clean and fresh appearance at all times! Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ava Hinson, to get started.

Communications and Marketing
Creative volunteers prepare print and electronic materials to spotlight shelter animals and raise community awareness of the shelter's services and successes. Taking pictures, posting them online, distributing brochures, maintaining the MCAS website, updating websites that feature our animals, creating signs and announcements for special events, and preparing press releases ... these are a few of the ways our Marketing team supports the shelter. Contact Rosanna Russell for more information on how you can help.