Volunteering at an animal shelter as a pet services professional can offer both personal and professional fulfillment. Your local animal shelters exist as a service to the community, keeping stray animals safe and off the street, coordinating care for unwanted pets within the community, and actively working to combat the pet breeding and overpopulation crisis.
Animal shelters are often overworked, underfunded, and lack the appropriate staff levels needed to provide animals in their care with the full level of attention they deserve. When you volunteer at an animal shelter, you’re most importantly making a big difference in the lives of the animals there and to the facility or organization that desperately needs your help, but you’re also benefitting the careers of everyone at your practice.
Volunteers are Always Needed and Appreciated
Veterinary professionals of all licensure levels are needed to help maintain the health of your local animal shelters.
Grooming and hygiene service providers can not only help prevent skin diseases and pest infestations but can also help animals look their best to improve their chances for adoption.
Meanwhile, behavioral service providers can help socialize stray animals by offering training that helps correct behavioral issues.
Even if you are filling a volunteer role that doesn’t require special skills like helping to clean the animal shelter kennels and ensuring the animals have fresh food and water, you’re providing an essential service to all the innocent animals waiting for their forever home.
Top 5 Benefits of Being a Shelter Volunteer
- Experience – Whether you’re new to your practice or just want to expand your skillset, shelters offer you hands-on experience with animal clients who need your services the most. For those new to their field, it’s a chance to experience challenging real-life scenarios. More experienced practitioners may have the opportunity to step outside their day-to-day practice and explore animal needs not often found in their well-cared-for clientele.
- Networking – Volunteering at an animal shelter is a great way to get to know the other pet care professionals in your community. You can form friendships, find business partnerships that help each other’s practices grow, or even find potential staff members among the shelter’s ranks of trained volunteers. Working at the shelter lets you meet these professionals collaboratively in an environment where their personal and professional skills are on full display.
- Promotion – Working with your local animal shelter is a great way to establish yourself in the community as a leader in animal health and wellness who truly cares about the pets in their community. Through your shelter affiliation, you’re helping needy animals but also positioning yourself to provide introductory offers and services to owners who may be new to caring for an animal. Some adoptive parents will also seek out providers who have established a caring relationship with their new pet to begin building a healthy level of stability for their new family member.
- Philanthropy – Volunteering your practice’s professional services at an animal shelter can offer philanthropic benefits. Talk to your tax advisor about whether the donation of professional services constitutes a reportable donation on your annual return. In addition, volunteer hours at your local shelter may help you meet the membership requirements of some civic and professional organizations.
- Personal Satisfaction – Most professional pet service providers began their careers based on a deep-seated love of animals. Whether you’re a veterinary, grooming, or daycare pet services provider, helping the animals in your community who need it the most feels good.
Call Your Local Shelter for Volunteer Opportunities Today
Whatever your reason for volunteering, the shelter and the animals it cares for will be glad to see you. Take advantage of the rewarding opportunities shelters offer you and your staffs, and make a difference for the animals in your community. Reach out today to find out how giving back can provide personal and professional fulfillment for everyone at your practice.
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