Volunteer Opportunities

Dog Walking & Training
Volunteers in this position are to help increase the adaptability of the dogs in our care by walking and working with specific positive reinforcement techniques encouraging our dogs to display desired behaviors. Volunteers train dogs to focus, sit, stay, wait at a door or for a food dish, and walk on a leash properly during exercise and socialization times. Volunteers must know this can be a very physical and a mostly outdoor job as many of the dogs come to us with little or no training. Volunteers must be willing to work with various breeds and sizes of dogs.
- This position has scheduled shifts, seven days per week.

Cat & Small Critter Care
These volunteers help with the care and socialization of our cats, kittens, and various small animals (i.e. guinea pigs, gerbils, ferrets, birds, etc). Volunteers will spend their time in our three main adoptable cat & small critter rooms petting, grooming, and playing with the animals. They will also provide assistance with the public by answering questions and educating about the Meet Your Match program we offer to help adopters find the right feline for their home.
- This position has scheduled shifts, seven days per week.

Special Events Team
Throughout the year our shelter has numerous Adopt-A-Thons, fundraising, and community outreach events. These volunteers will be called upon when we have an event scheduled. Volunteers will be working with other volunteers and staff to set up before & clean up after events, man booths, walk in parades, pass out fliers and information, answer questions for the public, sell raffle tickets and various other duties as needed. Some travel may be required depending on where the event is held.
- The events are generally scheduled several months to 2 weeks ahead of time and the hours vary with each event.

Building and Grounds Maintenance Team
This position will work directly with our Director of Shelter Operations for scheduled daily maintenance and special projects. This position covers a broad scope of duties, from gardening, lawn care, tree trimming, and irrigation; to fixing leaky faucets, maintaining air conditioning and heating systems, electrical wiring, carpentry, fence mending, pouring concrete, etc.
- This position is in need of both daily scheduled volunteers and on-call volunteers.

Iso Helpers
Our isolation area is for the animals struggling with illnesses contagious to the general population of animals. They are held in an area where no public is allowed and rarely get handled or interacted with until they get better. A volunteer in this position will have to follow strict health & safety guidelines while socializing both the cats & dogs in isolation. The volunteer will administer medications, groom both dogs & cats, walk dogs in specified areas, refresh bedding and kennels, wipe noses with warm saline cloths, monitor health & food consumption, and give much needed love & nursing care to animals that don’t feel up to par.
- This position has the option of an AM or PM schedule, seven days per week.
NOTE: Due to the nature of this position the Director of Shelter Operations must approve all volunteer candidates for this position

Feline-ality Testing
Feline-ality is a research-based assessment of a cat’s behavior and interests that matches adopter’s preferences with an animal’s behavior. We test using the ASPCA’s Meet-Your-Match Program. (Feline-ality is part of the Meet-Your-Match Program) This system increases adoptions and decreases cat returns or euthanasia. Volunteers will be assessing cats and filling out appropriate testing sheets & kennel cards. This volunteer may also be asked to assess potential cat adopters and counsel them on the cat they are interested in.
- Times & Dates are flexible for this position.

Kennel Clean Team
To ensure a safe and healthy environment for the animals in our care, we clean and sanitize EVERY kennel, crate and cage daily. There are three areas where Kennel Clean Team can help; Dog Kennels, Cat & Small Critter Cages, and Isolation Area. Volunteers in this position must understand this is a very physical position including a fair amount of bending, lifting, and stretching. These volunteers must also be comfortable using cleaning supplies containing harsh chemicals during our sanitation process and must be able to adhere to strict safety guidelines.
- This position has scheduled shifts, seven days per week.

Kennel Support Team
We pride ourselves in giving the highest level of care to the animals staying with us. To do this, a lot more than simply cleaning kennels is required. The Kennel Support Team is comprised of Volunteers doing exactly that, supporting our Kennel Staff in the various duties they have. These volunteers will be expected to wash dishes, do laundry, sweep & mop as needed, housekeeping duties, stuff Kongs, distribute food, water, treats, blankets & toys to the animals as needed, let dogs in & out of their courtyards, etc. The exact duties expected of each individual will change depending on the time of day they work.
- This position has scheduled shifts, seven days per week.

Shelter Office Support Team
If any of you have visited our shelter, you know how busy our front office can be. We would like to invite some volunteers to help support our Front Office Staff through answering phones, filing, doing adoptions, greeting customers, answering questions for potential adopters, data entry, checking the mail, basic organization, renting cat traps, handing out leashes, making follow-up calls, product sales, etc.
- This clerical position has scheduled shifts, seven days per week
NOTE: Due to the nature of this position the Director of Shelter Operations must approve all volunteer candidates for this position.

Administrative Office Support Team
Our Administrative Staff is also extremely busy managing daily operations, events, community outreach, public relations, and our volunteer program. We would also like to invite some volunteers to help support our Administrative Staff by filing, data entry, follow-up phone calls, writing Thank You notes, various mass mailings, hanging posters around town, picking items up from various places as needed, etc.
- This position has flexible shifts, or as needed for an event or project.

Transport Team
On weekdays we transfer pets to the Veterinarian for spay & neuter surgeries and if they are not previously adopted, we are responsible for picking them up in the afternoon and bringing them back to the shelter. We also have various shelter-to-rescue transports throughout the year. As this volunteer will be using our shelter vehicles, they will need to have a valid WA Driver’s License, a good driving record and must provide a copy of their most current auto insurance policy.
- This shift is scheduled every morning M-F (excluding some holidays) and will have some on-call transport opportunities.

Photos
We take photos of ALL adoptable animals and post them with an informational ‘write-up’ to our own web site as well as Pet Finder, a national search engine for potential adopters. This is a team effort with our staff or another volunteer. We have photo equipment here for volunteers to use if needed.
- These photo sessions usually happen on Tues, Wed & Thurs afternoons and will be scheduled.

Petco Kitties
Petco in East Wenatchee is one of our biggest supporters and they have a space set up in their store for adoptable cats from our shelter. We rely on volunteers to help keep them cleaned & fed. These volunteers will be cleaning kitty boxes, wiping down kennels, replenishing stock & food supplies, and ensuring the cats remain healthy during their stay. These volunteers must be there at opening to get the kitties ready for the day. Petco opens at 9am Mon-Sat and 10am on Sun.
- This position is about a 30 to 45 min time requirement, seven days per week.

Animal Fostering Program
Occasionally we have pregnant moms, underage kittens, underage puppies, and special needs animals that would benefit more from a home environment for health or socialization. Volunteers in our foster program agree to take an animal home and give them the proper care until they are able to come back to the shelter. Many even get adopted from the foster homes and never have to come back to the shelter at all.
- This is an on-call position with potential to be a substantial time commitment.