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Animal Protective League |
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Animal Protective League |
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Volunteering |
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Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Tri-County APL. The number of animals that we are able to help greatly depends on the efforts of our dedicated volunteers. Here are brief descriptions of some of our volunteer opportunities: Fostering: Whether raising a litter of kittens or puppies; isolating an animal recovering from illness or surgery; or simply allowing a dog or cat to enjoy living in a home setting until it is adopted, foster families provide a very valuable service. Tri-County APL provides all food and veterinary care. You may need to transport the animal for medical treatments, or to adoption events. Time periods vary, depending on the animal, but can range from a few days or weeks (most common) to several months (rare - usually for animals with medical or training issues). To give our animals the best chance at a good adoption, fosters are expected to work in whatever areas the animal needs: housetraining, socialization skills, obedience, and so on. Fostering an animal with an unknown medical history and/or an unknown upbringing can be a challenging experience, and may occasionally expose your own pets and household to some risk - having a place to keep a foster animal separate from your own pets is recommended, especially for cats. To make it easier to coordinate medical care, supplies, adoptions, and events, we are currently seeking foster families that are in the Canton/Massillon/Navarre areas. For more information, please let us know that you are interested in fostering, and the APL's foster coordinator will contact you.
Temporary foster home: Occasionally, temporary foster homes are needed for APL animals, such as when a regular foster family has an emergency, or goes on vacation. The paragraph above still applies, but the time period is generally from a few days to a week.
Adoption counselor: Talk with potential adopters (may also include reviewing adoption questionnaires submitted on-line), with the goal of matching the right pet to the right home. Counselors follow established adoption policies, with considerable opportunity for independent judgement. Requires knowledge of (or the willingness to learn about) temperaments and traits of the various breeds and mixes of dogs, and general cat and dog care. Counselors must at all times be tactful and courteous in dealing with the public. Because finding the best home for each animal is our goal, counselors also educate people about various pet-keeping issues, and must sometimes deny specific adoptions. Counselors are trained and initially work with an experienced adoption counselor. Volunteering can take place either at regularly scheduled times and locations (ask us about scheduling), special events (usually for 2 to 4 hour periods), or can be worked around your schedule.
Pet Publicity: This would involve taking flyers with pictures of some of our available animals to high-traffic stores. Pet Publicity volunteers would first clear a potential location with the coordinator, and then meet with store management, to ask permission to post our flyer. Then you would change the flyer every one to two weeks (or sooner if animals are adopted). Flyers would be provided (so they all look consistent), and you’d need to stay in touch with a coordinator, so we can keep track of flyer locations and businesses allowing/not allowing our flyers.
Event staff: Assist at various community events. Help with setting up, staffing during event, or tear-down after event. During event, pass out information, answer questions from the public, and help care for any animals at the event (if animals are there). Locations vary: County fairs, Home and Garden shows, Adopt-A-Thons, etc... Time commitment is usually two to four hours at a time.
"Office-type" volunteering: Help is needed on a periodic basis, for such things as: designing newsletters, flyers and brochures; making signs or displays for events; and stuffing envelopes and attaching address labels.
Animal transportation: Transport animals from foster homes to and from veterinary appointments or adoption locations. Transporting supplies or equipment is also occasionally needed.
Other: Some volunteer opportunities are on an ‘as-needed' basis, and might include things such as: selling raffle tickets; offering advertising space in our newsletter; taking pictures of our animals for posting on the internet, in the newspaper, or at other locations; and soliciting local businesses for donations. If you have a special talent at something, or an idea that we don't have listed here, please contact us to discuss it, or fill in the "Other" section on our volunteer application.
All volunteers must fill out a volunteer application, and sign a liability release. Becoming a member of Tri-County APL is encouraged, but not required. We do welcome volunteers of all ages - however, if you are under 18, you will be required to volunteer with a parent, or an adult that will assume responsibility for you. A parent or legal guardian will also need to sign a liability release for you.
to request a volunteer application by mail, please:
Thank you again for your interest in volunteering with us - we hope to hear from you soon! |