General Discussion

Yeah, I'm heavily considering volunteering for one of the shelters near my area. I really want to help out and there's an orientation for one of the local shelters early next month.

I don't have much experience with animals (but I really want to learn); there are dogs (not mine) in the house and I've handled them before, but I don't think that's quite the same. The shelter I'm applying for is for both cats and dogs. I'm kind of nervous, what with me not having a lot of animal handling experience under my belt prior to application, but hopefully I can learn and be able to help in any way that I can.

Part of the volunteer work is being able to communicate with other people and get them to give the animals a home. I'm actually (so I've been told) very good with communicating with all kinds of people, so I hope I can use that set of skills to help the shelter out.

I also find this a good way to learn about the shelter and understand animals better in preparation for adopting my own cat in the (rather far off) future. I'm about to enter internship and I want to get a feel of what my working hours are going to be like before I even consider adopting an animal.

How about you people? Have you ever volunteered (or are a volunteer) at any animal shelters? If so, what's it like?

Ooh, yes! I used to volunteer at my local shelter (and only stopped because I couldn't afford the transit costs anymore - "Local" isn't so local in Australia =P) and would go back in a heartbeat if I could. It's so rewarding. My only warning would be that you do have to have something of a strong stomach for the harder parts of the job, namely dealing with abused and neglected animals and needing to put down very sick animals, with the latter often resulting from the former. I wouldn't trade my experiences for the world, though; at the end of the day, there's nothing like having that cat you didn't think was going to survive her injuries pull through, fall asleep on your lap and purr for the first time.

As a side note, good on you for wanting to learn about animals before adopting one. =) Pets are the best thing in the world, but too many people jump in without having any idea what they're doing.

@Death
I have never volunteered at an animal shelter in my whole life because they are so rare in my country (and those that exists are usually full of helping people! which is a good thing of course). But I do have experience from working/learning in vet clinics around Sweden and France and I also study animal care and behavior in school.
This is indeed a noble cause if it is done right (I know there are some debates about shelters putting down animals even though they didn't have to, of course not all shelters do so and sometimes it is the only way in a case).
Animals are dumped and abused more often than ordinary people think and just working at a vet clinic gave me that insight. The thing is that not all people realize that they treat their animals wrong! So for you I think you should be prepared for horrid sights and pets taken poorly care of, but also pets just needing a new home. Handling animals isn't that difficult if you have a hand for it in the first place, just respect the animal, be calm and gentle (of course some may have problems laying still for shots and such and then you have to hold on a little tighter but that is not the same as inflicting pain on the animal).
I don't think this will be a problem at all if the other members of the staff want to teach you. Of course you can always study the basics of a dog or cat's behavior in simple books or on the web (for example when a dog is showing it's teeth it is aggressive and afraid and to not stare into the eyes of animals, both cat and dog since it is an aggressive move)-
Your skill at being good with people is a BIG bonus in this job! You will probably work with lots of other people and talk to potential "customers" so communicating is key!
If you have the stomach for putting up with abused and mishandled animals but also getting lots of love and rewards, I think you should definitely go for it. There are always animals in need of help!

@Nequam,
The shelter I'm applying for is in the next city, it's a two hour (traffic included) journey which might be the only reason why I won't be able to spend as much time as I want there.

I'm aware that shelters also have their own very heart-shattering moments, and while I can say that I'm not so easily phased by such things, it's still not going to be any easier to deal with such situations.

But other than that, I really am looking forward to helping out these animals. And can't wait to take a little tour of the facility when I hand in my application form on Monday.

@Nethralia,
It was really an eye-opener for me when I found out about how a lot of people do not know how to treat their pets properly (I was very young then). I even had neighbors who did not want to give their puppy a chance (it was attacked by another dog and the vet could have saved it but the family opted to just take the puppy home and shoot it themselves). Thankfully, they moved out a long time ago. Such horrid people.

I know the basics of animal handling, or so I would like to think. But I'm sure there's still a lot I need to learn, which is what the orientation is for, I'm sure. I've been doing research on the web and I popped open a book on dog behavior that we have sitting on the shelf.

But as always, I'd be more confident after I've put what I know into practice because I can only go so far with reading since animals are not all the same with similar behaviors and such.

@Death

The thing I have a problem with is these people that know they are doing things wrong but continue to to their thing anyway. Like people feeding their cats vegan diets. And ignoring an animal in the backyard in need of food, water and shelter. I don't understand those kind of people but they are not so few as many might think. And then there are simply those who took in an animal because they felt sorry for it or wanted it for it's cuteness,and then feed it improperly (we got in a lizard who was brought up with FROZEN vegetables! Needless to say he died later.) And people making their pets fat by giving too much treats etc. A common thing here in Sweden is that some families get a kitten over the summer in their summer vacation house and then when fall comes they leave and get back to their lives. And leave the cat there to die, thinking it can survive on its own. Maybe in a more temperate climate they would survive but they do not survive our winters. I know of people finding lots of cats frozen to death,starved to death and cats who had their ears and tails frozen off and that kind of things. These cases pop up every year, unfortunately.
But not every person is an evil one, they simply do not know how to take care of the animal. Oh I feel like I'm babbling away here!

Putting things into practice is always different than just reading about it... and you learn so much faster by doing. People say that cats can be tricky to "read" and understand, but once you know the basics it will be easier. Many people think that a cat sitting still all curled up for hours with an angry look on the face is an angry cat but it can actually be that the cat is in a lot of pain. The thing is that cats don't always understand that you want to help them so they can lash out at you for the pain being too great or because they want to warn you to stay away.
I can give you a tip by just observing other animals and then think about why it did that motion or why it reacted like that and what does it mean, is the animal relaxed, stressed and so on. In experience it actually helps a lot of understanding animals, not just cats or dogs but all kinds! ^^

I wouldn't be too worried about your lack of experience, shelters generally eat up any volunteers they can because 1. the emotional connection tends to lead to people quitting because they get too attached and 2. it's hard as heck to run a shelter, especially if it's a no-kill.

The best advice I can give you is that cats have three modes: all sleep, all play, and "I will destroy your existence on this Earth". Ears/tails are the most obvious indications for the last mode, as well as staying away from you or curling/ducking to avoid you. Sometimes a few treats will put them right, other times you come away missing a lot of skin.

With the people, you want to try and convince them to get an older cat/dog. Always. Why? Usually less adoptable, a lot of shelters run them for cheaper because people want the babies, they're better with kids/new changes, they're usually better trained and all the hiccups for their health problems are known/worked out. Other than that, getting a feel for the animal personalities you have available and what kind of situation they're getting adopted into to make a good match is the number one important thing.

Remember, it's not about the humans. It's about the animals.