Volunteer

A minimum commitment of one shift a week for one year is required to volunteer. Shifts will vary depending on the Volunteer Role.

Unfortunately, not everyone can volunteer with us. Potential volunteers must be a minimum of 15+-years-old. Note there are limited positions for those under 15 years but they MUST volunteer with a parent or legal guardian.

We are also looking for people with very specific skills. For instance, to help with data entry, volunteers must have experience with computers and have an extremely high accuracy rate. As a not-for-profit organization, we do not have the resources to offer extensive training and we rely heavily on the skills and experience of volunteers to support HBSPCA’s animals. If there is not a specific role where your talents can be used, we encourage you to keep looking for a position that matches your skills.

Absolutely. We have volunteers working in our offices, walking dogs, assisting with special events, supporting our outreach programs, and more. We encourage volunteers to help out in programs that they are passionate about and best suit their skill set and availability. The volunteer department will work closely with volunteers to ensure that the volunteer opportunity is a match. Visit our volunteer page to read more about our current volunteer opportunities!

Previous experience is not necessary for all volunteer roles but will be beneficial especially for roles working with animals. Experience does not need to come from working with animals through a job but can also come from having pets.

Volunteers play a strong role within the HBSPCA. They are working in a variety of capacities, and many include working with vulnerable populations. We work hard to ensure the safety of the HBSPCA community, which includes the animals, volunteers, staff, and the community. Criminal record checks are a measure in place to uphold this high level of safety and are a non-profit best practice.

We ask our volunteers to make a commitment of at least one year. Due to limited resources, we do not have the ability to provide training to volunteers who are unable to commit for at least one year. While we rely heavily on the skills and experiences that volunteers bring to the organization, we also train new volunteers. As a result, the training and experience gained in an HBSPCA volunteer role is invaluable to the organization. It is very difficult to sustain well-trained and experienced volunteers if they are leaving frequently.

An important part of volunteering at the HBSPCA is a personal commitment to the animals. One of the forms this can take is fostering and adopting the animals in our care. While it is important to support volunteers in this, it is important to recognize that volunteering at the HBSPCA can be emotionally overwhelming and can lead to an unrealistic urge to save every animal through an over commitment or ill-considered fostering and/or adoption commitment. It is equally important that we are accountable for our decisions and the disposition of animals.

As much as we would love to have everyone bring their dogs to the shelter for a visit, we do have to ask you to leave your dog at home. We do not have the resources to care for your pet while you are volunteering. It is also a bit of a risk health wise as we deal with a variety of animals, some may have parasites or disease that we don’t know about right away.

Upon Pickup of your foster pet, you will be provided with a “Care Pack” that includes everything from food, medications, towels, blankets, and toys. If you run out or require any specific supplies during your foster term, our team is more then happy to provide it to you upon request.

Even if you work all day, you can still be a fantastic foster parent and asset to our organization!

However, this may just affect the types of fosters you can confidently care for. Most felines can be left alone for long durations of time in the home without supervision but animals who require more monitoring or have special needs may not be the best fit. We still encourage you to apply and we can match you with an animal that would do well with your work schedule.

Ensuring all roommates are onboard for the responsibility of fostering is important. We recommend having a conversation with all those in the home before applying. Discussing the time and resources you can feasibly provide to a foster animal and that you meet the basic requirements. Such as transportation for pickups, drop offs and appointments at the shelter. We recommend having an alternative to public transit, as some of our animals cannot travel via this method.

If at any time you feel that your animals are not doing well, you can call or email to speak to one of the Foster Care team members. They will advise you whether you should bring the animals in for an examination or not.

If it is after regular shelter hours, we have an after-hours emergency care hospital that you can bring your foster animal to; along with many support resources to help you determine what the best next step is based on the symptoms your foster pet may be experiencing.