Volunteers

Welcome Volunteers!

Your help provides our homeless pets with exercise and socialization. All volunteers must be over 18 years of age, fill out a volunteer application, and participate in and pass our hands on orientation. Organizations or groups with more than three people, please call in advance to get more information. Please fill out your volunteer application, print, and bring with you. Otherwise arrive to orientation 10 minutes before the start to fill out an application before we begin the class. To sign up for your orientation class, you can call the office or sign up in person in the adoption center. *Please be aware that once you complete the Volunteer Orientation, One Love requires a commitment of 2 visits per month for the first 8 months. If this commitment is not met, you will lose your volunteer privileges. *

Please read over the following policies. All volunteers are required to follow the policies put forward for your safety, the safety of others, and for the safety of our animals. If these policies are not followed we will dismiss you from the shelter. Please keep in mind these are shelter animals and some may have been neglected, abused, or might not like other animals.

1. There is a mandatory volunteer orientation training which you will need to sign up for. These sessions will go over how to handle the dogs and cats properly with staff members, selecting what dog/cat enrichment program you wish to participate in, and facility duties around the adoption center.
2. Volunteer hours are only during One Love Pet Adoptions open hours. Hours are subject to change. Check Facebook for any updates.
3. You are responsible for your own hours, however, we will sign any forms you need as proof that you were here. For the first 8 months we will track your visits to One Love to ensure that the 2 visit per month requirement is met.
4. Court ordered community service hours that need to be completed at non profit organizations can NOT be validated at our facility.
5. Please wear appropriate clothing when coming to our shelter. For safety reasons, please do not wear sandals, flip flops, skirts, or shirts that do not cover your back or stomach. If you are not wearing appropriate clothing you may be asked to leave or your volunteer privileges may be limited.
6. No cell phone use while walking a dog. You are more than welcome to use headphones ONLY on the trail, please remove your headphones as soon as you get into the building so you can hear your surroundings. When using headphones just be more alert looking for critters or other dogs that may cross your path!
7. There is no teasing of the animals, screaming, running or loud noises while in the kennels or cat room. This is for your safety and the safety of the animals. Violation of this is grounds for immediate dismissal.
8. If you have a fear of dogs/cats, please rethink volunteering at this shelter. These are shelter animals that may not be trained. If you are uncomfortable with the animals in the shelter, see a staff member and ask how you can help in other ways at the shelter.
9. When arriving for volunteering you must show your card proving you have completed the orientation. You can then get one of our passes and harness leads. Before leaving the building with your dog, you must sign, date, and initial the exercise log. Be sure to sign the dog back in with the time when you return. If there is a lot going on in reception, please just take the dog for a walk and sign it in and out after the dog has been returned to its kennel!
10. We have a limited number of volunteer passes available during open volunteer hours. If all volunteer passes have been signed out when you come in, that means we have all the volunteers we can safely have; you will have to come back another time. You can NOT volunteer unless you have a pass.
11. Please remember adopters must come first. You cannot interact with the animals if people are interested in adopting them.
12. We also have a Cat Room where you may volunteer to socialize and play with our feline friends. Please do not let cats run loose in the adoption area.
13. When walking a dog on the trail and another dog is approaching, please shorten your leash and keep the dog on your right side. Please do not pick the dog up or stop and hug them. This gives the dog a message that there is a problem and the dog may try to protect them self or the walker. REMEMBER: these are shelter animals and some have been neglected, abused or may not like other animals. If you’re not comfortable to continue walking, just stand to the side in place.
14. Always close all doors behind you when taking dog out or returning. Always close door coming into the kennel area. Do not assume that all dogs like other dogs. Assume they don’t like other dogs and keep them apart. Please keep them away from the kennel doors when walking them through the kennel area. Make sure there are no dogs or puppies loose in reception before harnessing up a dog to take it for a walk. This also goes for walking back into reception from a walk.
15. Please help keep our adoption center neat and clean. Pick up after yourself and the animal you have taken out. Adopters are coming in throughout the day, so if you take out toys please put them back.
16. We THANK YOU for all of your help and so do all of the dogs/cats that live here with us at One Love.