Volunteering at MVHS
Minnesota
Valley Humane Society depends on the help of volunteers. There are
many different volunteer positions that are integral to the workings of
the shelter. At the moment we have over 300 volunteers who walk dogs;
socialize cats, bunnies and small critters; answer the phones; help with
adoptions, surrenders, office work and more. We have volunteers that
are needed to help with special events, outreach, and our fundraising
department. You can help in many different areas and know that your
contributions help our animals!
The general requirements of becoming a volunteer at MVHS are:
- Be at least 16 years old.
- Be able to commit to a shift listed below.
- Fill out an online application and pay a $30 processing fee at your
first class.
- Attend mandatory training at the shelter.
- If you need to volunteer to fullfill community service hours you need
more than 40 hours to be allowed into our program.
- Have a passion for animals AND people.
Carefully read over the list of open positions below and then click below to fill out our application. Make sure to let us know which shift you would be able to commit to.
Fundraising: we need volunteers to help us with any and every aspect of fundraisng in the shelter!
Canine Matchmaker: you will be expected to interact with both our
adoptable animals and the public. You will help customers choose the pet
that is just right for their family and help educate the family on their new
addition by using our Meet Your Match program. You will also be required
to walk our dogs, which you could do for an hour before your matchmaking
shift. We need you to be comfortable interacting with any animals, since
we will rely on you to help out wherever needed during your shift. You
will be required to attend 8 hours of classroom training and two mentor
sessions, along with some homework. You
have to be 18 years or older.
Canine Matchmaker
open shifts:
Every or every other
Saturday from 2-5pm
Every or every other
Tuesday from or 3-6pm
Every or every other
Wednesday from 3-6pm
Every or every other
Friday from Noon to 3pm or 3-6pm
Cat Adoption Counselor: you will be expected to interact with both our
adoptable animals and the public. You will help customers choose the pet
that is just right for their family and help educate the family on their new
addition. We need you to be comfortable interacting with any animals, since we will
rely on you to help out wherever needed during your shift. You will be
required to attend 6 hours of classroom training and two mentor sessions, along
with some homework. You have to be 18
years or older.
Cat Counselor open
shifts:
Every other Saturday
from 11am to 2pm
Every or every other
Wednesday from Noon to 3pm or from 3-6pm
Every or every other
Thursdays from Noon to 3pm
Cat Cuddler/Wrangler: you will be expected to interact, exercise and
socialize cats that are somewhat shy or are not adapting to the shelter
environment as well as they could. This will relieve their stress, get
them used to their environment and learn to trust people again. You
will only get to spend time with one cat per shift (1 hour), since we need to
keep down the chance of upper respiratory infections cross contaminating our
cat population. You will be required to attend 3 hours of classroom training
and one mentor session, along with some homework.
Cat Cuddler Open
shifts:
Mondays between
9am and 6pm
Tue through Fri
between 9am and Noon
Sat & Sun between
8am and 11am
Critter Care: you will be expected to spend about an hour interacting and exercising
rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and other small critters. You will be using
a dedicated room, which you will have to set up with runs to keep the animals
safe in. After interacting with the animals you will clean up the room so it is
ready for the next session. You will be required to attend 3 hours of
classroom training and one mentor session, along with some homework.
Critter Care open
shifts:
Tue, Thu or Sat
between 9am and 5pm
Dog Care: you will be expected to walk, interact and socialize our dogs during a
90 minute to 2 hour shift. This volunteer position will get you a high
level of exercise and we expect our walkers to volunteer through any of our
weather patterns: sleet, snow, ice, rain, humidity, and so on. You will
need to be able to walk anything between a 5 pound Chihuahua and a 200 pound
Great Dane. Most of our dogs have had no training what so ever and will
pull on the leash, jump up on you, react to other dogs, cars, people and other
distractions. You will be taught our training methods, which is based on
Positive Re-enforcement. For consistent training we do not allow any
other training techniques. You will be required to attend 5 hours of classroom
training and one mentor session, along with some homework.
Dog Care open
shifts:
Every or every other
Monday through Friday – 8:30am to 10am
Every or every other
Monday through Friday – Noon to 2pm
Every or every other
Monday through Friday – 4pm to 6pm
Every or every other
Saturday or Sunday – 8am to 10am
Every or every other
Saturday or Sunday – 11am to 1pm
Every or every other
Saturday or Sunday – 3pm to 5pm
Front Desk: you will be expected to answer our phones, answer questions and direct
calls to the proper extension. Your interaction with animals will be
minimal. You may also be expected to help with office projects like
envelope stuffing, data entry or similar. You will be required to attend 6
hours of classroom training and two mentor sessions, along with some homework.
Front Desk open
shifts:
Every or every other
Monday from Noon to 3pm
Every or every
other Tuesday from Noon to 3pm or from 3pm to 6pm
Every or every
other Thursday from 3pm to 6pm
Every other
Saturday from 8am to 11a, 11am to 2pm or 2pm to 5pm
Every or every
other Sunday from 8am to 11am, 11am to 2pm or 2pm to 5pm
Surrender: you will be expected to accept animals from the public and assist
staff with grooming and exams. Some of the duties include:
·
Receive animals from the public and complete appropriate paperwork.
·
Review all surrender forms and information with customer to make sure
everything is understood.
·
Collect surrender fees; ask donations.
·
Assist staff with grooming and exams.
· Walk
dogs when expected by staff.
·
Assist with cleaning surrender area, food bowls, kennels, toys, blankets, etc.
You will be required to attend 6 hours of classroom
training and three mentor sessions, along with some homework.
Surrender open
shifts:
Every or every
other Saturday from 2pm to 5pm.
Every other Sunday
from 2pm to 5pm.
Every other Wednesday
from 3pm to 6pm
Every other Thursday
from 3pm to 6pm
Please click here to fill out our online application as your FIRST step to becoming a volunteer!
