Volunteering Animal Shelter?

Question

Hi everyone, I am volunteering at a Animal shelter (Have a safety intro tomorrow and nxt week) and I have some questions.

1) Will the people who run it be cool if I was only to volunteer 1 day a month? I have a demanding collge schedual

and 2) is it worth it/fun? people keep telling me I wont last because ill be, apparently, "Heartbroken" at the cases they have there. But i am a strong person, and I can stomach QUITE alot. Will I still like it?

Thankyou!!!!

Answer 1

At animal control the required hours are 8 hours a month.Preferrably 2 per week.

Most volunteers don't return after the 3rd time.They can't handle the idea that a lot of dogs and cats are put to sleep.Some ask me what happened to a particular dog and I ask them if they really want to know.They may not.You will occationally see malnurished,sick, or passed on animals.As a new volunteer all you will do is walk and socialize with animals.

It is fun and rewarding ( I have been doing it for 2 years).

Answer 2

Absolutely. I believe all you have to do is volunteer a minimum of 4 hours a month to qualify.

Answer 3

If you are really interested and committed then do it even if it's only a little bit.

Answer 4

This question can't be answered on the Internet. GO to the shelter and talk with the people there. They will tell you whether or not one day a month is worthwhile for them, and they will give you an orientation on all of the various volunteering activities so that you know what you are getting into.

Answer 5

EDIT:  I do have to add that it also depends upon the shelter which you volunteer at.  I wasn't aware that some shelters have a minimum amount of hours that can be volunteered!  I've volunteered in shelters all over NJ and Ohio and none have ever given me a minimum, NEVER.   All were just happy for some extra help whenever they could get it.  What you see will also depend upon the type of shelter.  The shelter affiliated with my job is a kill shelter, and a little sad sometimes, the shelters that I volunteer at are privately run and are no kill for the most part, which makes them easier to deal with.  

Any help that a shelter receives is always appreciated, and most of the workers there are usually very kindhearted people, although theres always a village idiot...lol.

You'll have a lot of fun!  Its definitely worth it, and you won't see a lot of "gross" or "awful" stuff at the shelter.  Maybe a malnourished dog, or a few scrapes and the like, but you'll be fine.  Of course you'll have the initial "I want to take them all home", which everyone has, just remember this, if you take them all home, your home is no different than the shelter.  You'll never be able to give them individualized attention, which they need.