Volunteering

Volunteering

Taking a dog for a walk might seem as simple a task as tying your shoelaces, but giving shelter dogs a little exercise involves more than just grabbing a leash and running out the nearest door. As a volunteer you'll need to do a few things to ensure your safety, the safety of the animals, and the safety of shelter workers and visitors. Talk to a supervisor about the possible need for a rabies vaccination and any other preventive measures, then sit down and learn all you can about the system in place to exercise and socialize shelter dogs. A well-organized dog walking program provides name tags or even color-coded T-shirts for volunteers so there's no mistaking who's who. And many shelters have systems in placecolor-coded clothespins or whiteboards, for instanceto indicate which dogs need to be walked and which ones may have health problems that will leave them out of action for a while. Make sure you know the ins and outs of your shelter's program before heading out the door.