by Danielle Leahy
Calling all animal lovers! The Humane Society of Dallas County has multiple volunteer opportunities throughout the week for anyone hoping to get involved in caring for and saving the lives of abandoned animals in our city. A non-profit, no-kill shelter, this Society keeps all it’s adoptees until they can be permanently placed in a forever-home and has been doing so for over 30 years.
Getting started is a s simple as filling out a Volunteer Application. Once qualifications and requirements have been met then it’s on a to easy orientation held every 3rd Saturday of the month at their “Dog and Kitty City” Shelter located off Manor Way and Maple.
There are 9 categories of Volunteer Opportunities to choose from and many involve no animal interaction what so ever, so even those who might suffer from allergies or other conditions that make it impossible for them to handle the pets themselves, can still get involved in saving their lives.
Position include: Cat or Dog Socializers, Adoption Councilors and Adopt a Pet Assistants, Adoption Inspectors, Cat Condo Helpers. Foster Parents, Special Events Coordinators and Committee Members, Mailing Campaign workers, Public Relations People, and Photographers.
Many of these positions are open to children as young as 13 or 16 depending on the type and as long accompanied by a parent and with a singed liability waiver. Younger children are allowed to participate with special arrangements. A wonderful and informative breakdown of each and every volunteer position with duties and responsibilities can be found here for those who like to find out more about a particular job.
Aside from volunteer opportunities the Humane Society is always in desperate need of supplies and donations and even have Wishlist available on their website for their most common cat, dog, facility, and office needs. As a 510.c3 non-profit shelter The Humane Society does not receive tax support of any kind and relies solely thru contributions and donations of its members and supporters throughout Dallas to continue operating.
In addition to the basic supplies and donations needed those interested can become part of their Guardian Angel program and sponsor a pet that, for whatever reason (medical, disposition, or age), find themselves not as “adoptable” as other pets. As a true no-kill humane society the Dog and Kitty City does not screen out potential intake pets based on any conditions and do not reject animals because they might be older, abused, hurt, or hard to adopt.
Once an animal is brought into the shelter, it is kept there or with a foster parent , until a permanent home can be found.
Finally, once the simplest, free, and almost no-effort ways you can help the Humane Society of Dallas County is by simply installing a link-back-to-us banner on your own personal or company website. There are over 22 different cute fuzzy faces to choose from and can be easily installed following the directions the give here.
So next time you’re passing thru an Adoption Event at PetSmart or PetCo on a Saturday and wishing you could do more to help the lost, abandoned, abused, and homeless dogs and cats of Dallas, just jump online and with a simply few clicks you could be on your way to help ‘Get Involved’ with the Dallas Humane Society.
