Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: volunteer in local pet shelter

Hello there everyone
I've not been very active around here lately, but this event actually fits perfectly, because that's what I've been busy with!

Some general information first, I live in Germany and don't know much about laws and practices in this field in other countries. The shelter I work in is mostly populated by dogs and cats, but we also take in smaller animals like birds, rabbits or guinea pigs.
It's a relatively small shelter in a rural environment, and I think compared to larger cities there are less 'emergencies' or rescue missions. We do not take in wild animals which sometimes leads to confusion from people bringing in hurt or sick animals. But because of this we also know where to send them to find what they are looking for.

There are several kinds of jobs to be done in and around the shelter. I'm helping out there without being employed for more than a year now and the tasks I do vary a lot. Most of the times in day to day life there is not much time left for the staff to show me new things, but whenever there's a chance they do. By now, there are a few different things I do, which include:
- cleaning inside the cat house (kennels, litter boxes, floor, ...)
- preparing and giving food, also washing the bowls
- washing blankets, toys and cleaning supplies
- disinfect litter shovels and litter boxes
- documenting observations (health concerns, changes in behaviour, ...)
- restocking supplies
- taking dogs for a walk
- give medicine and apply ointments to cats
- weighing kittens to document their growth
- taking cats to the vet for vaccination and neutering

The last one is a big topic in our shelter, because where I live they recently passed a law which protects cats. Every cat owner is supposed to only let the cats go outside when they are neutered, so the population of feral cats doesn't go higher and higher. A big part of the work of our shelter is also to find cats with their kittens living outside and take care of them. The kittens grow up with us, they receive medical treatment and go through the usual adoption process. For the mother cats it depends on how they used to live and what their personality is. If they don't show any interest in humans, are very frightened or aggressive and otherwise healthy, they get neutered and then they can return to where they lived.

I noticed that my english is a bit rusty, but I'll gladly answer any questions you might have and share some experiences with you all

You said the shelter sometimes takes in smaller animals... Have they ever taken in anything more unusual than the ones you gave as examples? Basically what's the most unusual animal you've seen there?
When I was younger I volunteered at a shelter that was almost exclusively cats, but they had a rabbit once, and even a chinchilla.
Also, do the animals get given names, even if they're going up for adoption where they might get a new one anyway? Where I live, animals at shelters and even sometimes pet stores usually have names given to them by the employees/volunteers (if they don't have a name from a previous owner), though the vast majority of people I know who've gotten a pet from those places change the name afterwards. I'm guessing having a name makes them easier to identify while working with them... So I was wondering if the shelter you volunteer at does this too.

I’m an animal lover, so I want to give you a giant THANK YOU!

Your English is perfectly fine.

Euthanasia breaks my heart. Is the shelter you work at a “no kill” shelter? I hope so, but if not…How do you cope with that?

I'm so sorry for the late reply!

The most unusual little guy I remember was a tortoise who was found in someone's garden. We never found out where he came from, but it must have been a long travel. We could not keep him inside the shelter, because we didn't have a place suitable for him to live. Instead we used the shelter's social media to ask for people with tortoises who could take him in until he was adopted. He never left that place though, because the foster home had enough space for him and decided he was a member of the family now.

All our animals have names. Sometimes they get their names from the people who found them and bring them in, other times we choose the names or even change them if they don't sound suitable.
For example, three dogs were taken from their place because they were very neglected. We don't search houses or similar, but the people who do it often bring the rescued ones to us. The three dogs were all named after drugs, but they didn't even answer to them because their owners were hardly present in their lives, so they got new names which don't seem rude to call a dog.
I wasn't lucky enough yet to be the one naming anyone, but sometimes when a cat gives birth inside the shelter, they make a post on social media to ask people for names. The only 'rule' is that the kittens' names match the mother's name in any way, either they start with the same letter or have a particular theme to them. For example, we had cat families named after flowers, fruits and currently we have a bunch of little planets as well as three little guys named after a known pop culture trio.

I'm sorry for the late reply, but I didn't forget!

The shelter doesn't kill any animals who take to long to get adopted or are problematic in their behaviour. The only reason why some of them get euthananised is when they are very sick or badly injured and waiting for a natural death would just make them suffer.
I know that there are places where this is different but I'm glad that I haven't experienced that. I'm sure it would be very difficult to cope with.

Many of our dogs are chronically ill, others have been traumatised and are difficult to work with or show aggressive behaviour sometimes. They have a smaller chance to find their homes, but they are taken care of in the shelter as much as we possibly can. We have volunteers who have worked there for years and visit them regularly, take them for a walk or just spend some time. Also there have been situations where someone decided to care for them at home until they find their forever home.