What is a volunteer?

A volunteer is a person who offers to help others with the work they are doing. A volunteer does not get paid. Volunteering offers other rewards. Did you know that volunteering helps you become a better person? When you help others, you make a difference in their lives. You become more confident. You learn new skills. And you make lots of new friends.

On this page we want to shine a spotlight on kids who are working hard to make a difference in the world by volunteering with animals. Do you help out at an animal shelter? Do you collect canned foods for pets? Do you pet sit? If you volunteer to help out animals in any way, we want to hear from you. Tell us everything you do and send us photos and we'll post it all!

Well, this summer I am starting a doggie-day-care/spa and I might even start walking dogs! I am donating this money to this Animal Shelter who hasn't even built a shelter! They can't afford it, and there are poor kittens, puppies, dogs, and cats, who are suffering. Last month I went to their fundraiser and they had adoptions, food, and contests. I feel really bad for all those animals!

My friends and I have started a fundraiser for local animal shelters. We make unique crafts and sell them. We work at a lemonade/treat stand in the summer and a hot cocoa/treat stand in the winter. We help others by doing some work for them such as shoveling their driveway or walking their dogs. I am going to start a doggie spa in the summer to make some extra money. We each have a role in this process. I use the internet for ideas and help. My friend, Brianna, does the craft stuff and my friend, Abigail, does most of the work. We all use the phone and mail to contact each other and sometimes we meet up to do stuff together. We have thousands of ideas and are going to make the animals in all our local shelters really happy!

I work with the dogs at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. We walk them, do pet laundry, clean poo or pee, feed them, wash pet dishes, give them toys, give them blankets, and just make sure they don't cry.

Let me give you a close up to a few of these things. This is the way a walk at the humane society works. First you have to look at the kennel sheet which tells you how many times a dog has been walked. Each dog needs three walks. Then, you have to get a leash the right size and get a sign that says 'I'm a lucky dog, I'm on a walk' so that if someone wants to adopt that dog they know where it is. Then you put the sign on the kennel and put the leash on the dog and that's the whole process to walk a dog!

Now I'm going to tell you how you do pet laundry. In the laundry room there are pet beds, towels, rags, and more.There is a HUGE bucket where all the laundry goes. On the laundry there is poo, pee, and blood (from surgeries). To do laundry, you have to put on gloves. You take some laundry out of the bucket. You put it in the washer and let it wash. Then you put it in the dryer and let it dry. Then you take it out of the dryer and fold it up and put it on the shelf.

I hope everyone will decide to volunteer at their local humane society because you can have fun and you can help homeless animals. They're so cute!

I volunteer at the SPCA and I give $200 a year and I also walk the dogs. Sometimes we even foster a dog. I take care of the dogs and it is really fun. If you can't adopt, foster! It is an awesome way to help.

My mom, Mechele, works in a veterinarian office and after I go to school, I go to help her and I have helped a many of dog ... I cannot count how many.

I help out at Petsmart Monday through Friday from 2:30 pm - 6:00 pm. Whenever they have pet adoptions, I always love to find these animals the perfect owners. One time, I was able to give twelve loving animals a new home. It made me so happy. When I turn sixteen in two more years I'm planning on beginning to complete all of my biology classes so I can study to become a veterinarian.

I go to old people's houses after I get home from school and I help them take care of their animals. I take the dogs for walks, I give them baths, and I also do anything like feeding. One house that I go to, she cannot get out of her bed so I bring the dog to her and it's a very little dog.

I help get kittens and cats ready to be adopted by fostering them. Sometimes they're mean, sometimes they're sweet, little, messy, or sick. They all just need good homes and help! I help with getting them ready to be around children and people, desensitize them to everyday sights and sounds (laundry machines, dishwashers, pots and pans, people walking near them, and so much more!) You'd think a cat would be used to these things, but sometimes they're not. A lot of cats come from Animal Control, others are dumped, and still others are just dropped off with the rescue. No matter how they get here, it is my job to socialize and prepare the ones that I am given before they are adopted out.

I go to the pet store to do stuff like clean out the cages, feed them (the animals), give them fresh water, and I get to play with them. I take them out and bring them into a fenced in big cage. I check them to make sure they don't have fleas or any sickness. My dog comes sometimes. He is a German Shepherd.

I help out the dogs at PetSmart. I help them get adopted by teaching them tricks and making them look more adoptive. I take them out of their cage and walk them around so people could see what good dogs they actually are because in the cage they're really barky and people don't adopt as much so taking them out helps.

I volunteered to walk dogs in my town.

I walk three dogs. Jenny, Lucky, and Star. Star is the most active. Lucky is the easiest to walk, and Jenny is the most difficult to walk because she doesn't want to go anywhere, and she is very little. The way I walk active dogs is I give them something that will occupy them, like a toy that they can hold in their mouth (usually it works) ~Ha! ha! Sometimes I bring treats with me to give to the dogs. My favorite dog to walk was my neighbor's dog, Jenny. I haven't walked Jenny anymore because she is getting kind of old, but I still have many other dogs to walk.

When I meet a new dog, I usually pet it for awhile so they will get used to me. Then I see how they do on the leash. If they do good, I take them for longer walks than normal walks with new dogs. If they do poorly, I usually take them up and down the road 20 feet each way.

It's a fun job and a great way to help the community!!!

Our first special volunteer is Jammie. Jammie is fifteen years old and lives in Michigan in the United States. Her volunteer job is working at a doggie daycare near her home. Doggie daycares are very popular. People like to take their dogs to these places and leave them there while they work or take care of other responsibilities. Usually the dogs at the daycare get to play together. A dog who would normally be home alone now has lots of friends. Here is what Jammie does at her volunteer job, in her own words:

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your volunteer work and we'll post it on this page.
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