Volunteers Give Back on National Day of Service at County Animal Shelter

On Saturday, the National Day of Service, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter was buzzing with volunteers helping socialize animals, organize donations and help visitors stopping by to adopt a pet.

The volunteers do what they do, they say, for the love of the animals sheltered there and to help the animals find homes.

In addition to volunteering, many of the shelter's volunteers also help the animals by providing foster homes.

The shelter, housed in a newly constructed headquarters, is currently accepting new volunteers:

According to the shelter's website, the following positions are available:

As a new volunteer, you can share your time and talents to help animals in need.  Opportunities for involvement include: 

Cat Room Assistant: Assist in the socialization of cats available for adoption by handling, speaking softly and playing. Duties also include spot cleaning condos, replacing water, cleaning litter boxes throughout the day and taking cats out of condos to visit with potential adopters.

Dog Kennel Assistant: Assist in the socialization of dogs available for adoption by walking them in a specified area. Volunteers also assist animal caretakers with tasks, including cleaning kennels, filling water bowls and taking dogs out of kennels to visit with potential adopters.

Once accepted into the volunteer program, individuals can help in the following areas:

Administrative Assistant: Assist the volunteer coordinator with administrative tasks.

Foster Care Provider: Visit our Foster Care Provider page for more information. 

Front Office Assistant: Assist the front office staff with duties that include updating lost and found reports, assisting citizens at the counter with the purchase of licenses and answering questions regarding adoption policies and other animal issues.  Volunteers must attend a front office training.

Small Mammal Assistant: Assist animal caretakers with duties associated with rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and other small mammals. Duties include spot cleaning cages, replenishing water and hay and sweeping around cages. Volunteers also interact with the public and must attend a small mammal training.

Volunteer Mentor: Certain volunteers who have been at the shelter for a while are considered for our mentor program.  These individuals help to train new volunteers.