May 22, 2012

Volunteer with Pets for Life NYC

Get involved with Pets for Life in New York City

About our volunteers

Our dedicated volunteers staff our animal surrender prevention hotline, temporarily foster animals, handle adoption follow-up calls, provide pet-related landlord-tenant information, or assist with transport of animals or supplies. Volunteers are critical to this program’s success, which is designed to keep pets safely in their homes.

Volunteer opportunities

Adoption Follow-up Caller: Make follow up calls to recent Animal Care & Control of NYC adopters and offer advice and services when needed to prevent the animals’ return to the shelter.

Foster Parent: Provide a temporary foster home for pets of people who have been affected by life crises such as domestic violence, fires, homelessness, hospitalization, etc. Pets are reunited with their  families once crises have been resolved and they are back on stable footing, keeping the animals out of the shelter system.

Hotline Volunteer: Keep pets in their homes and with their families by providing free and reduced cost resources, solutions and guidance to callers who are considering relinquishing their pets to local animal shelters. Hotline work is done from home and requires a phone line.

Transporter: Transport animals whose families cannot do so to veterinary appointments or foster homes, or pick up/deliver donated pet food or supplies.

What our volunteers say 

“Such a nice feeling to hear from thankful clients…and to know their pets got to stay in their loving home and not be sent to the shelter.”

“I get to think creatively—“out of the box”—save animals AND do it from home!”

“This program should be available in all cities!”

Benefits of volunteering

Volunteers with Pets for Life NYC have the opportunity to help make a huge difference in the lives of people and pets by providing them with the resources and solutions they need to stay together. Volunteers are provided extensive training and join a community of people working toward the same goal of supporting New York City’s pets by helping them to stay in their homes and out of shelters. Volunteers also will learn and perfect such skills as creative thinking and communicating, problem-solving, counseling, and animal advocacy.   

Becoming a volunteer

Commitment Policies:

• Hotline Volunteers commit to covering one shift per week that is 1–3 hours in length.
• Foster Parents temporarily foster a pet for a length of time that is determined by each case, the average being several months.

Restrictions:

• Volunteers must be a minimum of 18 years of age. (Foster Parents can have youths under 18 in the home with the pet, but the adult shall be the primary care giver to the pet.)
• Volunteers must pass a criminal background check.
• Volunteers must meet the requirements outlined in the Essential Capabilities document.

Process

• Complete an online application form. A staff member from Pets for Life NYC will contact you to discuss opportunities and schedule you for an orientation.
• If, after the orientation, we mutually determine that the opportunity appears to be a good fit, you will be asked to fill out an authorization form allowing us to carry out a background check based on the type of position for which you are applying.
• Following the completion of the background check, you will be asked to sign a volunteer agreement and a waiver and release of liability.
• After you are made an official volunteer, you will be trained in all aspects of your volunteer work.

Fill out a volunteer application now