Volunteer

We hope that you will become a part of our Dogs Without Borders family! Join us by volunteering in one of the following areas:

Adoption Fairs

This is one of the best places to start getting your feet wet. Meet our dogs, staff, and learn about our adoption process. It’s a great way to work with the dogs directly, meeting new people, and fun way to spend your weekends. To get started fill out a volunteer application and let us know which fairs work best for you. Then just sign up!

Note: If it is your first fair you MUST sign up as a FIRST TIME VOLUNTEER. If the spots are already full, sorry, try another week.

We have two locations opportunities:

SATURDAYS

…from 1pm to 4pm (if you need to leave at a specific time before the end of fair just let us know!)
Tailwaggers
1929 N. Bronson Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90068

 

My Pet Naturally

3240 Pico Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA  90405

 

Duties include:  setting up dog pens, customer service, cleaning plenty of pee and poo, and of course, giving our dogs plenty of love and attention which they deserve!

Fostering:

Do you have room for a four legged guest? We are actively seeking volunteers to foster dogs and save them from the over-crowded shelters. Every dog we get out of the pound saves a dog from being put down. See our Foster a Dog for more information.

Transporting:

We’re always in need of help transporting dogs from one location to another. During the week, dogs need to be transported to and from vet visits, grooming appointments, foster homes, etc. On the weekend, we need help transporting dogs to and from our adoption fairs. If you have a car and some free time, let us know and we’ll add you to our list of transporters!

Home Inspections:

Before an adoption is approved, we always do a home inspection to ensure that our dog is going to a safe environment. In general, we make sure there are no ways a dog can escape, such as gaps in a fence, or balcony that may pose a major risk. We also look for evidence of harmful chemicals such as rat poisons, roach hotels, automotive supplies (such as antifreeze, it happens to taste sweet to animals) or things like loose wires that could pose a threat (especially if adopting a puppy!).
Keeping trash behind closed cabinet doors, or in a trash can with a secure lid is highly recommended. If you’re interested in becoming one of our home inspectors, let us know!

Office Work:

We’re always in need of volunteers to come to our office to help us out with basic office work but we’re especially in need of someone with bookkeeping/accounting experience. If you think you can help us out, let us know!

Fundraising:

If you have any fundraising or grant writing experience, we could definitely use your help. Please contact us!

Photography:

A great photo makes a huge difference in how shelter dogs are perceived by potential adopters, and a professionally taken photo – even if it’s a hobby photographer with a professional caliber camera – makes our rescues stand out even more. I truly appreciate you considering offering your time and skills to our dogs.

THE DETAILS:
We need a volunteer photographer for about an hour (or longer, you’re welcome to stay the whole fair if you like) at every adoption fair we hold. We have fairs 7 times a month. Photos should be digital and delivered within 24 hours of the fair so they can be posted on Petfinder Monday morning.

EXAMPLES:  (click on the thumbnails below to see large images)

School-aged volunteers

Volunteering with animals is a wonderful way to teach social responsibility and compassion. We love having school aged children attend our fairs as volunteers and will happily sign off on any paperwork needed to confirm volunteer service for schools, church groups, temples or other institutions that require their youth to get involved with the community.

Our lowest age limit for volunteers is 12 and we require that children under 16 are supervised by a parent or guardian while at fair until we give the “OK” for them to attend on their own. We also recommend that first time ‘tweens come with a friend to keep the buddy system in effect. DWB strives to stay involved with all volunteers while at fair but things can get crazy and we cannot guarantee that all children will be supervised at all times. We expect a little maturity and autonomy!

If you would like to send your child to volunteer with us please make sure we have your full contact details available in case of emergency.

Groups

Unfortunately we cannot accommodate groups at this time.  If you would like to join us at an adoption fair with a few friends that’s totally OK, but corporate, sorority and other groups should try contacting the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation about visiting their ranch outside of LA to spend a day snuggling with dogs in need.

Corporate Volunteers

If you work for a large company it’s possible they will “double” your volunteer value by making a donation to us for every hour you join us. Search and find out whether you qualify!

Court-ordered volunteer service

We welcome volunteers from all walks of life! If you need to full fill court ordered community service (for a non-violent, non animal abuse related crime) we would be happy to have you come to our fairs, join our transport team or even walk dogs in boarding!

Of course, we hope that at the end of your required service you continue to volunteer with DWB, but regardless of what you choose to do, our volunteer coordinator can sign off on your paperwork or write your supervisor a letter to confirm your service.

Specific needs

We maintain a list of current needs HERE. All positions on this page are UP TO DATE. If they appear we need you to help!