Volunteer

Volunteers are always needed (and appreciated) at Miranda's Rescue. If you love animals and would like to help improve their lives, volunteering can be very rewarding. Not only do you have the opportunity to help pets in need and meet people who share your love of animals, but there are few places you will find as much love as you will working with the dogs and cats.

What do volunteers do?

Very simply, Miranda's Rescue's volunteers care for and help to find homes for the shelter's animals. But, there are many different ways they do that.

• Volunteers clean kennels and cat boxes; they feed and water the animals and provide for their everyday needs.
• Volunteers help provide for the animals' social needs. Taking dogs out for walks, playing with kittens, or sitting quietly and petting an animal may not seem like a chore, but this is important work. Spending time with people helps keep the animals happy and improves their behavior. That makes them more adoptable.
• Volunteers attend adoption days with the animals to help them meet potential adopters.
• Volunteers staff the Miranda's Rescue Thriftshop, which raises money for the shelter.
• Volunteers do much of the behind the scenes work that keeps the shelter running. They answer phones and return calls, file paperwork, and make up the ads that appear in the newspaper.

How to volunteer

All volunteers must fill out a volunteer application and sign a release. Volunteers younger than 18 must have a parent or legal guardian sign the form. Volunteers who are 16 or younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian while volunteering unless previous arrangements are made with an experienced adult volunteer. It's a good idea to attend a volunteer orientation to get an overview of the shelter and the kinds of things that need to be done. If there is no orientation scheduled when you begin volunteering, contact one of our volunteer coordinators, and they can partner you up with an experienced volunteer your first time out. (It's still a good idea to attend an orientation when you get the chance.)

Hours for volunteering are the same as our open hours, which are currently weekdays from 10am to 2 pm and Saturdays from 10am to 4 pm. During the summer (and weather permitting) we will also be open on Wednesday nights from 5:30 to 8:00 with our volunteer coordinators present.

Our volunteer coordinator is JoLynne, and she can be contacted at 725-4449.

Fostering

Not all of the animals that Miranda's Rescue cares for are cut out for life in a shelter. Animals who are very young or old, or those who have been neglected or mistreated in the past, have a much better chance to thrive and find a happy permanent home if they wait for adoption in a foster home. A foster home gives these animals a chance to be part of a family, to interact with loving people and other animals, and to learn positive behavior in a supportive environment. A good foster home can literally mean the difference between life and death for some animals.

Fostering is not for everyone. It is very hard to love and care for an animal as your own and then give him or her up to someone else. But it can also be extremely rewarding to help a dog or cat in need prepare for life as part of a family.

Foster homes are needed throughout the year, but especially in the winter months and during the kitten and puppy season of late Spring. If you can provide an animal with a loving temporary home, please contact the shelter at 725-4449.