Thousands of animals pass through our shelter every year. Our staff works hard to provide excellent, compassionate care to every single animal, but we need help. Our volunteers help us give our animals more comfort, love, security, and fun.
The first step to becoming a volunteer at Memphis Animal Services is attending our Level 1 Volunteer Orientation, which is available online here. After completing the steps in this 31-minute video orientation, you’ll be ready to join us as a Level 1 Volunteer, meaning you help in a number of ways that don’t involve direct animal handling.
After you’ve officially become a Level 1 Volunteer, if you would like to progress to animal handling, you can attend a Level 2 Dog Handling Course and/or a Level 2 Cat Handling Course, both of which are offered twice monthly (once on Saturday and once on Sunday).
Level 1 Volunteers are welcome to attend both handling coursesif you would like to work with both dogs and cats!
Volunteers fill many roles at MAS, including:
VOLUNTEER WITH DOGS
VOLUNTEER WITH CATS
IN-SHELTER BASIC VOLUNTEER DUTIES
-Walking dogs in our 9 play yards
-Socializing cats
-Teaching basic obedience to dogs
-Taking photos of adoptable pets
-Taking videos of adoptable pets
-Introducing dogs and/or cats to potential adopters
-Doing laundry
OFFSITE BASIC VOLUNTEER DUTIES
-Working off-site adoption events, including greeting visitors, handling pets, introducing pets to potential adopters, adoption counseling, etc.
IN-SHELTER SPECIALIZED VOLUNTEER DUTIES
-MAS needs veterinarians and vet techs to volunteer! Veterinarians can now earn 4 of their required 20 annual CEs by volunteering at MAS. Email Shanna Wall, DVM, if you’re interested! Volunteer orientation not required.
FROM-HOME BASIC AND SPECIALIZED VOLUNTEER DUTIES
-Posting MAS strays on Nextdoor (you choose one day that you will post every week)
-Designing adoption flyers for pets and/or events
-Designing lost/found flyers for stray pets and posting in area found
-Writing bios for adoptable pets based on staff/volunteer feedback
–Volunteer orientation not required. Please email katie.pemberton@memphistn.gov if you’re interested.
For more information about our volunteer program, send us an email or call (901) 636-1448. We hope the time you spend here will be a very rewarding experience!
Volunteer Mission Statement
The volunteer program was developed to promote and complement the work of Memphis Animal Services in a voluntary capacity.
GOALS:
- To promote and support the work of Memphis Animal Services to complement staff efforts
- To provide care and assistance to the animals at Memphis Animal Services
- To assist with furthering the services and programs of Memphis Animal Services
- To provide public awareness and education on the proper care and treatment of animals
- To promote the human-animal bond
VALUES:
- The joy of returning pets to their families
- Placing pets into deserving homes
- Listing animals that will become loving pets on the website
- Welcoming new visitors to the center
- Making people aware of the needs of animals
- Being part of the solution to problems surrounding pet overpopulation
Volunteers are vital to any community-based program. Memphis Animal Services is no different. We rely on our volunteers for support in a variety of important and truly life-saving endeavors from customer service and adoption assistance to helping people reunite with their lost pets and assistance at off-site adoption events. There are countless ways you can help!