Providing a loving foster home for our animals is so important it has its own page on our site. Read all about our foster home program here.

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Our photographers are responsible for taking striking photos of our adoptable animals, cropping and editing as needed, and sending them to the Petfinder manager. We would also love to have a volunteer or volunteers willing to take photos at our special events.

Ideal volunteers for this position will have:

• Digital camera and the ability to take nice, clear photos
• Technical ability to load and edit photos
• Reliable computer and internet service (free editing software packages are available online)
• Willingness to come to the shelter to take photos as necessary
• Reliability and timeliness so the adoptable animals get posted to Petfinder in a timely manner
• An artistic eye is definitely a plus!

Our bio writers are responsible for writing colorful, accurate descriptions for our adoptable pets. These bios will be used both in the shelter and on Petfinder.

Ideal volunteers for this position will have:

• Good writing skills, including attention to grammar and sentence structure
• The ability to write in a creative, positive style
• Reliable computer and internet service to transmit the bios to the Petfinder manager
• Willingness to come to the shelter to meet the animals as necessary
• Reliability and timeliness so the adoptable animals get posted to Petfinder in a timely manner
• We would love to find volunteers with previous writing experience and/or education

Our Petfinder manager is responsible for loading our adoptable animals to our Petfinder site. The manager will receive bios and photos of new animals from volunteers, edit as necessary, and post the adoptable animals. Once an animal has been adopted the Petfinder Manager will alter the animal's status on Petfinder accordingly. The Petfinder Manager will ask the photographers/bio writers to update as necessary if a particular animal is not getting a reasonable amount of attention.

Ideal volunteers for this position will have:

• Self-motivation and responsibility
• Good writing skills, including attention to grammar and sentence structure (bio editing)
• An understanding of the importance of good photos and bios to attract attention to our animals on Petfinder
• The ability to work well and in a positive manner with other volunteers
• Reliable computer and internet service and intermediate technical ability
• Willingness to keep the Petfinder site updated on a daily basis
• This position does not require travel to the shelter

We always need help in our shelter! There are a lot of opportunities in working directly in the shelter, including:

• Working with the public
• Answering the phone
• Cleaning kennels/cages
• Feeding and administering medication
• General administrative work

Skills needed for shelter work vary by the type of work you are interested in:

• Reliability is a must for all shelter positions - if you say you'll be there, we need to know you will be there or give us as much notice as possible if you have to miss a shift.
• Good people skills and a positive, professional manner if working with the public
• Knowledge of proper animal handling techniques if working directly with the animals
• Training will be provided

This one is pretty self-explanatory. We can always use volunteers to come and take our dogs for good, long walks. The dogs spend a lot of time in their kennels, and very much need to exercise and attention they get from walks with the volunteers.

Ideal volunteers for this position will have:

• Knowledge of proper dog walking and handling techniques
• Knowledge of if/how to allow the public to interact with each dog
• Training will be available

These are specialized volunteer positions that involve working with the public prior to, during, and after adoptions. Positions include:

• Screening potential adoptive homes - shelter animals
• Screening potential adoptive homes - foster animals
• Finalizing adoption paperwork
• Post-adoption follow-up

Volunteers for these positions will need:

• Good people skills and a positive, professional manner at all times
• Specialized training provided by us

Transport volunteers use their personal vehicles to transport animals to/from events, vet appointments, etc. We also need volunteers to pick up donated supplies and food.

Requirements for these positions are:

• A reliable vehicle that is licensed and insured
• For animal transports, the vehicle must have enough space for kenneled animals
• Maturity and responsibility to ensure safety of animals and humans
• A professional and positive demeanor when representing Mt. Vernon Animal Shelter

We can always use friendly animal-lovers to help us out at special events! If you aren't able to commit to a regular volunteer position but would be interested in helping out at the occasional special event, please let us know and we'll keep you on our list of special event volunteers.

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