Volunteer Opportunities
Spare time? Good volunteers are always needed at Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center, and you could be one of them!
How to become a volunteer
Volunteers are very important people at TLC Animal Service Center. In a year's time, we receive over 10,000 lost, unwanted and abused pets. Won't you consider helping us make a difference in their lives?
To become a regular volunteer you must be:
- At least 16 years old
- Willing to commit to approximately 2 hours per week, 8 hours per month.
If you would like to volunteer, please provide us with a completed volunteer application. You may request one by calling 850-891-2970 or download the Volunteer Application (PDF). Simply fill out the information and either bring it with you to the shelter, or feel free to fax it to 850-891-2977. Or if you like, you can mail the completed application to:
Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center
Attention: Volunteer Coordinator
1125 Easterwood Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32311
If your availability and interests coincide with available volunteer positions, we will schedule you for a volunteer orientation session and a dog-handling class. Each session lasts approximately two hours, and is offered several times during the month. Following the orientation, and completion of the dog handling class, volunteers will interview one-on-one with the Volunteer Coordinator to determine the most suitable assignment and work schedule.
Why Volunteer?
- Develop new skills while exploring the field of animal care
- Meet new people with similar interests
- Acquire work experience
- Help out your community
- Most importantly, volunteering will make the day brighter for the pets in our care.
Veterinary Volunteer Program
Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center (TLCASC) is a regional animal shelter, owned by the City of Tallahassee, but serves the surrounding community. Our facility is an open-admission facility and received over 10,600 animals in 2006. The Veterinary Team (one full-time veterinarian and two full-time veterinary technicians) deals with the issues of overpopulation, stray and abandoned animals, population medicine (over 400 animals on site daily), and animal neglect on a daily basis. The staff veterinarian and veterinary technicians assess and treat all sick and injured animals that enter the facility. In addition to the urgent and emergent medical care provided to the animals, the Veterinary Team is responsible for surgical sterilization of all adoptable animals. The Animal Care Specialists assess all animals to determine if they are suitable for adoption and/or foster placement. If an animal is selected for adoption or foster, the animal is tested for heartworm(dogs) or FeLV/FIV(cats), vaccinated, dewormed and scheduled for surgical sterilization. Surgery is performed on-site in our new surgical suite. Surgery is generally performed 3 or 4 days a week, depending on the number of animals needing surgery and on the other demanding aspects of our job.
Veterinary Volunteers will primarily be involved is our surgery program. Primary duties include:
- Surgical pack sterilization and preparation
- Laundering the surgical linens
- Assisting with patient preparation for and recovery from surgery.
- Other duties may include assisting with animal exams, diagnostics and treatments.
* Due to the nature of shelter medicine, the exact activities will vary by season
Veterinary volunteers are asked to commit to a regular schedule of at least 2 hours per week; most Veterinary volunteers come for 4 to 6 hours once a week. Scrubs should be worn when working in the surgery suite; otherwise, neat clothing that you don't mind getting dirty can be worn for all other activities. Comfortable, close-toed shoes are mandatory.
Eligibility for the Veterinary Volunteer Program:
All Veterinary volunteers must be at least 18 years of age to participate. All individuals are welcome to apply; however, preference will be given to pre-veterinary students and individuals with experience working or volunteering in a veterinary hospital or animal shelter.
How to Apply:
Individuals wishing to participate in the Veterinary Volunteer Program must complete a standard Volunteer Application (PDF) in addition to the Veterinary Volunteer Program Application (PDF). Both applications should be submitted to the Volunteer Coordinator at the Animal Service Center. If selected for the Program, individuals must attend the following training sessions: (a) New Volunteer Orientation; (b) Dog-Handling Class; and (c) the Veterinary Volunteer Orientation.
Other Volunteer Duties
Animal Care Associate
- Involves working in the kennel area.
- Assist the public in meeting our animals. Escort animal to walk area for customer animal socialization. Retrieve animal from walk area and insure that animal is returned to correct kennel.
- Assist the public by answering questions.
- Walk dogs, socialize cats.
- Contact staff to answer difficult questions or to help customer in activities of a sensitive nature.
- Fill water bowls as needed.
- Spot clean kennels as needed.
- Bathe animals as needed.
Shelter Administrative Associate
- Assists the front office staff with filing, word processing, and contacting customers.
- File spay/neuter applications.
- Review present animals and check animal wish book for any potential matches.
- File lost/found reports and look for any potential matches.
- Aid in other areas of operation as needed.
Greeter/Information Assistant
- Welcome the public into the shelter and answer general information questions.
- Welcome guests as they enter the adoption lobby.
- Direct guests to the kennels and/or appropriate staff.
- Monitor the animals leaving the shelter (preventing theft).
Animal Photographer
- Identify adoptable animals that need their photographs taken for use on our online kennel
- Take animal photos with a digital camera (preferably your own)
- Work with our database to assign photos to the correct animals
Outreach volunteer and special event volunteer
- Participates in Adoption Outreach Booths
- Participates in special event and fund-raising activities such as the following:
- Adopt-A-Thons
- Tails and Trails - 5k, 10k, and 1 mile fun runs (annually)
- Bark & Wine: Art for Animals (quarterly art exhibits)
- "Cash For Critters" Pack-a-Thons (monthly)
Volunteering doesn't have to involve a large commitment, though the Animal Service Center asks that you work a similar time slot every week. An hour or two on a Saturday afternoon isn't a big chunk out of your week, but it will mean the world to the shelter staff and the dogs (cats) you can walk during that time.