Youth Volunteer Handbook

Youth Volunteer Handbook Did you know? - Volunteers help care for over 3,000 dogs and cats at the Dearborn Animal Shelter last year? - Volunteering at the Dearborn Animal Shelter may count toward credit hours at your school? Dearborn Animal Shelter 2661 Greenfield Road (Just south of I-94) Dearborn, MI 48120 Phone: (313) 943-2697 Fax: (313) 943-2262 www.dearbornaanimals.org

Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter Youth Volunteer Handbook The Friends Volunteer Services (313) 943 2697 ext. #3555 Volunteers and Donations Welcome (TAX ID # 38 3171570TT) Important Notes: - The Parent/Guardian Signature form (Volunteer Release and Save Harmless Agreement) from our website MUST be returned prior to your first day volunteering. - The Zoonotic Disease sheets at the end this handbook are to be reviewed by your parent/guardian. Please understand that these are diseases/parasites/viruses that you could be exposed to working in a shelter environment. Furthermore, understand that contracting these diseases/parasites/viruses is very rare. - Remember you can sign up one month in advance. - You are asked to purchase a volunteer t shirt for a minimal fee. T shirts can be purchased at the Front Office. If you are unable to purchase one or if we are temporarily out of stock please wear a plain grey t shirt. - Please read this handbook in its entirety prior to your first day volunteering. Welcome to the Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter volunteer family. The Friends is a nonprofit organization that was formed in 1993 by a small group of people who wanted to improve the conditions for the animals at the Dearborn Animal Shelter and to promote their adoption into loving homes. The mission of the Friends is: Provide loving care and sanctuary to animals, encourage adoptions and reunions, and promote respect, responsibility, and compassion for all animals. Friends Policies and Procedures Working with the animals is a responsibility and privilege that the Friends take seriously. As such, we ask that you follow the policies and procedures outlined in the Volunteer Handbook. Failure to follow the rules may result in probation, suspension, or termination. The Dearborn Animal Shelter The shelter is managed by the Friends Executive Director, Elaine Greene and her staff. The City has Police Ordinance Officers (Animal Control) who are responsible for responding to reports of strays or animals matters in the community.

Animals arrive at the shelter in various sources: Strays Most of the animals at the shelter are strays brought in by Dearborn Animal Control or concerned residents. By Michigan law, the Friends must hold a stray animal for 4 days (7 days if the animal is wearing some type of identification) to allow owners ample time to reclaim lost pets. After the required number of days, if the animal is healthy and non aggressive, she/he is put up for adoption. Owner Surrender Some animals are surrendered by their owners for a variety of reasons. The owner must sign the animal over to the Friends. The animal is then evaluated for adoption based on health, temperament, and availability of cage space. Safekeeping These are animals that have a known owner and have been taken for temporary housing due to a court case or owner inability to provide care for the animals. These animals may or may not be available to be adopted. Some are returned to the owners others are surrendered Restricted Areas in the Shelter For the safety of yourself and the animals in our care youth volunteers are not permitted to enter the Garage, Isolation Ward, Nursery, Cat Community Centers, Front Office, Storage Room, Staff Locker Room; unless directed to do so from shelter staff. Just Remember: Don t go through red colored doors! In Shelter Basics Hours: Monday Friday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. OR 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 11 am, or 11 am to 1 pm, or 1 pm to 3 p.m. Students must sign up in advance on the volunteer website. o You may sign up only 1 month in advance. o You may work a two hour block of time. o You may only volunteer 2 Saturdays per month & only 2 week days per week. o YOUTH VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO VOLUNTEER ON SUNDAYS OR HOLIDAYS WHEN THE SHELTER IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. o If you cannot make a shift, you must call the volunteer coordinator at least 24 hours in advance to cancel. o Can I bring a friend? Only friends who have gone through the Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter Youth Volunteer Orientation and are scheduled to work during your sift may come with you. o If you are unable to make your shift you may call the shelter to cancel. Though due to circumstances we are unable to sign up youth volunteers for shifts over the telephone. In order to sign up for days you must do so online. Rides

ALL STUDENT VOLUNTEERS MUST BE PICKED UP AT THE END OF THEIR SHIFT (If your shift ends at 3 p.m., your parent or guardian must be here at 3 P.M. AT THE LATEST). Sign In and Sign Out Don t forget to sign in and out on the volunteer log sheet. It is vital that every volunteer signs in and out so in case of an emergency we know exactly how many volunteers are in the building. Unless there is an emergency, it is not acceptable for student volunteers to leave the premises, and then return during their shift. Hour Tracking Don t forget to log your hours at the end of your session online at www.dearbornanimals.org or in the volunteer time tracker binder. Remember that time sheets are collected at the end of each month, which means you will need to fill out a new form at the beginning of each month. Youth volunteers are required to log 20 hours per year to remain active. Youth volunteers are considered inactive by not volunteering over the course of one year. Volunteer records are reviewed throughout the year; inactive volunteers will be deleted from the volunteer list. Volunteers will be notified in writing via e mail or mail or by telephone. Attire Wear comfortable clothes that you don t mind getting dirty; for example, jeans and sneakers. Shorts and sandals are not permitted. Dress for the weather. All volunteers are asked to purchase an official volunteer T shirt. Volunteers are asked to wear their T shirts when working at the shelter and at off site events in order to be visible to staff, fellow volunteers, and the public. You MUST wear your Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter name tag. Do not bring valuables to the shelter. Neither the Friends nor the City is responsible for items lost or stolen. Cellular Phone Use We ask that while on shelter property as a volunteer you keep your cellular phone use to a minimum. Please only use your cell phone for emergency purposes or calling for a ride home. We ask that when you are volunteering with the Friends that you focus at the task at hand and that is socializing with animals. You and the Public As a volunteer, you are an ambassador of the Friends and will be interacting with the public. Focus on being friendly and pleasant and making visitors feel welcome. The more you visit the shelter, the more familiar you will become with the policies and procedures.

Some basic rules: If you are unable to answer questions posed by potential owners, please consult with a member of the staff. Never give out incorrect information. NEVER allow the public to open a cage, enter a cage, or walk the dogs for your, their, and the animals safety. DOGS: You may show a dog to a potential owners by taking him/her for a walk outside or visiting with him/her in the volunteer room, but you must be in control of the animal at all times. PUPPIES: The volunteer room is a good place to show puppies, but please clean up any accidents and make sure that you keep a vey careful eye on your charge. Puppies that are allowed to roam free may ingest pest control materials that are toxic. CATS: A cat should be shown in the room that he or she is housed: the room or the puppy room. A potential parent may hold a cat, but only after you have removed the cat from the cage and determined that he/she is at ease. TAKE OUT ONLY ONE CAT AT A TIME AND NEVER PUT A CAT OR KITTEN ON THE FOOR. How to Handle the Animals Being a responsible volunteer means keeping your eyes and ears open and using caution and common sense. We want the shelter to be a safe environment for our animals, staff members, volunteers, and visitors. Note: Tetanus shots are recommended for volunteers working with animals, but not required. Health and Safety Please DO NOT: Open a cage that has a DANGER or other warning sign on it. Stick fingers into cages. Allow members of the public to sick fingers into cages. Put your hand into a cage when an animal is eating. Go into restricted areas. Give food, treats, or blankets to any animal unless given permission by the staff. Please DO: Report any signs that an animal may be ill (sores, limp, runny nose, watery eyes, poor appetite, etc.) to a staff member. Report all bites, scratches, slips or falls to the Executive Director or Shelter Manager. Preventing the Spread of Infection Wash your hands with antiseptic soap after handling animal and before you touch another. Do not allow animals to share toys Do not let animals come in contact with each other. Do not let an animal touch another animal s waste. Take a plastic bag and clean up after the dog you are walking. DOGS

Walking Dogs Youth volunteers are only permitted to walk dogs that have smiley face stickers on their cage cards. Assess a dog before entering his cage. Notice his body language and read his cage card carefully. Any dog that does not have a cage card, a white colored cage card, or a colored cage card without a smiley face sticker on it is not to be walked by a youth volunteer. DO NOT walk any dog that makes you uncomfortable! If the dog does not want to come out of this cage, leave him/her alone and inform a staff member. Entering a dog s cage is the equivalent of entering his den and could become aggressive. Dogs must be walked on a restraint chain type collar (known as a choke chain) and leash or a martingale collar. Keep your dog close to you and on a short leash while walking through the shelter and when entering and exiting the back door. They are excited about being outside and will pull you and want to interact with other people or dogs. Keep ten (10) feet from other dogs. If another volunteer intrudes into your space kindly ask them to keep the ten foot distance. When walking a dog stay away from driveway! Cars coming and going do no realize there are people walking dogs. Where to walk? Just around in the field, try and keep parking lot walking to a minimum. Do not walk beyond the yellow fire hydrants. DO NOT LEAVE THE PREMISIS. Remember to take a plastic bag to clean up after the dogs! Deposit waste in the buckets by the garage door or use the dumpster in corner of the parking lot. Dog Kennel Cleaning The dog kennel has to be kept clean and disinfected to prevent the spread of disease among the dogs. Please see the staff to learn the correct cleaning procedures. If you see an animal in a dirty cage, please tell a staff member or an adult volunteer. Do NOT leave animal waste lying in the walk ways. Use the scooper to pick up the waste and deposit the waste in the bucket. Puppy Care Puppies under 4 months are NOT walked. They have immature immune systems and we want to limit exposure to disease. Socialize puppies in the volunteer room. Socializing = gentle cuddling and playtime. You should take your puppy outside to go the bathroom in the puppy pen before playtime; never leave the puppy unattended. While in the volunteer room, make sure to keep an eye on your puppy so that he does not get into harm s way. Please clean up any accidents using disinfectant. Do NOT handle puppies roughly, or keep them in the volunteer room too long. They need rest, plus are susceptible to disease, so exposure must be limited.

You should sweep out puppy cages, replace newspaper and bedding that is wet or dirtied, and replace toys that have become soiled. Puppy cages need to be cleaned frequently throughout the day. CATS Water While you should not feed the cats unless directed to do so by a staff member, the cats should always have fresh water. If you are doing a quick watering job, use the plastic watering can located in the cat room. The watering can is also handy for adding fresh water to cages of cats that are difficult to manage. NOTE: You should use room temperature water. Handling Cats Asses a cat before opening his cage. Notice his/her body language and read his/her cage card carefully if an animal does not have a cage card tell a staff member. Do not attempt to take a cat out of his cage if he appears frightened or aggressive! Sometimes it is enough just to stroke his/her head and talk in comforting tones. Only ONE cat should be outside the cage at a time. Please make sure the main door of the adoption room is shut, and do not put the cat on the floor. Do not handle kittens too roughly or for too long. They need lots of rest. Do not take cats/kittens from their adoption rooms. Cat Cage Cleaning When doing a complete cleaning of the cat cages, always do a through job or disease will spread among the cats. Please see the staff to receive proper training in cleaning cat cages. Between cleanings, the cages may require some maintenance. Some basic tips: Use a small whisk broom to sweep out cages. Make sure the water dishes are clean and free of food, liter, and newspaper. Scoop the litter when necessary. The scoopers should be washed in a solution of bleach and water between uses. If the newspaper is wet and dirtied, remove the newspaper, discard, and replace with fresh paper. You will need to move the cat into a cat carrier or have another volunteer hold the cat while changing the news paper. The holding cage/carrier must be cleaned and disinfected after its use. Our Adoption Process

When showing an animal many people will ask you about our adoption process. Here are the basics! If someone is interested in adopting one of our animals direct them to the front office to fill out an adoption application. We do not do same day adoptions. It takes 24 to 48 hours to process applications. All adoption fees include sterilization (spaying/neutering), vaccinations to the date of adoption, worming, fecal test, rabies vaccine if they are 4 months or older. Dogs 6 months or older Heartworm test. I m Pending sign; this means that there is one or more applications in on the animal but we still encourage people to fill out an application. As a precaution we can never guarantee that an animal that doesn t have a pending or adoption sign has not been spoken for. Have the potential adopters check with the front office for an animals availability. If you are posed with a question that you are not 100% of the answer refer them to the front desk. Adoption prices are posted all through out the shelter. Never give false information. Upkeep of General Areas Always remember that a clean shelter is a mark of a successful shelter. If the animals are kept in a lean environment, they stay healthy and happy. If the cages and general areas are clean, the shelter is a pleasant place for the animals, the workers, the volunteers, and potential adopters. Dishes When washing dishes, toys, litter pans, etc. please follow the directions that are posted over the kennel sink. If you have any questions ask a staff member. It indicates the correct proportion of disinfectant and bleach to use. Spread the clean items across the counter to dry. If there is time, please put the dry items away. Note: We recommend wearing gloves when washing dishes; the dish water can be hard on your hands! Windows Clean the windows with glass cleaner and paper towels. Please do not waste paper towels. Sweeping and Mopping Periodically throughout the day all floors need to be swept and mopped. Both the broom/dustpan and the mop are located in the dog kennels. In shelter Work Priorities Not sure what to do? When volunteering at the shelter, the priorities are as follows:

1. The MOST important task is to make sure all the animals are given love and socialization. Pats, strokes on the head, soft words, cuddles, and praise go a long way. The more the animals are positively conditioned, the more adoptable they become. 2. Assist showing animals to potential adopters. 3. Make sure all cats and puppies have fresh water. 4. Ensure that all cages are clean. 5. Walk and exercise the dogs. 6. Please make sure that the general shelter areas are clean. This includes the outside of the shelter where waste tends to accumulate. 7. Be sure to ask staff member if any other work needs to be completed.