Print Name Date Volunteer Orientation Checklist Congratulations on becoming a volunteer at Clay County Animal Care and Control. Please know that we appreciate your valuable time, energy, and willingness to volunteer. The animals and the staff THANK YOU!!! General Rules We want to protect you, the shelter, and the animals. Please pay close attention to your orientation as we go through each item with you. Please do not hesitate to ask questions. We always appreciate your input. 1. All incidents, such as injuries, bites, scratches must be reported immediately. A written report will be required with your signature. 2. All volunteers may dress comfortably but conservatively. Closed toed shoes, comfortable pants, and comfortable shirts with no offensive graphics. Shorts are permitted, BUT MUST NOT BE TOO SHORT. No spaghetti strap shirts or midriff baring shirts are permitted. As a volunteer you will probably get a little dirty. 3. All volunteers will be required to sign in and sign out at the front desk. 4. Volunteer keys are available at the front desk. These keys will open the kennels and gates, except for any of the animals that are under quarantine which cannot be handled and have a different lock. 5. Volunteers should park in the employee area by the house which houses the administrative offices. 6. Smoking is only permitted outside at the break area by the house. 7. Please ensure that all cage doors and gates are closed after you enter or exit. 8. Be careful when walking in kennel areas, as the floors can be very slippery due to cleaning and humidity. No running inside of the kennels or buildings please. 9. We are working very hard on our positive image and our goal of not euthanizing any animals that are healthy or treatable. We want to make sure that customers are aware of the fact that we are an open admission facility and still have to make euthanasia decisions but do not want to be described as a kill facility by our staff or volunteers. So far this year, we have only had to euthanize 12% of the animals that we have taken in which is a huge improvement. 10. We unfortunately have some negative interactions with customers here. If there is a staff member having a problem with a customer, please alert another staff member and do not get involved yourself. If you have a customer that is speaking inappropriately to you, please alert a staff member. 11. We do get animals surrendered by their owners here and we are working on giving people alternatives but we ask that you let the staff members talk to them and not try to divert them in the parking lot or get involved in the discussions. 12. Please note that volunteers can be dismissed due to rule breaking, inappropriate behavior, etc.
DOGS 1. All cage doors must be completely closed when taking dogs out and when putting dogs back into their cages. 2. No outside food is given to the dogs. 3. Please do not give any treats to dogs inside of their kennels unless they are a singly housed dog with a treat bucket on the door. When you take dogs out for a walk, then you are welcome to treat them. 4. Volunteers can only walk one dog at a time. 5. All dogs must be walked on a slip leash or with a harness. 6. Dog walkers are responsible for cleaning up after the dogs. Scoopers and garbage cans are located outside in the walking areas. 7. No walking dogs in the parking lot. 8. Dogs can only be off leash in one of the secure play areas. 9. Dogs who have had surgery less than a week ago, can go for leash walks but are not allowed off leash, in the pools, or to be bathed. 10. Cage cards are located on each cage. These cards provide all info concerning the animal. Please make yourself familiar with these cards. You will be using them a lot as a volunteer. 11. The kennel cards are not always updated as quickly as we would like, so if you or a customer have a question about whether an animal is ready to go, please check in at the front desk. 12. Ensure dogs that are taken out of their cages are returned to the same cage. All animals are inventoried and maintained in our shelter software. 13. Do not move a dog to another cage unless told by a staff member. 14. Do not handle, feed, or stick your fingers in any of the kennels marked with a Quarantine or Authorized Personnel Only sign. 15. If you have a medical concern, please see the section on reporting your concern.
CATS 1. Ensure all cat cage doors are shut at all times. 2. Ensure that when taking cats out of their cages that they are returned to the same cage. This is only allowed for assisting a customer with meeting a cat or if you are assisting with cleaning. 3. Interacting with cats in the free roam or interaction room is welcome. In the cat rooms with cages, we ask that you do not remove cats from their cages to interact with them. Instead, interact with the cats in their cages and on the cat s terms. If a cat is not interested in interacting, just talk to the cat and do not force an interaction. 4. You are welcome to give the cats bedding, treats, and toys in their cages. 5. If you want to help staff with cat cage cleaning, please refer to our Cat Cleaning Protocol. It is not included with this volunteer orientation packet but can be provided to you. 6. We do not have kennel cards on all of the cats cages like we do on the dog kennels outside of the adoption area. We have a corkboard located in each of the cat rooms in the back building where we will keep current kennel cards for the cats in that room and the kennel/cage number is located on the card. 7. The kennel cards are not always updated as quickly as we would like, so if you or a customer have a question about whether an animal is ready to go, please check in at the front desk. 8. If you have a medical concern, please see the section on reporting your concern.
CCACC Foster Programs 1. Traditional Foster Program a. This is the type of program that you think of when you think of fostering for an animal shelter. b. Animals in need of foster are: nursing moms with litters, underage puppies and kittens, sick animals in need of recovery time, and injured animals in need of recovery time. c. The time frame for this type of foster is typically 2 4 weeks but could be up to 8 weeks. You need to be willing to bring the animal(s) in every 2 weeks for rechecks and preventative medical care. d. When they are ready for adoption, we will schedule their spay/neuter surgery and place them up for adoption unless you have found an interested adopter or have fallen in love yourself. e. Foster parents for this program need to be Clay County residents or a volunteer for Clay County Animal Care and Control 2. Free Agent Program a. This is a new program that can help expand our virtual kennel and help get more animals into homes. b. Animals is need of this program are animals that are ready for adoption (current on vaccines, already altered, etc.) but are getting overlooked in the shelter, need some time out, or we are crowded at our facility. c. The timeframe for this type of foster is typically a few months but should not extend beyond 6 months. You will be expected to be marketing your foster animal and trying to find a new adopter for them. You will be expected to take them to at least one offsite adoption venue monthly. d. Foster parents for this program can be Clay County residents but can also be residents of surrounding counties. e. Since the animals are already ready for adoption, if we do not hear back from foster parents with animals in this program in a timely manner, they do not attend offsite adoption venues with their foster animal, or if the foster period extends beyond 6 months then Clay County Animal Care and Control will complete the adoption in the foster parent s name and mail them the adoption paperwork. 3. Bow Wow Breakout Club a. We are starting another new program to help get our animals out into new environments, get them some out of kennel exposure, and gain more information on them. b. We have a modified foster agreement to sign up to do a temporary foster of an animal to take them out for a run, on a hike, to the beach, or for an overnight sleepover. c. When animals are out for this program, we would like them to wear an adopt me bandana or vest so that people who see them know that they are available for adoption. d. This is a very short term foster and the animal should be back on the next business day.
Grooming and Bathing We welcome help with getting our dogs groomed, bathed, and looking good for adoption! Please check with a staff member prior to bathing a dog to make sure that it hasn t had surgery within the last week. There are bathing supplies in the kitchen in the adoption building as well as the bathroom with the bathtub in the adoption building. You are welcome to bath dogs in the bathtub or outside with a hose if the weather is nice. There is a bathing hose on the back pad that is supplied with hot and cold water. You are welcome to use this hose to make bath time more comfortable for the dog. Please make sure that you clean up when you are done (towels, shampoos, turn off hoses and hang them back up, etc.). Inmates Clay County inmates clean all of the shelter dog runs each morning from 6:30 until 11:30 am. In addition, they help with the laundry and dishes. Please do not interact with the inmates and report to a staff member, any inmate making comments or gestures. Laundry We always have an abundance of dirty laundry that we often get behind on. The washer and dryer are located in the kitchen in the back building. During your volunteer day, if you are walking by and have a second to switch the laundry over, we would greatly appreciate it! Euthanasia We do unfortunately have to euthanize animals here but luckily it is not very often. We will have some planned euthanasia that we try to have done before we open but we will also have some emergencies. Please make sure that you always knock on the door to the intake/exam rooms before entering. In the back building, there will be a large sign displayed and volunteers are asked to not go past the sign.
CCACC Adoption Holds Any animal that is ready for adoption, cannot have an adoption hold placed on it. Adoption ready animals are first come, first serve to an adopter or a rescue. Adoption ready animals are not available to go to rescue until they have been available for 24 hours. After they have been available for 24 hours, any animal at CCACC is available for rescue. Any animal in its stray holding period, must stay at CCACC unless there is a medical reason (such as orthopedic trauma, severe medical condition, underage, in need of nursing care, etc.) that the animal needs to go to foster. In this case, the animal can go to a CCACC foster or with an approved rescue for foster care. If the owner comes forward, the animal will need to be returned immediately. If a rescue is fostering the dog or cat, the animal can be transferred to them after the stray period. Any animal in its stray holding period (except for quarantines), can have an adoption hold placed on. The potential adopter must come by 4 pm on the first business day that the animal is available. If they do not, then the animal will be made available the next business day and will be first come, first serve. No bite quarantine dog can have a hold placed on it, until the quarantine is over and it has been evaluated for placement. We do not place holds for rescue groups. If a rescue wants to pull a dog that is available and has no adoption holds, then they are welcome to after it has been available for 24 hours.
What To Do If You Have A Medical Concern About a CCACC Animal 1. If you feel that it is an emergency, alert the first staff member that you see. Emergencies would be things like an animal that has collapsed, isn t moving, appears to have had a seizure, a dog fight with injuries, an animal that is bleeding, etc. 2. If you have noticed something like an animal sneezing, coughing, or having discharge from its eyes, limping, diarrhea in its kennel, felt a mass, etc. then we ask you to fill out a Request For A Veterinary Exam form. This are located on clipboards in each building and you can submit them in the file bin located on the door to the exam/intake room. It is the door in the hallway between the adoption dog kennels. 3. We appreciate your assistance with this. We walk through each morning and address any concerns we see. Having volunteers fill out a form rather than stop the staff members will help us be more efficient! Request for Veterinary-Exam Form Animal name: Animal #: Species: Location: Complaint: Name: Date/Time:
Clay County Animal Care & Control Volunteer Agreement My name is and I hereby agree to accept a position in a voluntary capacity as a volunteer for Clay County Animal Care & Control. I understand the term Voluntary means the way in which actions or services are rendered to CCACC. Such actions and services are rendered to CCACC with generous and charitable motives. No liabilities whatsoever will incurred by CCACC to anyone who performs Voluntary Capacity. Please Initial: Terms and Conditions I fully understand that my services are provided strictly in a volunteer capacity and I agree to provide my services to CCACC strictly as a volunteer. I understand that I will receive no compensation, salary, employee benefits or payment of any kind for the services I render. I fully understand and agree to assume all risks involved in any and all duties that I perform for CCACC in my volunteer capacity. Such duties might include, but are not limited to, animal handling, customer service, and other volunteer duties. I agree to familiarize myself with CCACC policies and procedures and will fully comply with both the letter and spirit of these policies and procedures. I understand the policies and procedures are subject to change. I fully understand that CCACC expects high standards of moral and ethical treatment of animals under its care. I agree to adhere strictly to these standards in my voluntary capacity at the shelter. I agree not to represent CCACC outside my immediate volunteer capacity. CCACC employs designated spokesperson(s) to handle the concerns of animal welfare issues. This is to include emails, Facebook, and internet posts. I fully understand and agree that either failure to comply with any and all of the obligations outlined in this volunteer agreement for any reason whatsoever, while performing my volunteer services with CCACC in a voluntary capacity, CCACC at its sole discretion, may immediately terminate my services.
Release 1. I understand that the handling of the animals and other volunteer activities on behalf of CCACC may place me in a hazardous situation and could result in an injury to me or my personal property. On behalf of myself, and my heirs, personal reprehensive and assigns, I hereby release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless CCACC and its directors, employees, and agent from any and all claims, cause of action and demands of any nature, whether known or unknown, arising out of or in connection with my volunteer activities on behalf of CCACC. 2. Understanding that the public relations are an important part of a volunteer s activities on behalf of CCACC, I will not disseminate via email, internet or other means, negative or demeaning statements concerning the shelter. I will promote the shelter in a positive light for the benefit of the animals. Signature of volunteer Date If you are under 18 we must have your parent or legal guardian s signature below. Parent or legal Guardian As a parent or legal guardian of the above named volunteer, I hereby give consent for my child or ward, as the case maybe, to become a Volunteer for Clay County Animal Care & Control Services as described in the above volunteer Agreement and, by the signature below, join in and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the release above. Signature of Parent or Legal Guardian Date Staff/Volunteer Conducting Orientation Date Volunteer Signature