Help Us
Volunteer Guidelines

Volunteer Requirements for Adults & Youth

Ages 8-15 are welcome to volunteer at the shelter but must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian at all times. Orientation and training classes are required. Certain restrictions apply.

Ages 16 or older may volunteer independently at the shelter (with a signed parental waiver). Certain restrictions apply.

All volunteers MUST complete Five (5) hour online Fear Free Certification before handling any animals in the shelter. Volunteers MUST show proof of certificate.

If you are interested in handling animals, we ask that you commit to giving at least six (6) hours per month for at least six (6) months because of the training involved. (Short-term volunteering and one-day service projects are available upon request.)

Questions? Please contact the Volunteer Manager at Volunteering@lostourhome.org or (602) 445-7397.

How to start

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Lost Our Home Pet Rescue!

Click the link at the bottom of this page (Apply to Become a Volunteer) to create your volunteer profile and complete your registration

Sign the waiver – under 18 requires a parent/guardian signature!

Attend volunteer Orientation
Complete Shelter Maintenance First Shift to learn the duties and get to know the shelter, then complete three (3) Shelter Maintenance shifts

All volunteers MUST complete five (5) hour online Fear Free Certification before handling any animals in the shelter. Fear Free is how Lost Our Home manages our shelter to make shelter life less stressful for the pets we serve.  Volunteers MUST show proof of certificate.

Sign up for Green Paw Cat or Dog training session – once completed you will be able to handle animals, that is the fun part!

Commit to volunteer at least six (6) hours a month for at least six (6) consecutive months.

Questions? Please contact us at Volunteering@lostourhome.org!

Group Policies:

  • To provide the most meaningful experience for every group interested in volunteering, we limit approved requests to two (2) group service assignments per month.
  • Lost Our Home considers a variety of factors when deciding whether to approve a request. These include, but are not limited to:
    • organizational capacity
    • strategic goals
    • staff & volunteer availability
    • and relationship with the organization/individual submitting the request.
  • Applications must be submitted at least six (6) weeks in advance of when you would like to schedule your visit, although please understand available times may be longer than 6 weeks out and not all requested dates could be available. Applications submitted after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Group Guidelines:

  • Your group must consist of five (5) – ten (10) people. Anything over 10 people at one time would be hard to accommodate for a great volunteer experience.
  • Any children in the group should be at least 8 years of age. Please give advance notice if there will be anyone under the age of 18 attending.
  • There must be one adult (18+) present for every 3 minors.
  • Two (2) hours minimum per group day is required.
Apply To Become a Volunteer