I volunteered with animals and I loved it. It is great to help animal shelters and rescues. These rescues and shelters need as much help as they can get. If you choose to volunteer at a shelter or a rescue then you have a lot of work preference options. You can work inside or outside. You can directly work with animals or you can work indirectly. There are options for everyone and you just have to ask and be involved in helping animals.
What you need to help animals:
If you’re the kind of person who likes to work outside then you can help with maintaining and cleaning the facilities where the animals live. If you’re the kind of person who likes to work inside then you can offer to help with administrative tasks with your writing or technology skills. If you are good with technology, then you can help with the website that the animal shelter or humane society might run. You can help advertise the different animals that are up for adoption. There is something for everyone and all you need is a desire to help animals.
Where can I find these opportunities to help animals?
A great way to volunteer with animals at North Carolina State University as part of a group is to join the Zoology club or any other club that volunteers to help animals. I actually did not go to any meetings of the Zoology Club before I went to the Carolina Tiger Rescue with the club in February. Any animal shelter or rescue will be accepting of anyone regardless of your experience or exposure to animals.
Also, you can call or visit your local animal shelter and ask if there is any way that you can help around the shelter. My advice is to be open to whatever they ask you to do whether it is cleaning up waste, rearranging rooms, or anything else that needs to be done. You can also call your local animal shelter or humane society to find out if you can do other things to help animals like fostering an animal who can be adopted. My local humane society has this program where people can offer to walk their dogs. Its a great program and you can just find out if your local humane society offers these types of programs by calling them.
You can also contact the North Carolina State University college of veterinary medicine and the veterinary health complex (which is divided into several areas of veterinary health) on the campus of NC State for opportunities to help animals. Some people are afraid of small animals such as dogs or cats and some people are afraid or large animals such as cattle or horses. The veterinary health complex offers areas in which you can help small or large animals. If you prefer to help small animals such as cats or dogs, then you can contact the Randall B. Terry Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center/ Center or the Veterinary Health and Wellness Center. If you prefer to help large animals, you can contact the Equine and Farm Animal Veterinary Center or the Satellite and Field Veterinary Services. Visit http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/ for contact information and descriptions of the different areas of veterinary medicine.
What about my experiences helping animals?
My experience volunteering with animals has always been excellent. I love helping animals and you don’t need be an expert on animals. I’m on the other side of the spectrum when you think about experts with a deep knowledge of animals. So if the experts are on one side of the spectrum, then I would be at the other end of the spectrum. I am a beginner. I have a little bit of knowledge of animals, behavior, and their habitats from personal study and my high school biology class. I will repeat you just need a desire to help animals and not a degree in Zoology or Animal Science.
If you go by the Carolina Tiger Rescue, say hi to my favorite tiger, Raj, for me. Raj was a huge tiger, but he acted like a newborn tiger cub. You can’t pet the tigers because the staff do not allow it. However, you can pet the binturong. A member of the Zoology Club pet a binturong and the staff member who gave the Zoology Club a tour did not say to stop. The binturong are really cute and they are so calm. They don’t bite or claw you and they are just the cutest animals I have ever seen. They just warm up your heart and you automatically smile when you are around these loving and docile binturongs.
You don’t just need to volunteer with a shelter or a humane society. Find a way to make an impact with what you are good at. You can make a lot of difference in the lives of animals, current pet owners, and potential pet owners. For example, you can offer to walk your neighbor’s dog or take care of their cat. You can just spend time loving an animal and making them happy. You can take an extra hour to play with your dog or throw yarn to your cat or play with your iguana. Little things like these make a world of difference to an animal’s happiness and well-being. I guarantee that you will receive more love and happiness from caring for an animal than you ever thought possible.
Hopefully, you have received some insight or ideas on how to help animals. Hopefully, you, your family, and your friends will go help animals. Helping animals is truly rewarding and you will be so thankful that you are making a difference in the lives of animals. I believe that we can change the world and we can start by just taking steps to help animals.
For more information about the Carolina Tiger Rescue, visit http://carolinatigerrescue.