Volunteer

Thank you for your genuine interest in volunteering with Secondhand Mutts. Volunteering is a great way to give back to a community and feel good about helping others. We have many volunteer opportunities at Secondhand Mutts.  Volunteers play an important role in the success of our organization and in our mission to Respect the Dog.® 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Be a dog’s chaperone. We host and co-host adoption and community events and fundraisers throughout the year.  Adoption events often provide the best opportunity to meet potential adopters. If providing  one of our dogs with a ride to and from an event (most often from our facility in Tremont) including spend quality time with the dog at an event than this opportunity is for you! For more information about becoming a dog chaperone contact our Lead Chaperone Volunteers at chaperone@secondhandmutts.org.

Provide a ride. There are several different transportation opportunities available to our volunteer network. These include transporting dogs to and from veterinarian or spay/neuter clinic appointments, picking up a dog being welcomed into our program from partnering shelter facilities all over the tri-state area, meeting up with other dedicated transport volunteers at various locations at a set time safely maneuvering the dog from one vehicle to another to continue the trip back to Cleveland and picking up various supplies or donations as needs arise.

Be a dog’s walking partner. This is one of the simplest and rewarding ways you can help our dogs.  Most of our dogs are provided with socialization and exercise however nothing beats the individual attention and enjoyment a walk provides.  The dogs who are not living in a foster home enjoy having the one-on-one time and human companionship they are missing not living in a home. Some of the dogs living at our facility get more out of sitting down in the park getting comforting TLC time.  

Represent at an event. This opportunity may occur just a few times a year but when we have a fundraiser or event outside of our regular in-store adoption events we have a big need for volunteers. Representing our organization at an major event or fundraiser can mean anything from assisting us with transporting supplies, merchandise, tents and tables to a community event or fundraiser to being the host at our merchandise table during a fundraiser, volunteering building raffle baskets with donated items, selling raffle tickets during a fundraiser or being a part of our biggest fundraiser of the year shopping for or cooking pancakes at the annual Pancake Barkfeast held annually at the beginning of the calendar year.

Dot the i’s and cross the T’s checking application references. One of the most important and rewarding roles our trained volunteers assist us with is the outreach to our incoming foster provider applicants and incoming adoption applicants. Before we send any of our dogs home with anyone we make sure to verify crucial information gathered from our various applications. This role requires attention to detail, focus, experience navigating Google Drive documents and spreadsheets and a genuine interest in making a connection for our dogs and foster providers and adopters.  

Assist with administrative projects. We always need volunteers to help us with a mish mosh of various administrative projects. This includes everything from collating materials to build our adoption folders to creating graphics for a sign, assisting us with website edits and maintenance, basic data entry projects, organizing and inventorying our storage supply room and many other office-related task you can think of!  Administrative project assistance is generally a need on an as-needed basis. Most of these projects are eligible to complete from home.

Raise awareness and funds. Without incoming funds our mission to Respect the Dog® and responsibly place dogs in homes would not be possible. We welcome volunteers who have a knack for marketing, prior experience with fundraising and those willing to reach out to various networks to ask for anything from a small monetary gift or sponsorship for an event, a gift card donation for a raffle basket, an in-kind service donation for an event or putting it all out there and asking for the big bucks. If you are interested in joining our Fundraising and Marketing Committee we want to hear from you.

Be a foster provider. Fostering a dog  is a very rewarding opportunity to make a difference in a dog’s life. It helps our organization  with placing our dogs into their forever home having a foster provider give us feedback so we better understand the dog we are placing. The best way to learn about a dog’s personality, behavior and habits is by providing the dog with structure and stability in a home environment. To learn more about our Foster Provider Program click here.

Volunteer Application

To become an active volunteer get started by completing the volunteer application below.  When receive the completed application one of our Lead Volunteer Coordinators will reach out to you via email with further instructions to get you started. If you have specific questions reach by email.

How did you hear about Secondhand Mutts? *

Name *

Address *

City *

State *

Zip *

Home (main) Phone *

Mobile Phone

Work Phone

Email *

Occupation

Experience or skills you would be willing to share: (i.e., data entry, computer, etc) *

What type of volunteer jobs are you interested in? *

Dog Chaperone

Transporting Dogs

Dog Walking

Event Volunteer

Application Reference Outreach

Administrative Projects

Fundraising/Marketing

Foster Provider (dog in your home)

If “Other” please note

Are there any restriction that could affect your ability to volunteer? *

Yes

No

If “Yes” please explain

Please provide the name and phone number of an emergency contact:

Please indicate what days of the week and hours you are available to volunteer:

Do you have experience as a volunteer? *

Yes

No

If “Yes” for what organization(s) and what types of duties did you perform?

Do you have a Facebook account associated with the email you have provided? (this is for adding you to our various volunteer groups for volunteer opportunities) *

Yes

No

If the email address you provided on this application is different than the one you use for your Facebook account please provide the alternative email address to invite you to Facebook groups we actively participate in.

Please share anything else we may find helpful regarding yourself or your skills for being a volunteer:

Volunteer Waiver and Release *

I agree to the volunteer waiver and release

I do NOT agree to the volunteer waiver and release

I hereby fully and forever waive, release, hold harmless, indemnify and defend Secondhand Mutts and its respective employees, volunteers, agents, officers, board members, trustees, successors and assigns, together with their insurance carriers (collectively “Secondhand Mutts”), from and against any and all actions, claims, demands, causes of actions, lawsuits, controversies, expenses or damages of every nature whatsoever, which I may have now or in the future against Secondhand Mutts, for any and all personal injuries of any kind and nature, mental or emotional injury, including but not limited to any claim of intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, as well as any and all other types of losses, including property damage, all economic and non-economic claims, injuries to other pets and other damages, known and unknown, arising out of or attributable to my service and participation as a volunteer of Secondhand Mutts. I understand that as a volunteer of Secondhand Mutts, I may be exposed to certain risks, including but not limited to injuries related to the care, handling and proximity to animals. By my signature below, I voluntarily agree to assume and/or incur all risks of loss, impairment, damage or injury of whatever kind, including economic and non-economic, physical, emotional, psychological or psychiatric injuries and damages, including death, that may be sustained or suffered in connection with my service and participation as a volunteer of Secondhand Mutts whether or not due to, in whole or in part, the acts, omissions, negligence or other fault of Secondhand Mutts. I understand that as a volunteer of Secondhand Mutts, I am not covered by Workers’ Compensation or any other insurance policy of Secondhand Mutts for any damages or injuries I may sustain through my service and participation as a volunteer. I am aware that as a volunteer of Secondhand Mutts I am acting as its representative, and I agree to act responsibly at all times by maintaining a professional demeanor and protecting the organization’s rescued animals by abiding by Secondhand Mutts’ policies and procedures, the directives of Secondhand Mutts’ staff, and by practicing common sense and responsible animal handling techniques. I have read this waiver and release and understand all of its terms, and I execute it voluntarily and will full knowledge of its significance. By submitting this form online to Secondhand Mutts I have agreed to its terms.