Canine Recess Monitor

You can apply for this opportunity and see other volunteer opportunities available at PAWS by applying here: Individual Volunteering • Paws With A Cause

Outdoors

We love for our dogs to enjoy the fresh air and sunlight as much as possible, and that means using our beautiful yards to get dogs outside where they can move and groove. They love leaping, bouncing, and playing with each other... and they also like causing mischief if no one is there to stop them! Assist our Care Team in escorting our silly hounds into their yards, and then help keep an eye on them so they can enjoy their outside time to stretch their legs, play, and relax. After they’ve had their fun, facilitate shepherding them back into their kennels for their other daily activities to commence! This opportunity can be interactive, allowing time for playing with dogs, or you can keep an idle eye on them and let them play while you do a quiet activity of your choosing.

The dog breeds in our kennels are Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Standard Poodles, and Papillons. Their average size is somewhere between 40lbs to 90lbs (excluding the papillons). They can be very high energy, particularly when they first go outside. Volunteers should be comfortable with dogs making contact with them.

Tasks:

• Let dogs out of kennels and guide them to the appropriate outside yards off lead
• Watch dogs while they’re outside to ensure nothing inappropriate is eaten and no unsuitable behaviors are exhibited towards people or other animals
• Bring dogs back inside off leash and return them to their appropriate kennels
• Get out/put away any toys used while dogs are outside
• Fill out the observation report and return to CEC supervisor
• Report to the CEC supervisor any behavioral or medical observations
• Clean waste (fecal, vomit, urine, or destructed toys) created by the dogs which are under your supervision

Available time slots:

Mon-Fri- 7:30a - 10a

Mon-Fri 3p - 5p

Some evenings and weekends maybe available

Minimum Age Required:

16+

Conditions Statement: Outdoors

Outdoor volunteers should feel comfortable traveling through doors and gates to reach our dogs. Outdoor activities take place year round; as such, weather and temperature conditions will vary greatly. Accompanying dogs outside may require traveling across uneven terrain that could be slippery. Dogs enjoying time outside frequently play off lead (though still within fences), so participants should feel comfortable coming into contact with free dogs. To access some outdoor activities, it may be necessary to walk dogs on lead or line.

Conditions Statement: Indoors

Volunteers should feel comfortable traveling through doors and gates. Also, participants engaging in activities inside the kennel area will be exposed to noisy conditions, and should plan on wearing hearing protection. Our cement and tiled floors sometimes become wet and slippery when dogs come in after playing outdoors in inclement weather, or as a result of our daily cleaning procedures. Additionally, participants working in a grooming room, or the kennels during cleaning, should be aware of occasional high humidity and elevated temperatures. Dogs are sometimes given peanut butter treats while they relax indoors, so If you are allergic to dog dander or peanut butter, some activities may not be for you. Our dogs travel about inside both with and without a leash, so participants should feel comfortable handling dogs on leads as well as coming into contact with free dogs.

Volunteer Accessibility:

We are blessed at the CEC to have a group of wonderful dogs, and we’d love to share them with as many people as we can. If you don’t feel like you meet all of the qualifications, but still want to participate in some activities with or for our dogs, we will do our best to make arrangements so you can enjoy them. However, due to the great variation in our dogs and the fact that they "come and go" from our kennels, we cannot guarantee that we will always have a dog or situation suitable for all volunteers.

Training Needed:

• All training will be provided by PAWS
• PAWS dog body language and handling class
• On site safety, body language, and dog handling training with the CEC supervisor until benchmarks have been reached.
• On site building and yard orientation with the CEC supervisor.

Paws With A Cause

Paws With A Cause(r) enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. PAWS increases the awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog Teams through education and advocacy.

2 shifts available:

• 07:30 to 10:00 EST
• 15:00 to 16:45 EST