teen wants to volunteer for at county shelter, should I let him? (clean, vet) - - City-Data Forum

bande1102 · 08-25-2008, 08:33 PM

My son loves animals and wants to volunteer at the county shelter. He's 14. They said he could do it as long as an adult volunteers with him and I'm ok with that. They accept volunteers as young as 13 as long as a parent is with them. Is a young teen really pyschologically able to deal with the dogs that will be put down? I was reading through some of the paperwork that they gave us and they mentioned something about having to accept euthanasia. I mean I know we're going to end up with some new members of the family and that's ok, but I also know that we can't save them all.

Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts about this? So far he's just been donating his money--he loves Saints so usually donates to that rescue group, and groups saving gorillas and manatees. I think it's great he wants to get personally involved, but I just don't know if he'll be able to take it......

TeddieXRuxpin · 08-25-2008, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bande1102

My son loves animals and wants to volunteer at the county shelter. He's 14. They said he could do it as long as an adult volunteers with him and I'm ok with that. They accept volunteers as young as 13 as long as a parent is with them. Is a young teen really pyschologically able to deal with the dogs that will be put down? I was reading through some of the paperwork that they gave us and they mentioned something about having to accept euthanasia. I mean I know we're going to end up with some new members of the family and that's ok, but I also know that we can't save them all.

Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts about this? So far he's just been donating his money--he loves Saints so usually donates to that rescue group, and groups saving gorillas and manatees. I think it's great he wants to get personally involved, but I just don't know if he'll be able to take it......

I would look for a local no kill rescue. He could go to adoptions and help out, walk dogs, and play with them.

Even I have a hard time dealing with the situations with my shelter. When he goes in one week and the next a lot of those dogs have been put down; that will effect him no doubt.

I'd start out with something smaller and see how he does. It's always great to have them volunteer and all shelters need more, but it is hard.

leorah · 08-25-2008, 09:32 PM

I agree with Teddie. Ideally, a child of his age should only volunteer at a no-kill shelter. If the county shelter is large enough and run professionally enough that he won't witness the euthanasia part and all he does is walk dogs and clean cages that might work. Even then he's bound to see animals that are ill, mistreated and abused and realize that some of them die or are killed. Only you can decide whether he's mature enough to handle that, as well as the anger and disappointment in his fellow humans that invariably will result from witnessing the indifferenceto the welfare of animals that some people display.

I think it's great that he wants to help animals and I hope that it works out for him and for you.

Calidreemer · 08-25-2008, 09:46 PM

Your son sounds like a very sensitive, caring and aware person. I have to agree with the other posters that finding the right fit for him is important. Have you talked with him about what it might be like? You could ask him what he knows about shelters and what he expects he will do, what he sees as the pros and cons and find out if he's ready. In the mean time you may want to find a breed rescue or no kill shelter as others have suggested. Maybe he would be satisfied helping collect donations (financial, dog food, towels, cleaning supplies) for the shelter or help spread the word to adopt by formally speaking to his peers, organizing community outreach activities to support adoptions etc. There's a lot he can do and he sounds like someone who is going to be a wonderful advocate for animals. Who knows where it will take him and what he will do with his life.

I know I wanted to be a vet when I was a child and didn't get the encouragement back then and was pushed in another direction. I am on my second career now and if I was younger I would go back to school to pursue that dream. I think it's important to support children and their dreams if we can. You sound like a great parent who is willing to do that. The two of you will make the right choice. Good luck.

Blondie621 · 08-25-2008, 10:19 PM

Take him to your local Petsmart on a Sat. between 11am and 4pm. The Rescue groups on Adoption day there will always welcome someone to walk the dogs and some other chores to help with the animals.

Just ask? I know they can always use and extra hand in the cat room there too! He will love it! Very rewarding! Plus he will meet others like him, and even his age group. We always had kids from age 12 to 18 helping out with the dogs. This will be a very positive environment for him to help out and he will not be exposed to the other side with the euthenization part. Petsmart Rescue groups are like one big family. At least the ones back in Jersey were! Good luck and keep us posted!

bande1102 · 08-26-2008, 06:39 AM

Thank you all for your replies, you've given me a lot to think about and I truly appreciate everyone's honesty.

My son watches Animal Cops on Animal Planet all the time and he watched the Michael Vick special, too, so he's seen some animals in poor shape. But I know that it is a whole lot different seeing these things in person. Incidentally, he's had a rough year; our dog had cancer and we had to put her down a few months ago. I was really surprised at how well he did accepting the situation, helping care for her, dealing with her death. And she had some horribly disfiguring surgeries and he did ok with that. Then again, he knew we were trying to help her. I worry what how it will affect him when he sees that some humans do this on purpose. Anyway, I think he wants to help other animals in memory of her and to help him deal with her death--if that makes sense?

Right now he pet sits/dog walks and then donates the money to his causes. I think I'm going to encourage some more fund raising--for now anyway while I figure out what our next step should be.

Does anyone know how you find a no kill shelter? Should I just call and ask? I like the PetSmart idea, too. Thank you.

Racelady88 · 08-26-2008, 06:50 AM

I am going to play the devil's advocate here for just a minute.

There is no way your son would be directly involved in the process of putting animals to sleep. By accepting euthanasia they are asking that he be made aware that his favorite may not be there when he comes in tomorrow, not for him to push the plunger.

I think it is great that he wants to volunteer. I think doing it at a kill shelter will make all the more meaningful. Animals at the kill shelter deserve to be appreciated even more than animals at the no kill shelter. Who knows, maybe the experience will plant a seed in your son that will empower him to make great changes in the world as an adult.

Honeycrisp · 08-26-2008, 07:15 AM

Calling and asking is a good way to find out if it's a no-kill shelter. Some groups have bake sales as fundraisers, he could try his hand at baking (people food or doggie biscuits or kitty treats) or he could help sell at the tables. It's wonderful that he's so interested in helping the animals and donating his money, and I think helping at an adoption at PetCo or PetsMart or a vet's office (some groups meet there on a Sunday when the office is closed or open only for emergencies) would be wonderful, he could help walk the dogs outside while others are talking to potential adoptive families (til he's more familiar w/ it) - even fostering one pup/dog may be something he/you might want to consider if they need foster homes (some of the volunteers foster a lot of dogs and it's always helpful if they can go into foster homes w/ fewer dogs where they can get a bit more attention, where someone can work on their housetraining (if needed) etc, where the foster pup/dog is not overwhelmed by many others. Just some thoughts.

cleosmom · 08-26-2008, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racelady88

I am going to play the devil's advocate here for just a minute.

There is no way your son would be directly involved in the process of putting animals to sleep. By accepting euthanasia they are asking that he be made aware that his favorite may not be there when he comes in tomorrow, not for him to push the plunger.

I think it is great that he wants to volunteer. I think doing it at a kill shelter will make all the more meaningful. Animals at the kill shelter deserve to be appreciated even more than animals at the no kill shelter. Who knows, maybe the experience will plant a seed in your son that will empower him to make great changes in the world as an adult.

Thank you!! Was planning on typing something close to the same last night, only I was nodding off

Your son sounds as if he's got the compassion for the animals, why not let them reap those benefits? You can help by explaining to him that sadly enough some are being euthanised, it's better than a miserable death of being starved or beaten, which sadly happens daily.

As for wondering how his view will be of some humans, he probably already knows that there irresponsible people out there.

ctribucher · 08-26-2008, 08:15 AM

I think it's great that your son wants to volunteer, and kudos to you for encouraging this!

I volunteer at my local county shelter. As part of the onboarding process, it was made clear to me what they do and do not allow their volunteers to do. Most volunteers only deal with animals that will be placed up for adoption... the shelter recognizes how vital socialization with volunteers is to finding an animal his forever home. They leave the hard jobs like euthanasia to their staff.

Your local shelter might have a volunteer coordinator that you can talk to that will explain exactly what you and your son can expect while working at the shelter. I know our volunteer coordinator is an invaluable resource, and she works hard to make sure that the volunteers are getting something out of their experience as well (if I wasn't getting something out of the experience, aside from the knowledge that I'm helping animals in need, I'd be less likely to donate my time).