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Volunteer Opportunities

There are so many ways you can make a difference at LAPS.

Please submit a completed application if you are interested: Volunteer Application

Some of the many volunteer opportunities include:

Dog Walker

  • Time Commitment:  Minimum 2 hours a week
  • Age Requirement: 17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Must be able to walk dogs 50 lbs and over
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Attend a Dog Walking Seminar and a Kennel Orientation
  • Personality type:  Take direction well,  enjoy working in a structured environment, have a friendly demeanour, enjoys spending time on one’s own,  demonstrates common sense, enjoy being outside in all kinds of weather.

Volunteer dog walkers will be responsible for taking adoptable dogs for walks on the Patti Dale Animal Shelter grounds and playing with them in designated dog yards.  These walks and play time serve to exercise, socialize and keep dogs in good mental health during their stay at the shelter.  Walkers will be trained in acceptable methods of leash walking a dog.  Walkers are responsible for leashing the dog, removing the dog from a kennel, maintaining control over the dog for the entire walk and putting the dog back into a kennel.

Please note that we have a colour code system for our dogs and dog walkers.  You will be designated a colour based on your experience as a shelter dog walker.   Our ultimate goal for this program is to get the dogs out walking 3 times a day 7 days a week.

Kennel Buddy

  • Time Commitment:  Minimum 2 hours, 1 morning per week
  • Age Requirement:  17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Must have good overall health
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Attend Pawsitive Steps Dog Walking Seminar; Attend a Kennel Orientation
  • Personality Type:  Enjoy physical labour,  work well as team member, take direction well,  learn new skills quickly
Assist LAPS staff with feeding the dogs and cleaning their kennels.   This is a good volunteer position if you are interested in learning more about the pet care industry in a kennel environment.   As you become more comfortable and confident in your duties, you will become more involved in actually handling the dogs.

Dog foster parent

  • Time Commitment:  Minimum of 2 months
  • Age Requirement:  21 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Must be physically in shape in order to exercise a dog on a daily basis
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Attend Pawsitive Steps Dog Walking Seminar, Be able to follow through on dog training program laid out for the foster dog , Have a basic understanding of dog behaviour
  • Personality Type:  Is extremely patient,  can offer a structured environment,  is consistent with handing out rules and regulations to a dog, have common sense

We are looking for experienced foster homes for this program.  Dogs that would be going into foster homes are those dogs who exhibit some personality traits not always appreciated by the human world and, therefore, are harder to adopt out.  These dogs have often been in the shelter too long and, therefore, are also exhibiting stress related behaviour and need to get out of the shelter for a time.  Our ultimate goal for this program is to put all dogs that have been at the shelter for a lengthy period of time into an experienced foster home until they find their permanent home.

This is an important decision for the whole family and, as such, everyone in the household must be in agreement to take on a project of this magnitude.  Please also note, if LAPS would disqualify you as a home to adopt one of our animals, we will not be able to use you as a foster home.

Cat cuddlers

  • Time Commitment:  Minimum 2 hours a week
  • Age Requirement:  17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Be in good physical health
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Attend a Cat Care Seminar, Attend a Cat Cage Orientation
  • Personality Type:  Enjoy one's own company, has an understanding of shyness and/or stressful personalities, has a dependable personality

Volunteer cat cuddlers are responsible for improving the quality of life of the adoptable cats at the Patti Dale Animal Shelter.  They can cuddle, play with and give attention and affection to cats during their stay at the shelter.  Cat cuddlers are responsible for removing the cats from their cage, safe handling of the cat, and putting the cat back in a cage.   Our ultimate goal for the cats in our care is to set up a clicker training program much like the one we have for the dogs at the shelter.  We are hoping that are cat volunteers will be interested in becoming involved in this new program.

Cat cage cleaners

  • Time Commitment:  Minimum 2 hours, 1 morning per week
  • Age Requirement:  17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Be able to bend and stretch without difficulty, good health
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Attend a Cat Care Seminar, One on one orientation with Volunteer Coordinator
  • Personality Type:  Can work as a team player but also enjoy working on ones own,  enjoy physical labour,  is dependable, is punctual

Once you have attended a cat care seminar and a one on one orientation with the Volunteer Coordinator, you will be assigned to an Animal Care Attendant on you first morning of volunteering in order to learn the correct protocols for working with our shelter cats.  After that, you will be on your own to carry out your duties.   This volunteer position is another good position if you are interested in learning about pet care in a kennel environment.

Kitten Foster Home

  • Time Commitment:  Up to 2 months
  • Age Requirement:  21 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  No one in the home can have allergies or asthma exacerbated by kittens
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Interview with Volunteer Coordinator
  • Personality Type:  Be very patient, Be able to follow the shelter's protocols, Not mind that the kittens will be messy

Kitten season is traditionally between March and October.  What does this mean?  It means shelters will be inundated with kittens.  We need families who can take these kittens into their homes and help us care for them and socialize them.    Fostering kittens is a short term affair and kittens are generally in foster for about a month.  Once the kittens are spayed and neutered, the kittens are returned to the shelter for adoption.    The foster family has a choice of fostering moms with kittens, orphaned kittens (require bottle feeding) or weaned kittens (kittens on solid food).  

Please note, all cats living in your home must be up to date on vaccinations as the kittens and/or mom cats coming into your home will not be inoculated.  It is important that you have a room where you can isolate the kittens/mom cats for the first portion of the fostering program.  Once the kittens are old enough to be socialized (over 4 weeks), you can integrate them in with the rest of your household.  Having other cats, dogs and children is an asset to the fostering experience for the kittens as it socializes them with the normal human world.

This is an important decision for the whole family and, as such, everyone in the household must be in agreement to take on a project of this magnitude.  Please also note, if LAPS would disqualify you as a home to adopt one of our animals, we will not be able to use you as a foster home.

Fundraisers

  • Time Commitment:  Approximately 4 hours a month
  • Age Requirement:  17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Can sit in a meeting without becoming restless
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation, Previous fund raising experience an asset
  • Personality Type:  Enjoy being around people, outgoing and social, good organizational skills

If you are interested in helping out our fundraising team with their fund raising endeavours, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator and the Coordinator will put you in touch with fund raising team.   All money raised goes directly to the cost of looking after our adoptable animals in the shelter.

Community Events Team

  • Time Commitment:  2 to 3 hours a month
  • Age Requirement: 17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  Able to stand on your feet for 2 hours or more
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation,  Meet with Volunteer Coordinator before an event so you can be given protocols for dealing with the public
  • Personality Type:  Enjoy being around people, a good listener,  are not overly opinionated, tolerant of all kinds of personalities, cultures and ages

The purpose of community events is to get LAPS involved in the community and the community involved with LAPS.  Some of the events you may participate in are:  off-site kitten adoption days,  information booths at various locations around town,  walk a dog in a parade, help out with our annual Canine Good Neighbour test or be a help out with our annual Santa pictures at the shelter.

Yard maintenance

  • Time Commitment:  1 to 2 hours a week
  • Age Requirement:  17 and up
  • Physical Abilities:  In good health
  • Experience Needed:  Attend a general shelter orientation,  experience with maintaining a large yard and/or gardening an asset
  • Personality Type:  Enjoys physical labour, enjoy working with a team or on your own, like being outside in all kinds of weather

We have extensive grounds that need proper care and maintenance.    This includes keeping the dog walking trails clear for the dogs and dog walkers,  mowing the lawn in various locations around the shelter, keeping areas mud free during the rainy season so no one is injured, refilling holes the dogs have created in the dog play yards,  and maintaining our flower garden in front of the shelter and parking lot.

Special Volunteer Programs

COMMUNITY SERVICE WORKERS

Langley Community Corrections:

Langley Community Corrections functions within the B.C. Corrections Branch of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor Genral.  The goals of the B.C. Corrections Branch are to protect communities and reduce offending.    The branch is organized into two divisions

Adult Custody which operates centres with various levels of security
Community Corrections and Corporate Programs  - This division manages community work service, and supports offenders to make positive changes in their behaviour and attitudes.

LAPS is proud to provide an enriching environment for community service workers to fulfill their hours of volunteer time.

Fraser Region Community Justice Initiatives Association (CJI)

CJI is a non-profit society based in Langley, B.C.  The agency has nearly 25 years of experience providing resotrative justice (focuses on crime and wrongdoing as acted against the individual or community rather than the state) based programs and services in such settings as the criminal justice system, communities, institituions, organizations, churches, schools and bussines and for private individuals.  CJI is a multi-faceted organization that operates a number of programs and offers extensive training services.   One of the programs CJI offers is the Restorative Youth Services of which Restorative Community Service is a part of.  This program assists youth to perform court-assigned community service hours in ways that are meaningful to them and to the community.  

SPECIAL NEEDS VOLUNTEEERS

LAPS has or continues to work with some of the organizations listed below:

  • Langley Association of Community Living
  • Semiamhoo House Society
  • Pacific Developmental Pathways Ltd.
  • Milleu Family Services
  • Kwantlen Polytechnic University (access programs for people with disabilities)

LAPS is happy to be able to provide an enriching enviornment for some our special needs citizens.    With the guidance of responsible care givers,  these unique individuals have been able to help walk our dogs, play with our cats, help with general house keeping chores (laundry, dishes and sweeping) and help us keep our cat cottage and cat condos clean.   

This is a unique program that requires the support and understanding of the organizations that work with the shelter as not every person is suited to it.  As with all our volunteers, we require a person who can conduct themselves in a quiet and calm fashion and has a lot of patience.  The shelter also requires that the organization bringing in a special needs volunteer provide a supervisor for that volunteer.  That supervisor will be responsible for training and monitoring the volunteer as we do not have the expertise to work with special needs people.  LAPS will provide the training for the care taker/supervisor of  the special needs volunteer.  Some special needs volunteers have been able to move forward to  volunteering on their own without a supervisor which has been a enriching experience for them.  But many volunteers will require ongoing support/supervision from the organization while volunteering at the shelter.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

B.C. Senior High School Students must complete Graduation Transitions requirements in order to graduate from High School.  Graduation Transitions “prepare students for successful transition to life after secondary school”.  There are several compotents to this directive of which work experience or community service is a part of.    The following is a description of  “Comunity Connections” from the B.C. Ministry of Education:  It is expected that students will:  demonstrate the skills required to work effectively and safely with others and to succeed as individual and collaborative works by:

  • participating in at least 30 hours of work experience and/or community service
  • describing the duties performed, the connections between the experience and the employability/life skills, and the benefit to the community and to the student
  • describe procedures, tools and/or equipment used
  • identify self-management skills developed (e.g. demonstating positive attitudes and behaviours; being responsible, adaptable, respectful)
  • explain how the skills can be transferred to other situations
  • describe the significance of their contribution

In order to help high school students achieve this goal, we offer a volunteer program specifically for them.  This program is similar to the program we have set up for community service workers.    This requires that the high school student committ to a working schedule with LAPS that will be completed within a given time frame.

If you have any questions or concerns please email Jayne Nelson at jayne.nelson@lapsbc.ca or phone 604-857-5055.

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING VOLUNTEERING WITH OUR SHELTER ANIMALS.

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