Want to make some new four-legged friends? Need an adventure buddy but can’t adopt? Visit Front Street Animal Shelter, a Sacramento city municipal open intake shelter, and home to upwards of 150 dogs at a time. Including a few dozen cats, with hundreds more placed in foster homes. Open to the public daily from noon to 5 p.m., the shelter allows people to view adoptable pets both in person and online. With the help of many dedicated volunteers and generous donations from the community, the shelter has had a positive impact on the lives of countless pets in Sacramento city since 1992.
A volunteer opportunity to highlight for students is the Doggie Day Out program. This program allows the public to take a shelter dog out for a day without the commitment of becoming an official volunteer, creating a great opportunity for students who may not be able to have a dog in their dorm or apartment. Pre-scheduled pick-up times are available every Wednesday through Sunday between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. All necessary items for a successful day out are provided by the shelter at pick-up, including adoption information for anyone interested, along with a helpful brochure of local dog-friendly adventures. Dogs will be returned the same day anytime between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., allowing for flexible scheduling without a minimum number of hours required to volunteer. Positively affecting student mental health while giving a shelter dog a much-needed break and the exposure they deserve. Pick-up times can be scheduled on the shelter’s website under the Doggie Day Out tab. With some flexibility, volunteers will be paired with an available dog that best matches the expected activities and preferences listed when scheduling.
“If you love animals, it’s a great way to be able to help animals directly, especially with doggy day out,” said Abbie Payne, the animal services coordinator for the shelter volunteer program. “You get to take them out. You can do things that you find fun, and they find fun, and get you out of the house if you need help getting out of the house.”
The Pups & PJ’s program gives shelter dogs a night to decompress outside of their kennel through a sleepover, making the shelter stay a little easier for overstimulated dogs. Volunteers will be provided with all the necessities for a sleepover at pick-up. Pick-up times are pre-scheduled between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. every Wednesday through Saturday. Dogs will be returned to the shelter the following day between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Scheduling for pick up is done through the shelter’s website under the Pups & PJ’s tab.
A great volunteer opportunity for those who enjoy running is the Jog-A-Dog program, where volunteers bring a shelter dog with them on a morning run. Scheduled pick-up times are available between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. every Wednesday through Sunday. Drop off is between 11 a.m. and noon. Pickup is scheduled on the shelter’s website under the Jog-A-Dog tab.
Other volunteer opportunities for those who prefer to volunteer their time outside of the shelter environment include outreach events such as helping at tabling events, talking at events about volunteering, fostering, adopting, and donating. As well as helping to run free vaccination clinics.
Volunteering opportunities inside the shelter include kennel cleaning, shelter chores such as laundry and dishes, dog handling, adoption counselor for both dogs and cats, helping to send dogs on doggie day out, office assistants and photographers. All volunteers start with dog kennel cleaning and can move to other tasks as they complete the required training. Volunteer opportunities are available every day from 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Volunteers for essential maintenance tasks are appreciated as they take those responsibilities off of the staff.
“A lot of the basic chores are super essential, because staff is doing those chores if volunteers are not, so kennel cleaning, laundry, and dishes, that is all things that volunteers can be doing. Payne said. “But if we don’t have volunteers, then staff does it, which takes away from their time to be able to pair dogs or get behavior notes or write bios, or any of that sort of stuff.”
All volunteers will follow the same initial process to register and start their volunteering journey. Visit the shelter website to become a volunteer. From there, all volunteers will complete an online orientation that takes about an hour or less. Volunteers will then need to create an account on My Impact and complete the assigned waiver. After the waiver, volunteers will email the shelter at [email protected] to receive updates on their qualifications and the shelter will send the next steps to take, including signing up and completing the in-person orientation, Shelter Basics 101.
“When you are coming to volunteer, be flexible and patient,” Payne said, “We try to have as much structure and straightforwardness as possible, but it is an animal shelter with live animals, which can cause changes in schedule, changes in operations, changes in what we need in that given moment or on that given day.”
Volunteers must be 12 to 15 years old to volunteer alongside a guardian, or 16 to 18 years old to volunteer with a waiver signed by a parent or guardian. Volunteers for the Doggie Day Out, Pups & PJ’s and Jog-A-Dog programs need to be 18 years old or older. Those under 18 need to be accompanied by someone over the age of 18 at all times to participate.
“If you have a skill, you can always reach out to us and see if we can utilize it,” Payne said, “We can’t always utilize it. But, if you’re a photographer, come and take photos.”
A helpful way to support the shelter, for those with the available time and space, is fostering. Fostering gives animals that struggle in the shelter environment for any number of reasons a safe place to stay and is available for both cats and dogs. In the spring, there is an increase in baby kittens, many of which are too young for the shelter as they need to be bottle-fed, making kitten foster homes a valuable resource and a very cute way to help out the shelter.
The process for becoming a foster is very similar to becoming a volunteer. On the shelter’s website, go to the Front Street Foster Program tab. Choose either cat or dog fostering, and complete the hour-long online orientation. Next, make an account on My Impact and sign the assigned waiver, then email the shelter so they can update your qualifications and discuss next steps.
Donations can be a less time-consuming way to help support the shelter. Physical donations are accepted in a donation bin in the lobby during regular business hours. Donatable items are listed on the shelter’s website. All donations that are not used by the shelter are redistributed to the community. Financial donations can be made online on the shelter’s website
On-site adoptions are done through same-day walk-ins. The public is free to look around at the available animals on-site during normal business hours. Serious adopters may request a meet-and-greet with any animal available for adoption. Adopters will need to provide the shelter with an address and a valid ID, and have 30 days to return an animal with a refund, and 90 days to return an animal with a surrender fee.
All animals upon intake are checked for a microchip with the goal of reuniting lost pets with their families. Animals will be available for adoption after the initial holding period, which ensures lost pets can be claimed by their families. Hold times can differ on a case-by-case basis. To start the adoption process, scan the QR code located in the shelter lobby and add yourself to the waitlist. The waitlist opens at 11:30 a.m., and adopters will be helped in the order they joined the waitlist.
The shelter staff is very supportive of anyone who would like to give any form of volunteering a try. Encouraging anyone interested to test out the different volunteer opportunities available through the shelter.
“You can always try it,” Payne said, “Just come and try it. If you hate it, you hate it. If you don’t hate it, great, come back!”
For any further volunteer questions, reach out at [email protected], or call 311 / 916-808-7387 to leave a message.
