It’s easy to become a volunteer at Pet Orphans of Southern California. Simply fill out and submit an online application through this website. Our Volunteer Coordinator will then email you with dates for upcoming training orientations. Attending an orientation is extremely important. It’s the time to learn our rules, policies and procedures as well as tour our kennels and gain a thorough understanding of the many ways you can help our program – and ultimately help our dogs and cats get adopted into loving homes. Once you have attended an orientation which includes Kennel Training, and completed the dog and/or cat training portion of the orientation (depending on where you want to focus your time), you can set your own hours. We are open every day to the public from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Volunteers are welcome to join us and our pet orphans from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. every day. The dogs, in particular, are eager for a morning walk, and all the animals could use morning hugs and attention.

UPCOMING VOLUNTEER ORIENTATIONS

*** All orientations last between 3 - 5 hours. ***

Saturday, August 9th and 23rd
Sunday, September 7th and 28th

Please fill out a volunteer application if you decide to become a volunteer with Pet Orphans of Southern California.

*** Submitting a volunteer application does not reserve a spot in the orientation you would like to attend. You must receive a phone call from the Volunteer Manager to attend an orientation.

JUNIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Children aged 11 – 15 may enter our Junior Volunteer Program. Without exception, no one under 11 is permitted to volunteer at POSC. Each Junior Volunteer must always be accompanied by a parent or guardian - the same parent or guardian who attended the orientation with the Junior Volunteer. Both volunteers need to submit a volunteer application prior to attending an orientation. For the safety of our animals, and our youngest volunteers, at no time may the Junior Volunteer hold the leash. However, junior volunteers and their parents are also welcome to enroll in the extended Dog Walker/Handler Program ("Best Paw Forward") and upon successful completion of the program, the volunteers may then handle dogs on a leash. All all volunteers are welcome to spend time in our kennels, yards and catteries in the extremely important role of being a dog and/or cat socializer.

It is important to note that our Jr. Volunteer program is a "team" approach to volunteering. A parent who shares his/her child's passion for animals and volunteers side by side makes an ideal team! This program is not set up so a parent simply "babysits" while a Jr. Volunteer is socializing dogs or cats. Each volunteer in the adult/child team is to support each other and share volunteer responsibilities. This is a wonderful opportunity for a child and parent (or grandparent, adult sibling, aunt, etc.) to bond in a common experience while truly making a difference in the lives of the dogs and/or cats who pass through our doors. If a parent feels that he/she is being "forced" to attend the orientation because we require a parent's participation if a child is under the age of 16, and doesn't share the child's interest in volunteering at Pet Orphans, we strongly encourage you to find a more appropriate setting for your child's interests.

FUNDRAISING

Volunteers of all ages are invited to assist us with our ongoing fundraising efforts. We would be pleased to have any volunteer conduct a fundraiser for our orphans. You can host a car wash, bake sale or collect spare change during a specified time – or any other imaginative and pre-approved way. When the fundraiser is complete, contact the Volunteer Department at (818) 901-0190 extension 102, to schedule a time for you to drop off the proceeds and we'll arrange a “play time” with our orphan dogs and cats who will directly benefit from your support. We’ll take your picture and put it on our website for everyone to see! Feel free to check out Volunteer Happenings.

VOLUNTEER POSITIONS

There are a wide range of volunteer opportunities at Pet Orphans Of Southern California. Some positions require additional training, which we are happy to provide for eligible volunteers. We have several dog walkers who are also dog socializers, groomers, and help the kennel staff…with some time saved for cat socialization.

For a list of our volunteer job descriptions, please click here.

VOLUNTEER HAPPENINGS

Disney VoluntEARS donated their time helping at Pet Orphans.
Please click here to view more pictures.

Mikayla and Susan with the toys collected for Mikayla's Bat Mitzah.
Thank you Mikayla for your generosity and kindness!

Isabella presents Volunteer Coordinator Jessica with a toy box full of new cat and dog toys.

Pet Orphan's junior volunteer Isabella recently had her Bat Mitzvah. She chose Pet Orphans of Southern California to receive her "gifts" by asking every guest to bring a cat and/or dog toy. Isabella designed the toy box that held all the toys that her guests brought. POSC's dogs and cats will get hours of enjoyment from the bounty of new toys. Pet Orphans greatly appreciates Isabella's thoughtfulness and generosity! Thank you Isabella!

Thank you Kaitlyn and Michelle!
These generous young ladies raised money through their Pup Club at school and donated the proceeds to Pet Orphans.

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH
MELISSA

What can I say about Melissa? In a short time with us she has shown her dedication to our orphans. Beginning as a dog socializer, she immediately fell in love with our orphans. At that moment she knew how great this place was for dogs and wanted to become more involved. After sometime Melissa went through the process of becoming one of our Dog Coaches; she graduated with flying colors. Since that time, she has come in more diligently to help coach our dogs and give them some exercise. Melissa will come in on warm days to still give some of our dogs that have not been out in awhile some exercise. On her days off from Pet Orphans, Melissa thoroughly enjoys meditation. She also does some gardening and likes to cultivate her flowers which bring in lovely hummingbirds. Melissa also grows her own tomatoes and cucumbers; what a green thumb she has! Melissa does volunteer with another organization, Peration Gratitude, that makes packages for the service people in Iraq. Thank you so much Melissa for your dedication and your eagerness to be apart of Pet Orphans. We look forward to seeing much more from you. Congratulations Melissa on being our Volunteer of the Month.

PHOTOS