Volunteer at One of New England's Largest No-kill Animal Shelters
Caring for all the animals at NEAS is very rewarding, but it is also a lot of work. To help you decide if one of our volunteer programs is right for you, please review the Frequently Asked Questions before proceeding to the application.
Here are some of the areas where we always need help:
- Walking dogs/socializing cats
- Greeting our guests
- Answering phones
- Assisting our adoption counselors
- Monitoring our animal rooms
- Assisting kennel staff with cleaning cages/handling animals/grooming
- Assisting office staff with filing or stocking shelves
- Accepting and organizing dropoff donations
- Overall support with laundry/cleaning
- Monitoring cat and kitten/dog and puppy rooms
- Occasional special events such as special adoption promotions, pet exhibitions
- School/nursing home visitation
- Foster care for special needs animals
- Transporting animals from the airport or veterinarian
- Helping transport animals: are you or someone you know flying from San
Juan, PR to Boston?
If you'd like to help us find willing passengers to help transport, please download our flyers: Sato Transport Flyer 1, Sato Transport Flyer 2 and Sato Transport Flyer 3.
Current Opportunities
Feline Foster Home
The Northeast Animal Shelter is desperately seeking qualified foster homes for cats who are pregnant, nursing, or needing medical care, socializing or temporary care after surgery. Complete a foster care application.
Office Volunteers
We need volunteers to help with greeting our guests, answering phones, assisting our adoption counselors, and monitoring our animal rooms. Even if you can only come once a week – we need you!
Expect to spend a minimum of 2-4 hours here on your scheduled shift greeting our guests and potential adopters, answering general questions on the phones, assisting our adoption counselors to complete adoptions in a timely manner, or monitoring our animal rooms to ensure our pets’ and public’s safety.
See our flyer or complete a volunteer application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I become a volunteer?
A: First complete a Volunteer Application and submit it to the Volunteer Coordinator via mail, fax, or by dropping it off at NEAS. Once your application has been reviewed you will be invited to attend an Orientation meeting where you will learn from staff and current volunteers what it is like to volunteer with us. There will be a brief one-on-one interview at the end of this meeting. Accepted applicants will then be invited back to attend a training session after which they will begin their regular volunteering schedule. Please note that orientations are held only when openings are available.
Q: What do volunteers do at Northeast Animal Shelter?
A: Most of our volunteers work in the Kennel and/or Office. Other volunteer positions include Foster Care, Animal Transport, Humane Education, Senior Visitation and Special Projects. Please see the Volunteer Job Descriptions for further details on each program’s responsibilities.
Q: How old do I have to be to volunteer?
A: Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age to volunteer at NEAS. Please contact the Shelter to see
what other options are available to younger folks who want to help our animals.
Q: I have a community service project due; can I fulfill my requirement at NEAS?
A: Applicants need to go through an orientation and training process before they can even begin their work as a volunteer, and this process often takes longer to complete than the hours required in most community service projects. It can also take several visits after the end of training before volunteers feel completely comfortable with their responsibilities, and for this reason most community service projects are too short-termed to be appropriate for work at our shelter. If you need community service hours, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator to see if our shelter is the right fit for your project.
Q: Can I come in just to play with or socialize the animals?
A: Taking care of all our animals is a LOT of work, and socializing the animals is just one part of the job. In order to help the dogs and cats find the loving homes they need and deserve, we need to provide for their physical well-being first, and that means cleaning up after them before we have time to play. If you are primarily interested in socializing the animals, you should speak with the Volunteer Coordinator about what days or times this is needed most.
Q: How much of a commitment will I be required to make?
A: Kennel Volunteers are asked to commit to one shift per week for 4-6 months at a time. Shifts are 3-4 hours long and are available every day of the week between 7:00am and 9:00pm weekdays, 7:00am and 8:00pm Saturday and Sunday. Other volunteer positions offer more flexibility; please talk with the Volunteer Coordinator about all the volunteer options and their specific requirements.
Q: My schedule is unpredictable and I can’t guarantee my availability every week. Can I still help out?
A: Yes! While our preference is for those who have regular availability, we have several volunteers who come in every other week or once a month. Some volunteers come in from 7-8am or on their lunch breaks just to help walk the dogs. We also have “Special Event” volunteers who help out with one-time projects or events, and others sign up to help transport animals when needed. Whatever your availability might be, there is a volunteer program to fit your schedule and interests.
If you would like to become a volunteer, please download a Northeast Animal Shelter volunteer information and application packet. Learn about how you or someone you know, under 14 can to volunteer time to the Northeast Animal Shelter.