Volunteers Have a Paws-itively Good Time Helping at the Animal Service Center

Dogs at the Prince William County Animal Services Center get their steps in a few times daily thanks to the volunteers who make time to walk them.

“The volunteers walk each adoptable dog twice a day as well as giving each additional comfort and enrichment,” said the center’s Volunteer and Foster Coordinator, Nancy Tarr. “The main objectives of the volunteer program are to supplement the customer experience, educate and support our community and bolster the level of care and enrichment for animals in our custody. For the animals, this hopefully reduces the length of stay, makes their stay easier and increases lasting adoptions.”

“We accomplish these objectives by performing certain tasks like cleaning and sanitizing, which eases the workload of staff, greeting visitors, accepting donations and facilitating adoption visits. Our cat team spends quality time with our cats and works with potential adopters to make matches. The cat volunteers have boosted our cat adoptions this year,” Tarr said.

Last year 180 volunteers, who each committed to working at least four hours a month, worked 25,388 hours throughout the shelter cleaning kennels, doing laundry, washing dishes, facilitating adoptions and doing other chores. Combined, their effort is the equivalent of 12 full-time employees.

“The number one reason people volunteer is because they want to help animals,” Tarr said. “All you need to do is want to help.”

“I love dogs and I hate the idea of them being cooped up in this environment, and I just like volunteering,” said Lisa Breeding. “It takes a lot of volunteers. We are tour guides. We talk to people when they first walk in. We direct them where they need to go.”

“When I retired, I was just hanging around, and my kids said, ‘You should do something.’ They sent me links to volunteer,” said Pat Hiltibidal, who retired from an international law firm a few years ago and needed something to do. “I was looking for a means to walk anyway. For me, it was a two-birds-with-one-stone situation. I’ve been volunteering since 2019.”

All volunteers must be at least 18 years old and are required to have a criminal history check which is a fairly quick and easy process. 

For more information about how to volunteer, foster or apply, please visit www.pwcva.gov/department/animal-control/volunteer-us.