Volunteer Opportunities
In addition to our critical need for foster homes, there are many opportunities where one could volunteer their time and skills. Listed below are a few areas where volunteer services are needed:
Home Visits. Visit the homes of families wanting to adopt or foster a rescued dog. Conduct an interview and examine parts of their home. You will follow a questionnaire to make certain you ask pertinent questions and check critical areas of their home, yard and fence. You will need to have a medium- to large-size dog that you feel comfortable taking with you on home visits so that you can evaluate how the person/family and their pets interact with a dog. Soon after your visit, you will submit your findings to GBR via on-line form to the team who will make the ultimate decision.
Haven House. GBR has access to an emergency facility located in Milwaukie, just south of Portland. This facility will be used in emergency situations only, e.g., no foster home available, quarantine, etc. We need volunteers who are willing to stay there during the day or overnight to care for the dogs as needed. This would include spending time with the dogs, feeding them, letting them outside in the backyard to go potty and exercise, cleaning up after them, etc. This facility is a small house in which kennels have been installed in its two bedrooms. There are four permanent kennels, plus a few temporary ones that can be set up, if needed. The facility has a small bathroom with a commode and shower; a small kitchen with a microwave and toaster oven (no stove), toaster oven, hot plate, refrigerator, and washer/dryer; and living room with a love seat, a daybed with a trundle, and a TV. It also has WiFi so you can use your devices. It has heating and air conditioning too -- all the comforts of home … well almost.
Dog Photographer/Videographer. We need photographers and videographers all over the Pacific Northwest to take high quality photographs and short videos of the dogs we have in foster homes, which are spread far and wide from British Columbia, Canada to Western Idaho, to Northern California, to the Oregon and Washington Coasts and everywhere in between. We’ve found that compelling photos and videos really help in getting our dogs from their temporary foster families to their permanent, furever homes. These photos and videos will be posted on GBR’s website and social media, as well as on online pet adoption websites. The videos will need to be in YouTube format.
Meet and Greet Coordinator. The purpose of meet and greets is to have our foster dogs available at various venues for the public, particularly potential adopters, to meet them. The Meet and Greet Coordinator would contact and receive invitations from various venues (like pet stores, etc.) to schedule meet and greets. There can be a Meet and Greet Coordinator for various regions; for instance, Central Sound, South Sound and Eastern Washington; Bend, Oregon, etc. The Meet and Greet Coordinator would attend the event or find someone to be there in his/her place. The Meet and Greet Coordinator would contact the Volunteer Coordinator to send notification to foster families, letting them know of scheduled events so that they can bring their foster dog(s) to the event. Note: Meet and Greet Coordinator position has been filled for Portland area.
Fostering. Provide a temporary safe home for a rescued dog and to help it adjust and decompress from its previous situation. As a foster parent, you would provide love, patience and perhaps some basic training until your foster dog is ready to be adopted permanently. Fosters may need to take their foster dog to a veterinarian for needed medical attention (paid for by GBR) and administer meds as prescribed by the GBR veterinarian. Foster families are so important to GBR, because without them, we could not help the dogs we do, we could not change the lives we change. For more information and our foster application please visit Foster A Rescue Dog.
Dog Evaluations. Visit a dog in a shelter or former home that is likely to be released to GBR and provide written feedback to GBR. We require the evaluator bring a friendly dog along, to see how the dog being evaluated behaves with unfamiliar dogs (the volunteer’s dog does not have to be a Golden Retriever).
Dog Transporters. Provide transportation typically within WA, OR & Vancouver BC to move a dog to its new foster home, adoptive home or veterinarian. We prefer that the dogs (especially those coming from international locations) are transported in their crate -- they're used to it and may feel a sense of security in it, but also because it will keep them safe when you enter and exit your vehicle. If a crate would not fit in your vehicle, you would need to have a way to secure the dog -- like clipping its leash to a seat belt or something. We wouldn't want a dog slipping out when the car door is opened.
To get involved with any of these volunteer opportunities, please complete our Volunteer Application and let us know your interests. And thank you!