Sydney Dogs & Cats Home – Volunteer

My name’s Wendy and I’ve been volunteering here at the Sydney Dogs & Cats Home for five months. I just wanted to do something different to my regular nine-to-five job, and I really love animals.

When you arrive in the morning you will set up the day kennels for the animals, placing all of their bedding and toys in their kennel and filling their water bowls. After that you have a briefing with the staff. The staff will tell you if any new dogs have arrived at the shelter, if any of their statuses have changed. After that, we move all the dogs from their night kennels to their day kennels, after they’ve been out for a toilet walk.

Each dog is an individual, so it’s important to speak to the staff and find out if they’re timid. If they need extra cuddles, if they like to walk slowly or they need treats to tempt them along the way. Since I’ve started volunteering, I have actually found a new passion and begun studying animals as well. So I’m hoping for a career change in the future because of my volunteer work.

The Sydney Dogs & Cats Home is run mainly by volunteers with only a very small amount of staff, so it’s important that we all show up and do our part. Just like you would with any other job. I’m happy to do anything when I volunteer, because when I leave and I see what I’ve achieved, no matter whether that’s doing laundry or cuddling dogs, I feel really good about what I’ve achieved in the day.