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.