AHS is thrilled to announce that we have reopened our doors to new volunteers! Keep reading to learn more about what our volunteers do, and when you’re ready to get started, click here to begin the Virtual Volunteer Orientation process.
For individuals needing court-ordered community service hours, check out our Community Service Restitution page.
Attend a 90-minute group training session and tour at AHS
Select the shift of your choice and get started!
Once you create your volunteer profile, you can let us know what programs/special areas you’d like to participate in, including:
🐾 Cat or Dog Socializing
🐾 Bubble Brigade
🐾 Pet Photography
🐾 Clinic & Community Cat Support
🐾 Event & Education Support
🐾 Adoption Support
Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age to volunteer for the Austin Humane Society. No exceptions to this policy will be made. In addition to meeting the minimum age requirement, 14 and 15-year old volunteers must have a parent or guardian over the age of 21 train and volunteer with them at all times. 16 and 17-year old volunteers only need parental consent, which is given during the online application process. If you have kids under 14, please check out our Humane Heroes page for ways to get them involved!
Yes! We offer group volunteer activities for youth and adults. Through our Service Day program, we can easily accommodate groups up to 25 volunteers per session and 100+ volunteers by special request. Learn more by clicking here, or for youth Service Opportunities, click here.
We have a very large volunteer program that requires resources to coordinate. By charging for volunteer orientation, we can offset these costs and ensure that more of our resources can go directly to the care of the animals. The fee is paid at orientation and can be paid with cash or credit.
We ask that our volunteers wear long pants, close-toed shoes, and t-shirts with sleeves. We do not permit volunteers to wear shorts, flip flops, tank tops, or bare mid-riff shirts. If you are dressed inappropriately, you may be asked to leave.
We require our volunteers to make a commitment of 2 hours per week for at least three months. This ensures that the volunteers have a good understanding of the shelter’s policy and procedures and also ensures the well-being of the shelter animals through consistent care. The two hours may be split in to two separate one-hour shifts if necessary to fit your schedule.
The shelter is open to its volunteers from 8am to 7pm Monday through Saturday and 8am to 5pm on Sunday. These hours are not the adoption hours for the public, but are solely for the convenience of the volunteers. We open to the public at noon every day for adoptions!
While we are an independent shelter with one location, AHS has many events for you to participate in throughout the community. Through our weekly newsletter you will be kept up to date with those opportunities. We also have cats available for adoption at several north PetSmart and Petco stores and volunteers in our cat team work with them at those locations.
We recommend that you pick one group and get familiar with the duties involved before adding on additional training. However, you can go through different training classes in later months with no additional charge.
Please click here to read more about our Community Service Restitution (CSR) program
