Eyes Ears Nose and Paws

Litter location: in Chapel Hill off Homestead Rd

RESPONSIBILITIES
For the first two weeks of their lives, puppies are fragile and need someone in earshot at all times in case there is a problem. Litter puppy sitters provide relief to the litter home for this 24 hour monitoring so they can go to appointments, grocery shopping, etc. This is a very important but low key way to help with a litter!

A few details:

• Sitters must stay in earshot (same room or there may be a baby monitor that allows being in another room in the house) but are otherwise free to do homework, read, talk on the phone, etc. during the shift.
• Sitters need to be on Slack (our litter communication platform) so they can communicate any issues or concerns.
• It is crucial you are on time to your shift. Last minute cancelations or showing up late can really throw someone's day off!
• Sitters are encouraged to interact with the puppies and dam as little as possible. Holding puppies should be minimized. You are welcome to take pictures without flash as long as you aren't upsetting the dam.
• Shifts are set up to start a few days before the litter is due -- because just like with people, the actual arrival date can't be pinned down ahead of time! For the first few days of shifts, even if you are assigned to a shift it is important to check Slack before your shift to see if the shift is active. We will add the litter team volunteers to the Slack channel and announce shifts are starting once the litter is born.

SHIFT QUALIFICATION AND ASSIGNMENTS
Signing up for a shift here does not mean you have been assigned. Shifts are visible to the public but you must be on Slack (our litter communication platform) before you will be assigned a shift. If you are new to litter care, please sign up for shifts you are interested in and reach out to the litter manager (preferred) or volunteer coordinator (if no litter manager is listed) from the contacts page to get started with Slack or to let them know you are already on Slack (include your username if it isn't obvious).

The litter manager will assign shifts to fit the needs of the litter, so once you have signed up please double check posted shift assignments before showing up for a shift. You may not be assigned all shifts you sign up for. Post in the litter Slack channel if you have questions about the status of a shift. 

Priority in assigning shifts is given to volunteers who can sign up for more shifts, since continuity is important for the puppies. However, we encourage you to sign up even if you are only able to do a single shift!

CANCELING A SHIFT
Once you have been assigned a shift, you are committed to your shift. Be aware that we build a lot of plans on these assignments and cancelations can be quite difficult to juggle. Shifts are set up to allow you to cancel a shift yourself if it is more than one week out. If you need to cancel an assigned shift within a week of that shift, please post a message in the Slack litter channel explaining your need to cancel and asking if anyone can cover your shift. Please @tag the litter manager in your post asking for help removing your assignment to be sure your message is seen. The litter manager will remove your shift assignment so someone else can sign up for it.