Adoption hours at the shelter can get busy with the snap of a finger. We are looking for volunteers who can help review adoption applications, talk to potential adopters about available animals, and even help answer the phones when things get a little crazy!

Love Cats ?? We would love to hear from you!!

Volunteers play a crucial role in keeping the cats happy, healthy and exercised during their stay with us. You can make a difference by cleaning, feeding, grooming, providing daily enrichment, training or fostering.

Are you a morning person? If so, you are in luck. Our morning volunteers are essential in being the first ones to greet our kitties, clean their cages, feed and even spend time socializing. 

Afternoon and evenings can be a little busy with visitors at the shelter. You have a special role socializing our cats while also sharing tons of great details about their personalities with potentials adopters.

Fostering opportunities are also available.

Volunteers play a crucial role in keeping the dogs happy, healthy and exercised during their stay with us. You can make a difference by getting them out for potty breaks, exercise, play time and working on basic manners. We also have daily enrichment opportunities and other ways you can help to decrease their stress while staying with us.

Are you a morning person? Our dogs can go a long night in the kennels and will need to get outside ASAP to go potty. You are so important in helping them maintain normal routines that will make their transition into a home that much smoother.

Afternoon and evenings are a great time to play in the pens, go for walks, or have quiet in-kennel socialization. 

Do you want to take your canine care skills to the next level? We offer training classes to move into our STAR and Orange Paw level volunteer opportunities, teaching you the skills to understand canine behavior, body language and safe handling techniques.

Fostering opportunities are also available.

Can you share your home with an animal in need? Fostering saves lives! Our foster volunteers provide temporary homes for animals who require extra love and support before becoming available for adoption. DCAS provides supplies and  all medical care, while fosters provide the love and daily care!

You will need a space or extra room in your home where foster animals can be separated from your own pets. The animals most in need of foster:

• Kittens - Kittens under the age of 2 months are at high risk of becoming sick while in the shelter. All baby kittens need to go to a foster home where they can be properly cared for and socialized. Young kittens may need bottle feeding, while older kittens go to foster for extra socializing or to recover from illness. We also need foster who can provide a quiet, safe place for nursing mom cats to care for their litter of kittens.
• Adult cats, dogs, rabbits or other small animals - Animals who are not thriving in the shelter or who need to have a medical or behavior issue monitored do best in foster homes. If you are skilled with caring for medical cases, helping shy animals or working to modify behavior, we need you!
  

Do you love sharing your passion for animals with people? If so, you would be a great volunteer to help with our special events. We go off-site to parades, community gatherings, senior centers, park districts and more. We are typically busier in Spring, Summer and Fall months and most events occur on weekends. This is a great opportunity to get involved without a recurring commitment.

Do you have an interest and love for small mammals? Let us know!! Rabbits are the third most common animal in shelters with guinea pigs following just behind them.

Volunteers play a crucial role in keeping the rabbits and guinea pigs happy, healthy and exercised during their stay with us. You can make a difference by cleaning, feeding, grooming, providing daily enrichment  or fostering.

Are you a morning person? If so, you are in luck. Our morning volunteers are essential in being the first ones to greet our rabbits, clean their cages, feed and spend some time socializing. 

Afternoon and evenings are the perfect time for socializing. You have a special role socializing our rabbits or guinea pigs  and getting them out for exercise time in pens.

Fostering opportunities are also available.

Do you have a passion for animals and enjoy connecting with people that also have a passion for animals? If so, you can volunteer to help raise money through DuPage Animal Friends! Volunteers help at special fundraising events, write thank you notes, create marketing materials, both in print and for social media, to promote fundraising initiatives. 

Learn more about our fundraising partner, DuPage Animal Friends, at www.dupageanimalfriends.org

Do you enjoy taking pictures of animals? Do you have an artistic eye and an ability to capture a personality in a fun shot? DCAS is always in need of beautiful photos to use for promoting the animals in our care.

Photographers should have a basic understanding of animal handling and body language and a general comfort in working with animals. Photographers also need computer access and the ability to edit, crop and share photos electronically with staff.

Do you love to clean? Do you get satisfaction from turning a filthy mess into cleanliness and organization? Then the Clean Freak role may be just for you! Cleanliness is essential when it come to preventing the spread of disease and keeping the animals in our care happy and healthy.

Clean Freak volunteers help by washing and sanitizing dishes and litter boxes. This is a mid-morning responsibility. 

Are you a crafty person or do enjoy preparing tasty treats for others? Providing daily enrichment is an essential part of reducing stress and combating boredom in a shelter. Each day the animals in the shelter receive a new and interesting item in their cage, it can be a new toy, a puzzle to figure out, an interesting scent or a yummy treat. The enrichment program relies on volunteers who prepare different items from home, and other volunteers who deliver them to the animals in the shelter.

Enrichment is delivered mid-day.