There's a place in your community where the hungry are fed, the homeless are sheltered, and the abandoned are comforted. It's your local animal shelter, where care is provided for your area's homeless animals. Our volunteers play a profound role in the shelter’s ability to care for the many animals that find their way to our shelter.

We want your volunteer experience to serve as an outlet for your talents and passions, resulting in a rewarding experience for you, our animals and the rest of the organization. The rewards of volunteering can be boundless and will unfold in countless ways as you begin to interact with and care for our cats and dogs.

Look over the volunteer opportunities available at the shelter and see which best suits you! A volunteer application is available online. Call today and experience the many rewards of volunteering!

Pet overpopulation and animal homelessness is a community responsibility. Do your part by getting involved with the Animal Welfare League.

A Volunteer Application is provided for you to fill out and mail to the AWL Animal Shelter. We look forward to hearing from you!

This is a team of self-directed volunteers committed to improving the general living experience of all cats at the AWL Shelter. We provide basic care and human contact for cats that are healthy and adjusted, but prioritize efforts toward those cats that are sick, injured or behaviorally challenged. 9 Lives volunteers provide gentle socialization for cats that are unable to present themselves well to the public because of environmental stress. Volunteers give special TLC to our 'special needs' felines.

Volunteers in this program walk shelter dogs daily in an area around the shelter and/or the Sugar Creek Trail. The goal of the program is to provide adoptable dogs at the shelter with much-needed exercise, human contact, mental stimulation, and basic commands.

Would you like a walking partner that won’t stand you up for your morning run because he’s had a late night out with the guys? Someone that’s always up for a hike and is faithful til the end? Who better for a fitness partner, than one of the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County’s shelter dogs?

Volunteers in the Dog Washing program bathe and groom shelter dogs. The goal of the program is to increase adoptions by presenting clean, happy dogs to their potential new families. The grooming time should be a fun experience for the groomer and a time of affection and attention for the dogs.

Volunteers help create the visual elements of promotional materials for the shelter. Volunteers also provide design support for the digital photography team on a project-by-project basis. Along with the board of directors they create a variety of promotional materials including brochures, ads, posters and flyers.

Volunteers in the Digital Photography program create high quality, engaging pictures at the AWL Shelter. The goal of the program is to help the graphic design team create the visual elements of promotional materials including brochures, ads, posters and flyers and the shelter newsletter.

The Marketing/Fundraising team is an integral part of the volunteer program. They are work with the board to generate and implement ideas that will promote the shelter and raise money for various shelter funds. They assist with the planning for special events and help ensure that the shelter is present at all relevant city events.

This program was created to help create fleece blankets for cats/kittens when they are brought to the shelter. The provision of boxes and other places to hide is useful for cats when they want time alone. The shelter likes to line each box with a fleece blanket—giving the cats/kittens something to cuddle down into. When the cat/kitten is adopted we try to send the blanket home with them so they have something familiar. We also create “sock toys” for the cats to cuddle or play with. Baby socks are stuffed with a little catnip and batting and then are secured at the top with Velcro. Instructions for the blankets and socks are available at the AWL Shelter.