Volunteer – Adoption Counselor

We’re looking for compassionate volunteers to serve as Adoption Counselors! Help care for our adorable, homeless pets and match each one with the perfect forever home. It’s a rewarding way to give back, meet like-minded people, and be part of a team that changes lives, one adoption at a time.

Just 6 hours a week can make a huge difference in their lives

JOB SUMMARY

• Responsible for assisting a potential adopter to select an animal that best fits with the person, family, lifestyle and living conditions. Main goal of a volunteer adoption counselor is to facilitate the adoption of shelter animals into permanent homes.
• Responsible for handling and walking/exercising adoptable animals  
• Responsible for assisting staff with laundry, window/sidewalk/lobby cleaning, maintenance of play yards and meet and greet areas, cat kennel cleaning, cat cleaning at PetSmart, dog bowl cleaning, donation removal/storage and animal bathing.  Main goal of a volunteer facility/animal cleaning specialist is to assist staff in keeping the facility clean and presentable and keep our adoptable dogs clean.
• Main goal of a volunteer office specialist is to relieve office staff of routine office duties.

REPORTS TO

• Volunteer Liaison or Coordinator of assigned location.

• Must pass a background check
• May be required to pass a drug screening test

• Extensive physical contact with the dogs during walks, adoptions, offsite adoption events and other special encounters.
• Review color code (green easy to handle; blue easy to handle but may jump, pull, be shy and bolt from the kennel; orange high level limited potential to redirect, over arousal, mouthiness and history of getting loose and fighting) on back of kennel card to assure proper handling.
  • Notify staff of any medical condition.

• Greeting people in the office, answer questions, and direct to the proper area or shelter personnel. 
• Query potential adopters on what they are looking for (i.e. breed, size, age) and living conditions (i.e. other animals, children, housing).
• Ensure there are current kennel cards on each animal available for adoption and educate the public on how to read the cards.
• Arrange a meet and greet in the appropriate area for interested adopters and obtain the interested dog from the kennel utilizing appropriate dog handling procedure or obtain assistance from the staff.
• Review medical sheet to report injured animals.

• Processing dirty laundry according to laundry protocol outlined in the Policy and Procedure (P&P) for Facility and Animal Cleaning.

• Assure play yards and meet and greet areas are clean and respectable looking. Sweeps sidewalks.
• Cleans windows in cat area, lobby and applicable entry doors.
• Clean cat kennels, community room and Hamster/Guinea Pig area as outlined in the P&P for Facility and Animal Cleaning.
• Clean the Cattery at Petsmart as outlined in the P&P for Facility and Animal Cleaning. (This is done on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays of every week).

• Assist with mailing out license renewal notices.
• Assist with the creation of adoption folders for both dogs and cats. 
• Assist with keeping adoptable dog board currentand update adoptable dog and cat binders when needed.
• Assist with the organization of the paper Connex and boxing up prior monthly adoption paperwork.
• Assist the President of Friends of Mohave County Animal Shelter (FOMCAS) with fund raising donation acceptance letters and other correspondence needed.

Secondary Job Functions 

• Utilize the “Adoption/Wish List” book for any animal’s customers would like to adopt but have not found what they want at the shelter. 
• Provide handouts to adopters to reinforce information about adopting animals from a shelter environment.
• Make follow-up calls to adopters to ensure adoption is going well and respond timely to phone messages and emails from potential adopters.
• When time allows, spend time with the animals to familiarize yourself to assure proper adoptions can occur.

• Informs shelter staff when handling/walking dogs at the shelter.

• Handle only double kenneled dogs with another dog handler when at the shelter.

• When handling dogs at the shelter or offsite events, keep the dogs under control, do not allow the dog to jump on people, fence fight and be constantly aware of your surroundings.

• Sorts and removes donations from lobby and administrative hallway to the respective connex. 
• Assists staff in dog bowl cleaning.
• Bathes dogs in the indoor and outdoor areas.
• Assist with keeping clerical and lobby areas clean and presentable.
• Exercise regular and predictable attendance and punctuality in accordance with Mohave County Personnel Policies and Procedures. 
• Apply basic principles, practices, techniques, teaching, and communication methods related to the age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational level, and socioeconomic status of community members.

• Communicate and act in a culturally competent and professional manner maintaining cooperative relationships with community members, co-workers, and work contacts.

Job Requirements

• Monthly availability and adherence to a schedule.

• Must complete all County required training courses
• Provide acceptable driving history at no cost to the County.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license for operation of motor vehicles on Arizona roads at the start of volunteering and maintain said license while volunteering in this position.

• General knowledge of animal breeds, characteristics, and age.General knowledge of all animals available for adoption. Familiar with the adoption process and paperwork required.Familiar with resources provided to potential adopters that addresses adopting an animal from the shelter. Standard animal care and control practices and methods. Policy and Procedure for Dog Handling Procedure and Dog Behavior Color Coding System. The Policy and Procedure for Facility and Animal Cleaning Procedure. Chemicals used in cleaning solutions. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Administrative filing and sorting, Indexing and sorting utilized by shelter clerical staff. Forms utilized by clerical staff. Storage area used by clerical staff.

• Prior experience working with animals and animal welfare. Excellent customer service skills. Excellent organizational skills. Good verbal communication. Recognizing medical issues. Exercising patience, care and compassion in dealing with dogs. Reporting facility maintenance issues to the staff. Exercising patience and care when completing multiple administrative tasks

• Exercise patience and care when completing multiple tasks, self-direct and motivate. Assist and communicate continually with shelter staff and manager regarding improving the adoption process. Understand and follow written and verbal instructions. Assist shelter staff with moving dogs to play yards and kennels. Assist and communicate with shelter staff any cleaning needs they may have. Adhere to administrative direction. Assist and communicate with shelter clerical staff any needs they may have.

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Equal Opportunity Employer/Program.
Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request for individuals with disabilities.

Mohave County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
It is the policy of Mohave County to provide equal opportunity in employment to all job applicants and employees. The County shall not discriminate against any person in recruitment, examination, appointment, training, pay promotion, retention, discipline or any other aspect of personnel administration, term or condition of employment, due to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, genetic information or disability, age (40 or older).

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S.

We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa.