As you may know, I am a Washington DC based dog sitter who adores dogs. I am incredibly lucky to be able to be part of a profession that affords me constant interaction with the animals that I love. While I may be collecting money through providing services, which, while great, doesn’t exactly help dogs in dire need of homes. The dogs I work with in have already found homes and while they do have struggles such as separation anxiety and isolation distress, they aren’t in the seemingly hopeless situations that recently rescued dogs are in. The conditions that the dogs I work with have are being actively addressed through dog sitting and proper training, all while other dogs don’t even have a place to call home. I looked into volunteer opportunities involving rescue animals in the DC-Metro Area and found that most require volunteers to be over 18 years of age. I feel this is such a missed opportunity as many students adore and are passionate about animals and are eager to help. I am 16 years old and found the only volunteer opportunity that made sense and actively involved animals in the DC-area was through Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. Lucky Dog has the following ‘proper’ volunteer opportunities for ages 15+:

Office Help – Lucky Dog is always looking for high school volunteers who can help in the office with administrative tasks and data entry.

• Volunteer Liaison – Attend our adoption events as a Volunteer Liaison and ensure that all new volunteers are trained, safe and enjoying our adoption events.

• Events Assistant – Attend our adoption events and help assisting in various areas including: foster check in and check out, the adoption table, and the puppy area!

While I prefer to be actively handling animals, I realize that’s just not a reality for a minor due to the many obligations the volunteer organization must fulfill. The next best thing for me would be assisting with dog adoption events as an Events Assistant. That way, I can be in the presence of animals while also interacting and building connections with the adopters. I currently assist with the events as often as I can, which amounts to a few weekends a month. In just a few hours you can change the lives of so many dogs, which is incredibly rewarding. I would highly recommend volunteering with Lucky Dog, especially if you’re under 18 as the opportunities for youth volunteers are unmatched.

DC Dog Sitting is made for dog owners by a dog owner. We encompass client needs and expectations and then exceed them. To learn more about our service offerings, or some of our top rated services such as our Dog Sitting, Drop-in Visits or Dog Walking, please feel free to contact us.