Become a Volunteer

We’d love for you to join our volunteer pack!

Requirements for becoming an AHS volunteer:

• Must be at least 16 years or older (see Youth Programs for ways children can make a difference for our pets).
• Must be able to commit to one shift a week for 3 months.
• Must have internet access to attend a volunteer orientation online.
• Must provide proof of vaccination for COVID-19.
• Felony convictions of any kind, or misdemeanors related to animal cruelty, drugs, theft, or violence, preclude involvement in our volunteer program.

We love when young animal-lovers want to get involved! Although we require a minimum age of 16 to volunteer at the Arizona Humane Society, we do have several ways in which youth can help and make a difference for our pets in need.

See Youth Programs

For volunteer projects kids can complete from home, see “Can I Volunteer From Home?” below.

Yes! We provide daily enrichment to shelter pets that stimulate all five senses to keep them happy and healthy during their stay. We would love your help making enrichment supplies, either on your own or with a group.

Our Volunteer Now Packet is loaded with activities you can do from home, using common household items, to support our shelter pets. This is an excellent option for students in need of school service hours. Please note that we are unable to sign off on court-ordered community service hours.

For volunteering from home as a group, see Group Volunteering.

We offer several options to gain volunteer hours while helping our pets:

• Complete projects at home with our Volunteer Now Packet. Bring in your items and receive a sign-off on hours by a Volunteer Engagement staff member.
• Attend one of our monthly public volunteer events where you can help our furry shelter residents and make an impact by crafting cat toys, making dog treats, and more! See our event calendar.
• If you are a student inquiring about a school or service project, such as interviewing one of our staff, please fill out our online form, and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours. Requests must be submitted 10 working days prior to your project’s due date.

If you are able to commit to one shift per week for three months, you can volunteer with our pets at one of our shelters. Start the process by completing our online orientation and volunteer application.

Unfortunately, AHS does not offer any court-ordered community service opportunities at this time.

We’d love to have you volunteer as a pack! AHS offers enhanced experiences for animal-loving groups of 4–100 people who want to help homeless pets in need!

Learn More

As you get oriented to our shelter, you’ll learn how to care for our canine friends during their stay at our shelter. There is not any independent animal handling during this introductory level. Some of the valuable services you will provide:

• Clean kennels
• Assist with replenishing water
• Help with dishes and laundry to ensure our canine friends have fresh, clean dishes, beds and linens
• Make, deliver and restock enrichment items
• Provide enrichment activities to keep the dogs entertained in their kennels
• Create a Bark Free Zone with behind the bar (in kennel) enrichment activities

Complete 15 hours in AX ONE to advance to AX TWO or continue helping in AX ONE and support AHS with offsite events.

Walk the walk and talk the talk (with dogs that is). As an AX TWO: Dog Enrichment Volunteer, you will work hands-on with the dogs and socialize them.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Walk small to large shelter dogs (except “Level 3” dogs)
• Take approved dogs to run/play in the yards
• Trick training
• Deliver enrichment items in animal areas
• Create a Bark Free Zone with behind-the-bar (in kennel) enrichment activities
• Provide in kennel socialization to our pups who are unable to go out for walks due to medical restrictions

Once in AX TWO, volunteers also have the opportunity to pursue roles in other departments such as adoptions, photography, and adoptions.

Complete 30 hours in AX TWO to advance to AX THREE or continue helping in AX TWO and support AHS with offsite events.

Learn how to walk and socialize our dogs who require advanced canine handling skills (“Level 3” dogs). These dogs could be physically challenging to get in and out of kennels, reactive, dog-aggressive, high arousal, shy/fearful or kennel stressed. They need extra care, patience and handling skills to ensure the safety of the pets and the volunteers. You’ll also provide these pets with socialization and enrichment.

In addition to AX THREE shifts, volunteers in this level will be qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

Sunnyslope Campus
9226 N. 13th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85021
Get Directions

Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus
1521 W. Dobbins Road
Phoenix, AZ 85041
Get Directions

PetSmart Scottsdale
4380 N. Miller Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Get Directions

As you get oriented to our shelter, you’ll learn how to provide our feline friends with excellent care during their stay at our shelter. There is no independent animal handling during this introductory level. Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Clean kennels
• Assist with replenishing water
• Help with dishes and laundry to ensure our feline friend have fresh, clean dishes, beds and linens
• Make, deliver and restock enrichment items
• Provide enrichment activities to keep the cats entertained in their kennels
• Behind-the-bar (in kennel) enrichment activities

Complete 15 hours in AX ONE to advance to AX TWO or continue helping in AX ONE and support AHS with offsite events.

Work alongside our Animal Care pack members and learn the ins and outs of handling and socializing the cats in our care. Some of the ways you’ll help:

• In-kennel cat socialization
• Out-of-kennel play time (except Level 3 cats)
• Provide individual and group enrichment
• Deliver enrichment items in animal areas

Once in AX TWO, volunteers can also pursue roles in other departments such as adoptions, photography, and adoptions.

Complete 30 hours in AX TWO to advance to AX THREE or continue helping in AX TWO and support AHS with offsite events.

Learn how to provide socialization and enrichment for our homeless cats who require advanced feline handling skills (“Level 3” cats). These cats may be shy, fearful, reactive, high arousal or kennel stressed. They need extra care, patience and low-stress handling skills to ensure the safety of the pets and the volunteers. You’ll also provide these pets with socialization and enrichment.

In addition to AX THREE shifts, volunteers in this level will be qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

Sunnyslope Campus
9226 N. 13th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85021
Get Directions

Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus
1521 W. Dobbins Road
Phoenix, AZ 85041
Get Directions

PetSmart Scottsdale
4380 N. Miller Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Get Directions

Learn the ins and outs of the Bottle Baby Intensive Care Unit (BBKICU) operations while providing essential animal care for our smallest friends in need (bottle baby kittens ages 0-4 weeks). This is a highly demanding and extremely rewarding opportunity that requires a commitment to weekly scheduled shifts so that we can provide the care needed for these babies to survive.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Provide kitten residents with clean dishes and warm cozy beds
• Help to maintain day-to-day ICU operations
• Prep formula and kitten bottles

In addition to Bottle Baby Caregiver shifts, volunteers in this level will be qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

Provide life-saving care for our orphaned kittens by feeding our fur-babies, some as young as one day old. This is a highly demanding and extremely rewarding opportunity that requires a commitment to weekly scheduled shifts so that we can provide the care needed for these babies to survive.

To become a Feeder, you must complete two Caregiver shifts and two feeder trainings.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Bottle feed and provide gruel for kittens who have transitioned from the bottle
• Stimulate kittens to urinate and defecate
• Record kitten weights, feeds, elimination, and health signs
• Support with caregiving duties as need to support the team and keep nursery operations running smoothly

In addition to Bottle Baby Feeder shifts, volunteers at this level are qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

This opportunity is ideal for volunteers interested in the medical aspects of animal welfare who have some education or experience in veterinary medicine. Volunteers help our shelter pets by ensuring that operations go smoothly so that we can save more lives!

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Scrub, sanitize, wrap and sterilize surgical instruments
• Prepare surgical drapes
• Fold and stock laundry, restock supplies
• Clean kennels
• Transport pets safely to and from the shelter surgery area

In addition to Shelter Surgery Support shifts, volunteers at this level are qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

This opportunity is ideal for volunteers interested in the medical aspects of animal welfare who have some education or experience in veterinary medicine. Volunteers help the community’s owned pets by ensuring that clinic operations go smoothly by supporting our public veterinary clinic team.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Scrub, sanitize, wrap and sterilize surgical instruments
• Prepare surgical drapes
• Fold and stock laundry, restock supplies
• Clean kennels
• Support the team with administrative tasks as needed

In addition to Veterinary Clinic Support shifts, volunteers at this level are qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

Nina Mason Pulliam South Mountain Campus
1521 W. Dobbins Road
Phoenix, AZ 85041
Get Directions

Sunnyslope Campus
9226 N. 13th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85021
Get Directions

Volunteers who successfully complete both Animal Experience (AX) ONE and AX TWO Dogs or Cats are eligible to support the Adoptions Team as an Adoptions Ambassador. Your support makes all the difference in placing pets in homes and creating more space in our shelter for pets who need our care. Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Greet customers and provide them with an “Excellent Experience Every Time”
• Match adopters with the right pet for their home and lifestyle
• Ensure that adopters have all the information they need to be successful with their new pets: introduction to a new home, socialization, basic medical care, etc.
• Take photos of pets if needed for the website or marketing purposes
• Support AHS with large scale adoption events

In addition to Adoptions Ambassador shifts, volunteers at this level are qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

Our Animal Assistance team is dedicated to providing excellent service and community resources for both people and animals who visit our Animal Assistance lobby. There may be emotional moments as pet owners are saying goodbye to their beloved companions and as a volunteer, you will offer reassurance, compassion and empathy for both the people and animals involved. There will also be happy moments when a lost pet is reunited with his or her owner.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Greet customers and provide visitors with an “Excellent Experience Every Time”
• Provide resources and offer pet solutions to customers needing assistance
• Provide shelter “walk-throughs” for customers looking for their lost pet
• Clean crates/ stock supplies
• Keep the lobby and exam rooms tidy and clean

In addition to Animal Assistance Concierge shifts, volunteers at this level are qualified to support AHS with offsite events.

Become a thrift store volunteer today and help organize, sort and display donations so that we can raise funds for our pets! Our thrift stores generate about $1 million a year and we couldn’t do it without our volunteer support! Our thrift store volunteers help ensure that in-kind donations benefit AHS programs to the greatest extent possible.

• Sort through donations, categorize, and price items
• Purge and recycle old items
• Stock items and merchandise displays in the store
• Straighten and organize clothing and household items on racks and shelves
• Assist with posting items to our eBay thrift page

Mesa Thrift Store
1110 W. Southern Avenue,
Suite 20
Mesa, AZ 85210
Get Directions

Cave Creek Thrift Store
13401 N. Cave Creek Road
Phoenix, AZ 85022
Get Directions

Your creative talent could help make a big impact for our homeless pets. Volunteers who successfully complete both Animal Experience (AX) ONE and AX TWO Dogs and Cats are eligible to support the Photography Team as a Photography Assistant. Your set-up skills make all the difference in capturing the purrfect photo.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Preparing pets for their glamour shot/photo!
• Assisting the photographer with pet placement for photos
• Transporting pets to and from the photography studio within the shelter

Volunteers who successfully complete both AX ONE and AX TWO Dogs and Cats are eligible to support the Photography Team as a Volunteer Photographer. Use your photography abilities to truly save lives and tell the story of our animals. This is a great opportunity for students looking for a photography internship or other professional photography experience.

Some of the ways you’ll help:

• Studio set up
• Transporting pets to and from the photography studio within the shelter
• Capturing quality images
• Editing photos

Additional role requirements include:

• Working towards an Associate or Bachelor’s Degree in Photography or related field
• Basic understanding of Digital SLR camera equipment
• Experience in basic photo editing with Adobe CC programs
• Interview with our photography team