Volunteers are the Heart and Soul of Dallas Pets Alive!
Volunteering your time, creativity and skills makes an impact—for you and homeless pets!
- You will make a lasting difference in many animals’ lives
- Volunteering is good for your emotional, physical, and mental health
- You will grow personally and professionally, and learn new skills
- You will make connections with amazing, like-minded people
To volunteer with Dallas Pets Alive! you must:
- Complete our Volunteer Application.
- Review and sign our Volunteer Agreement.
- Attend Orientation and any applicable training requirements.
Check out our current Volunteer opportunities here.
Volunteering FAQs
DPA! offers both virtual and in-person opportunities that offer flexibility and a rewarding experience. Whether you prefer working from home or if you want to interact with animals (or both), we have varying needs across all skill sets. You’ll also have the chance to meet people and we love hosting social events to get together – especially at our Adoption Container!
To inquire about group volunteering or utilizing our Adoption Container please email groupvolunteer@dallaspetsalive.org for more information.
Below is an alphabetical listing of our teams within the organization:
Adoptions Team
Help our animals get adopted by monitoring the email box for requests for information, adoption applications, follow-ups, and other correspondence with prospective adopters, as well as help coordinate adoption meetings. These are virtual roles.
Alumni Team
Ensure the health, safety, and overall well-being of our adopted dogs and cats by maintaining relationships with adoptive families of DPA! pets and helping to provide guidance and assistance on any challenges faced by the new family. These are virtual roles.
Events Team
Promote DPA!’s mission by volunteering at our adoption and fundraising events held throughout the DFW area. Assist with handling dogs as well as talking with potential adopters and others at the event about our adoptable pets and DPA!’s mission. Most adoption events are held on weekends and last from 3-6 hours.
Foster
Provide temporary care for cats or dogs in your home until they can be adopted. Fostering is what allows us to pull animals from the shelter. The more fosters we have, the more animals we can save! You must be the owner/renter of a home and fill out a Foster Care Application. See our Foster page for more information.
Foster & Medical Support Team
Help support foster families with behavioral or medical needs and maintain records as a Foster Representative, keep our pets up to date on our website as a Foster Administrator, screen new foster homes as a Foster Application Vetter, or assist in reviewing and maintaining medical records for our foster pets as a Medical Coordinator! These are virtual roles.
Fundraising Team
Help us grow and save more animals by helping plan and execute fundraising events as well as contributing ideas for fundraising.
Marketing/PR/Graphic Design Team
Help educate the public about DPA! and our mission. Seek out public speaking opportunities, present at local fairs, farmers’ markets, and other events; distribute promotional materials at events and local businesses; help create collateral items like brochures, ads, posters, and fliers. Help manage our social media presence. Roles are both in-person at DAS and virtual.
PASS – Positive Alternative to Shelter Surrender – Team
Help keep animals from entering the shelter system by providing support and alternatives to families who are considering taking their pet to the shelter. Roles are both in-person at Dallas Animal Services (DAS) and virtual.
Photography
Help us market our animals and DPA! better by taking digital photos of foster animals and events for marketing materials. Experience and DSLR camera strongly preferred.
Rescue Team
Work to evaluate animals at DAS to bring into our program based upon available space; meet foster pickups at DAS or provide for transport to foster home. This requires working at DAS at least once a month.
Transport Team
Help get our animals where they need to be by transporting them from Dallas Animal Services, boarding facilities, or foster homes to adoption sites, vet visits, and similar, and back, using your vehicle.
Trap, Neuter, Release Cat Team
Help us reduce the feral cat overpopulation by assisting and educating the community about outdoor cats. You’ll provide resources to citizens on the benefits of community cats, how to prevent the overpopulation of outdoor cats, and how to manage colonies. Roles are both in-person/hands-on and virtual.
Volunteer Team
Help us increase our volunteer numbers and engagement by recruiting people, helping them to find a role within the organization, participating in orientations, and answering questions. These are primarily virtual roles.
Website/Other Tech Support
Design, program, and update our website, support our databases, and provide media/tech support. These are primarily virtual roles.
Interested in other opportunities?
Contact us at groupvolunteer@dallaspetsalive.org!
For virtual roles, you must be 18 years of age or older.
At our events or in person, you must be 17 years of age or older. Individuals under the age of 17 years old will require a parent/guardian to attend all volunteer activities with the minor, including completing the application and attending orientation.
If you have a special request or circumstance to be considered for volunteers 16 years of age or younger (e.g., school groups, scouts, etc.), please email groupvolunteer@dallaspetsalive.org.
Dallas Pets Alive! champions a world where:
- Both ends of the leash are respected and honored. All individuals are treated with dignity, compassion, and understanding.
- We treat all living beings as they wish to be treated.
DPA! is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive culture that reflects the uniqueness of the animals and communities we serve. We will lead with positive intent and foster inclusivity and belonging in all that we do.
To become a volunteer, complete the Volunteer Application. Once you complete the application, we will review your submission and be in contact for the next steps. Be sure to check your spam filter to make sure you don’t miss our email!
If you are seeking community service hours for school, an organization, or personal pleasure, please follow the steps above for “How do I become a DPA! volunteer?” You will be in charge of any documentation, including tracking your hours on your own time sheet. You may request that a DPA! supervisor initials your time sheet each time you volunteer. If you require other documentation of your hours including DPA! letterhead, please contact groupvolunteer@dallaspetsalive.org before beginning your service.
At this time DPA! does not offer court ordered community service opportunities.
To inquire about group opportunities please email groupvolunteer@dallaspetsalive.org.