Volunteering

UCHS is pleased to announce a new volunteer coordinator to the team as June 2010, Casey Willey! An Ohio native, Casey moved to Marysville three years ago with her family. In fact, UCHS was the second place they visited in Marysville. They even adopted a UCHS cat before their house was finished! Casey has a degree in organizational communications and she stays busy with her daughters by leading a Girl Scout troop and volunteering in their school. Her hobbies include scrap booking, reading, traveling and playing with their dog Miazee (also from UCHS).

The UCHS offers many volunteer opportunities, ranging from walking dogs and socializing cats, to administrative work, medical records, veterinary help (required to be in vet school), marketing, planning events, web site design, and much more! It all begins with volunteer orientation, which is held once a month at the Marysville Public Library. Call the shelter at 937-642-6716 or email Casey@uchspets.org to sign up for our next class.

Top Dog Information

Do you have what it takes to be a Top Dog? After completing 25 hours of volunteer time with the UCHS you are eligible to become a "Top Dog." These volunteers work closely with our Intake and Placement Supervisor Becky Fitzgerald and long time volunteer and friend Kathy Hagerty, learning about animal behavior and positive reinforcement training techniques. They are also eligible to help UCHS staff at our many off-site adoption events that are held throughout the year. These off-site events are a lot of fun and a great way to help UCHS animals get adopted as they have a chance to be seen by people who might not visit the shelter.

Animal Fostering

The Union County Humane Society consistently operates at 130%-140% capacity. We have a small 3,000 sq ft building which cares for over 1,300 animals each year and we consistently have an 85%-90% adoption/placement rating. How are these terrific statistics possible? Through our animal fostering program! This is an incredibly important part of our ongoing operations, and there are a couple of ways to foster:

1) Fostering baby kittens: Baby kittens need to be bottle-fed if their mother is not around, and their young age makes them susceptible to illness at the shelter. We need baby kittens to stay on foster until they are 3 pounds or 3 months and can be spayed/neutered and placed up for adoption.

2) Fostering puppies: Like baby kittens, puppies need extra time and care, and are also susceptible to illness at the shelter. Puppies need to be on foster until they are 8 weeks and can be spayed/neutered and placed up for adoption.

3) Fostering adult dogs: UCHS is a happy place, and our dogs get lots of time and attention. Not all dogs thrive in a shelter environment no matter how nice it is, and depending on the breed, age, and temperament some dogs "break down" being confined for most of the day. When we see an adult dog whose mood is changing because of the confinement we reach out and try to find a foster parent who can let the dog get more exercise and live in a more "normal" environment. Adult dogs on foster need to be brought to offsite adoption events so they can still be viewed by the public and adopted out.

Upcoming Volunteer Events

Our upcoming volunteer events change quicker than we can change the web site, so please email Carrie at: Casey@uchspets.org for more updated information.

1) 6th Annual Run Fur Hope 5K/2mile fun run with dog/1mile family walk with dog! Saturday August 7th, 2010 at Mill Valley Park South!

Sign up on these social networking sites to keep in touch with all of our volunteer needs!