Volunteer - Dog Walker

Job Summary

Just 2-3 hours a week can make a huge difference in their lives!

• Handle and walk adoptable dogs in Building 1, outdoor kennels, and at offsite adoption events. The goal is to help dogs get exercise, build social skills, and learn basic commands so they’re ready for their forever homes.
• Support staff by maintaining play yards and meet-and-greet areas, cleaning dog bowls, organizing donations, and assisting with animal bathing. This helps keep the facility clean, welcoming, and ensures our dogs stay happy and healthy.

Report To:

• Volunteer Liaison or Coordinator of assigned location.

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

Essential Job Functions

• 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.

• Ensure there are current kennel cards on each animal available for adoption and educate the public on how to read the cards.
• Review medical sheet to report injured animals.
• Assure play yards and meet and greet areas are clean and respectable looking. Sweeps sidewalks.

• 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.

• Assists staff in dog bowl cleaning.
• Bathes dogs in the indoor and outdoor areas.
• 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

• Weekly (dog walking) /monthly (event handling) availability.

• Monthly availability and adherence to a schedule.
• Must complete all County required training courses

Physical Requirements:

• Walk, grasp, handle, reach, lift, push, pull, stand, stoop, perform repetitive motion, hear, speak, read and demonstrate mental and visual acuity.
• Ability to walk distances with multiple dogs
• Physically fit individuals who have experience controlling dogs in a variety of situations.
• Individuals need to stand for periods of time.
• Exposure to different cleaning materials.
• Must be able to perform the physical requirements of this classification with or without reasonable accommodation.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 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.

Disclaimer:

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by volunteers within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of volunteers assigned to this job. It is illustrative and representative. Management is not precluded from assigning other related functions not listed herein if such functions are a logical assignment within the scope of the job specification for the position. Physical characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by a volunteer to successfully perform the essential functions of this classification. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable an individual with a qualified disability to perform the essential functions of a job, on a case-by-case basis.

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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.