Bringing Care and Enrichment to Shelter Dogs

It’s 8:00 a.m. and the enthusiastic barking coming from the dog kennels at Dakin Humane Society indicates that the morning ritual of walks, kennel cleanings and breakfast has begun. Volunteer Keith Purcell approaches Diamond’s kennel and unclips her blue leash from the door as she wiggles excitedly in anticipation, her warm eyes pleading to be the first to be walked this morning. The year-old tan and white pit bull terrier gets her wish.

Keith, who is also a member of Dakin’s Board of Directors, is one of about 75 volunteers who comprise Dakin’s dog care volunteer program. Over the past two years, Dakin has seen a significant rise in dog admissions: 360 in 2022, increasing to 643 in 2023, and reaching a year-to-date total of 744 by early December 2024.

Each dog has unique health, safety, and social needs. Some thrive in company, while others fear strangers. Medical concerns like allergies or infections may arise, and specialized diets are often required. Caring for each dog involves understanding and meeting their individual needs.

There’s also a concern about keeping an in-shelter dog in good spirits. According to Dakin’s Behavior Coordinator Lauren Rubin, KPA CTP, CPDT-KA, FFCP, “When a dog enters a shelter, they lose all sense of control in their lives. They’re in a kennel until they are walked, they’re hungry until they’re fed, and they lose the ability to make choices, which stresses many of them.”

Caring for these dogs requires a skilled team of well-trained volunteers. They receive specialized training in leash handling, enrichment, reading body language, interacting with scared dogs, and managing food preparation and special diets, among other topics.

New volunteers are matched with a mentor who they shadow for three consecutive shifts to learn the ropes. “I think the best thing about the dog volunteer/mentor program is how much the mentors, mentees, and their fellow shift-mates bond,” noted Lauren. “The volunteers who show up consistently work together very well and become friends. It's really nice!”

Keith became a dog care volunteer nearly two years ago after retiring from a full-time job. “I love the interaction with the dogs, especially when they’re happy to be out on a walk and acting goofy. The biggest challenge is when they’re so excited first thing in the morning to go out that it’s hard to leash them because they’re jumping around,” he laughed.

Dog care tasks are matched to volunteer experience using a color-coded system. Blue dogs are easiest to handle and suited for all volunteers, orange requires intermediate training, red is for advanced volunteers, and black is for staff only.

“To handle the intermediate dogs, volunteers need skills like how to correctly fit a front-clip harness, how to handle a dog who pulls hard on the leash, or how to gently interact with fearful dogs so they feel secure,” stated Lauren. “The advanced volunteers need to be able to handle high-arousal dogs who may be jumpy or mouthy, dogs who are very reactive to other animals, or fearful dogs who need a really special touch to coax them out of the kennel.”

The dog volunteer program is vital for Dakin dogs. “Staff can manage two potty breaks a day,” said Lauren, “but volunteers provide extra walks, enrichment, and cuddle time, giving the dogs a sense of normalcy.”

She added, “Thanks to our volunteers, we learn valuable details about each dog’s personality—likes, dislikes, favorite scratches, cuddling preferences, leash manners—helping adopters connect and making matches faster.”

If you’re interested in joining the dog care volunteer program, please visit https://www.dakinhumane.org/volunteer-getting-started and request an online application. After you have filled out and returned the application, you will be contacted via email.