The Heart Behind the Scenes: Honoring Our Behind-the-Scenes Volunteers

When many people think about volunteering at Dakin, they often picture walking dogs, socializing cats, or helping with adoptions. While these roles are vital, there is an entire world of essential work happening quietly behind the scenes every day to make that care possible.

At Dakin, we rely on hundreds of volunteer hours each year for roles that don’t involve direct animal interaction, yet are absolutely critical to our mission. From preparing surgical instruments to distributing pet food and supporting our development team, these volunteers keep us running, quietly, consistently, and with extraordinary dedication.

Spay/Neuter Surgery Pack Volunteers

Before any animal enters the operating room, our surgery pack volunteers are already at work. They assemble, clean, and sterilize instruments and prepare the surgical packs necessary for safe, efficient spay and neuter procedures.

This meticulous work directly impacts our ability to provide high-quality medical care and address pet overpopulation in our community. In 2025, these volunteers contributed over 900 hours—the equivalent of 22 full-time workweeks—to ensure our medical services run smoothly.

Thrift Shop Volunteers

Behind every treasure found at Dakin’s Home Again Thrift Shop is a dedicated team managing the full lifecycle of donated goods. Our thrift volunteers handle everything from sorting and cleaning to pricing and displaying items for both our physical shop and eBay operations.

Every dollar raised through the thrift shop goes directly back into our animals, programs, and services. As Lee Chambers, who oversees the thrift volunteer team, explains, “The people who run the shop are not paid for all their efforts. They work hard to gather the donated items, clean them, price them, display them in the shop, and sell them... Each one of these incredible volunteers is motivated to do all this hard work because they are dedicated to helping animals.”

Beyond generating essential funding, the shop makes pet care more accessible by offering affordable supplies, from bedding and bowls to carriers and crates, for families in our community. In 2025 alone, thrift volunteers contributed more than 2,100 hours of labor, the equivalent of over a full year of full-time work.

Pet Food Aid: A Community Effort

Our Pet Food Aid program is a lifeline for families who love and care deeply about their pets. This program is a beautiful example of community collaboration; we are lucky to work with a wonderful group of folks from Sunshine Village, who help us by packing and filling large tubs before distribution. Once the food is prepped, our distribution volunteers take over to ensure the lobby is organized and welcoming for our community members.

Cindy Fournier, a dedicated volunteer, describes the impact of the Pet Food Bank: “We are greeting and engaging face-to-face with the diverse members of the community. Many come on foot, by bus, scooter, car, and bike to make sure they can get what we have to offer. They have pictures of their pets and stories to tell about them... knowing their pets won’t go hungry is by far the greatest feeling of all!”

In 2025, food packing volunteers dedicated more than 630 hours—nearly four months of full-time work to prepare food for local pets. And, pet food distribution volunteers contributed nearly 300 hours to ensure families can keep their beloved companions at home.

Development Office Assistants

A strong administrative foundation allows our animal welfare programs to thrive. Our development assistants support fundraising efforts by processing donations, assisting with mailings, and maintaining the records that keep us connected to our supporters.

While this role happens away from the kennels, its impact is felt across every program Dakin operates. In 2025, development office assistants contributed nearly 380 volunteer hours, the equivalent of ten full work weeks, dedicated to sustaining our mission.

A Collective Impact

While these volunteer roles may happen out of public view, their impact is felt every day across Dakin Humane Society. These volunteers remind us that making a difference doesn’t always look the same, and that every role plays a meaningful part in improving the lives of animals and the people who care about them.

Blog contributed by volunteer Allyson O’Dell