Volunteering

Volunteering at the Windward Animal Hospital is a great opportunity for those with a passion for animals and the desire to work with them. We believe you will find it to be a rewarding and enriching experience, though please be advised, it is not easy work.

Volunteers will need to wear scrubs since the work can and will be dirty. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, you will get feces, blood, and urine on yourself. It comes with the territory. If these things will make you uneasy or if you are squeamish, then volunteering at an animal hospital is probably not for you.

No matter how composed you are, you will be emotionally affected. The animals that come into the animal hospital can break your heart. You will witness emergencies and see animals suffering from terrible injuries. You will see owners grieving over the illness or loss of their beloved pet. You will also see many animals saved by the Windward team but even then, just the experience of having witnessed an animal’s suffering can stay with you. And inevitably, like all those working in animal rescue do, you will one day be exposed to the ugly side of human nature and be heartbroken by the neglect or abuse an animal was made to endure. As you can imagine, working with animals can be a profound and life-changing experience.

Perhaps most of all, you need patience! When you have a giant Saint Bernard dog in the waiting room that refuses to move to the examination room, you can’t exactly pick him up and carry him by yourself, nor can you get mad. You have to coax the animal, kindly but with a firm tone to your voice in order to get him to listen. You’ll need confidence, patience, and a desire to learn and to be of help to volunteer at the hospital.

If you think that you might be a fit for a volunteer position at the Windward Animal Hospital, please contact us about our volunteer opportunities.