Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the RHS! We are very excited to welcome new volunteers to the Society at our new Animal Community Centre at 4900 Parliament Ave. in Harbour Landing!
Every day, volunteers make an enormous difference in the lives of homeless animals at the RHS. If you love animals and want to help improve lives, become a Regina Humane Society volunteer!
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ABLE TO ACCEPT UP TO 60 APPLICATIONS PER MONTH. IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO REGISTER THIS MONTH, PLEASE TRY AGAIN THE FOLLOWING MONTH. We look forward to welcoming you to the RHS family soon!
Volunteer Programs:
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Building & Grounds Maintenance
Help us look our best! Keeping our facility and grounds looking great creates a welcoming environment for everyone who visits the Regina Humane Society. Volunteers are periodically asked to assist with yard work, landscaping and general upkeep of the shelter. Activities may include raking leaves, washing windows, sorting recycling, painting and assisting with light building maintenance. If you have a special skill that you are willing to share, we need your help!
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Caring Hands
Caring Hands volunteers are an integral part of how we care for all of the wonderful animals that call the Regina Humane Society their temporary home. Volunteers provide dogs, cats and small critters (i.e. rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, etc.) with much-needed enrichment, exercise, grooming and attention. Help provide adoptable animals with unlimited love while helping them to burn off excess energy, exercise their bored brains and look their best for potential adopters.
Caring Hands volunteers will be provided training in established shelter protocols, animal body language and safe animal handling before becoming a registered Regina Humane Society volunteer. Volunteers interested in working with adoptable dogs will also be required to complete the additional Dog Walking Orientation.
While anyone ages 12 years and older is welcome to become a Caring Hands volunteer, please note that the following program guidelines are in place:
Eligibility by age to volunteer:
- Aged 12–13 years: Are restricted to working with adoptable cats only. Must be supervised by a parent or guardian, or a person aged 18+. All adults volunteering with children must have completed the volunteer orientation, their own set of waiver forms and submitted a Criminal Record Check. There should be one child per adult so that full assistance can be provided to the child.
- Aged 14–15 years: May volunteer unsupervised. Restricted to working with adoptable cats only. A parent or guardian must co-sign the volunteer waiver forms.
- Aged 16–17 years: May volunteer unsupervised. Eligible to work with adoptable dogs, cats and small critters. A parent or guardian must co-sign the volunteer waiver forms.
- Aged 18+ years: Must submit a Criminal Record Check in addition to signing the volunteer waiver forms. Criminal Record Checks can be obtained from your local police station. Please note that the Regina Police Service charges volunteers $10.00 per Criminal Record Check.
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Event Promotion (Flier and Poster Distribution)
Help us spread the word about what’s happening at the Regina Humane Society! From time to time, we need extra help promoting adoption, fundraising and community events. You will play a vital role in the success of an event, whether it is by handing out leaflets, sharing events with friends and colleagues or distributing posters at local businesses throughout the city.
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Be a Foster Family
You can be a superhero and save lives by providing a temporary home for animals in need! Fostering is one of the most impactful ways you can help save the lives of animals.
Foster Families
What does a foster family do?
- Provides a temporary home for kittens and puppies too young to be adopted
- Provides care for animals recovering from injuries, illness or surgery
- Socializes shy or fearful animals
- Provides a safe place for shelter animals in times of overcrowding
- Ensures foster animals are brought to the shelter for their scheduled medical treatments
What are the requirements to be a foster family?
- Must reside within a 30-minute drive to the Regina Humane Society (for emergency purposes)
- Must be over 18 years of age
- Must provide a satisfactory criminal record check from Regina Police Service or the RCMP
- Any other animals within the household must be up to date on vaccinations (a vaccination certificate must provided for each pet)
- All approved foster applicants must complete a Foster Orientation and read the Foster Manual
- After Foster Orientation is completed, a phone interview with the RHS Enrichment Coordinator will be arranged to finalize the applicant as a registered foster
Foster volunteers are provided with:
- Basic training
- All animal care supplies
- Medical care for the animal and access to someone to answer all your questions
How will I know which animals require foster care?
Most communication within the Foster Program is done through email. When an animal is in need of fostering, the Enrichment Coordinator will send an email out to registered fosters in hopes of finding an available foster family for that particular animal. If a foster person is interested, they simply reply to the email and then arrange a time for pick-up. Whoever responds to the foster call-out first will receive the animal as a foster!
Safe Places Program
Safe Places volunteers provide a temporary foster home for animals and peace of mind to persons dealing with a domestic violence situation. Pets are also not immune to violence in the home. Victims of abuse are sometimes hesitant to leave the home, knowing their pet may be left behind. Safe Places provides victims of domestic violence a resource to ensure that the animal members of the household have a temporary, safe place to reside when fleeing an abusive situation.
Foster volunteers within this program remain anonymous to the animal’s owner(s), and all transfers of the animal are solicited through the Regina Humane Society.
Help Promote Our Foster Program
Help the RHS spread the word about our Foster Program. Download, print and post-Foster Care Posters at work, school, on campuses, in coffee shops, churches, halls – wherever they will be seen!
Download Foster Care poster PDFs by clicking on the images below.
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Humane Education and Outreach
Humane Education and Outreach volunteers are valuable Regina Humane Society team members. Working within various programs, you will guide children through sessions teaching animal health, safety, and care. With your help, children will learn that pets depend on people to care for them and that responsibility includes caring for those who depend on us. Please note that volunteers wishing to assist with youth programming must submit a Vulnerable Sector Check and their Criminal Record Check. For more info, email volunteer@reginahumane.ca
Our Outreach programs help support pets and their guardians through respectful education programs and the supply of basic pet care items and food. Ultimately, these programs are designed to help keep pets with their loving families and to live long, happy and healthy lives.
An education background or experience working with children is an asset.
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Kennel Support
Kennel Support volunteers are a vital support team who keep animal kennel areas clean and tidy. They ensure all animals have tidy living spaces, fresh water, toys, clean blankets and litter pans at all times.
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Kitty Readers
Does your child love to read? Does he or she struggle at times with reading? Either way – the Kitty Readers Program may be perfect for your family!
Kitty Readers is a program designed to help children ages 7-11 years improve their reading skills while helping cats at the Regina Humane Society. Volunteers, along with a parent or guardian, read to adoptable shelter cats either silently or aloud in one of our cat adoption rooms. A calm voice and the presence of a child helps relax the cats and improves their socialization.
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Laundry Support
Caring for thousands of homeless animals each year means one thing – lots and lots of laundry! Each and every day we do countless loads of laundry in multiple sets of washers and dryers. Laundry Support volunteers keep cats, dogs and little critters warm and healthy by assisting with this very important task.
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Office Support
There is a lot happening behind the scenes at a shelter that people don’t see. From stuffing envelopes to calling adopters to follow up and check in, the office work never stops! Office support volunteers will work closely with various departments on selected office and administrative tasks. Activities may include data entry, card writing, filing and other clerical duties.
You can volunteer regularly or we can contact you when we have a special project that needs to be completed – the choice is yours!
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Pet Pantry
Imagine what you might use to keep your pet well-fed, healthy and happy. Now multiple that by the thousands and you will get a sense of what the Regina Humane Society needs to care for over 3,000 homeless animals every year. Pet Pantry volunteers offer to purchase especially needed item for the animals periodically throughout the year. Requests may be made for needed items such as cat litter, soft pet food or laundry soap.
To learn more about Pet Pantry or to sign up, click here.
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Pet Therapy
Please note that the Pet Assisted Therapy Program is currently not operating. We do hope to have it back in the future.
Pet Therapy volunteers are matched with specially selected homeless pets from the Regina Humane Society and visit 40 unique locations throughout Regina, including hospitals, senior care homes and rehabilitation facilities. Approximately 450 therapeutic visits are made by Pet Therapy teams each year.
You will experience firsthand the happiness of bringing people and pets together at every visit. With your help, cats, dogs and rabbits will receive a caring touch and enjoy all the quiet comforts of human companionship. Residents look forward to their visits with shelter pets, creating a break from routine, inspiring upbeat conversation and social interaction while reminiscing and sharing stories of pets they have known and loved.
Please note that visits are approximately one hour in length and volunteers are responsible for the Pet Therapy animal while it is in your care. Volunteers are also responsible for providing their own transportation to and from visits.
Be part of a special group of volunteers who see the value of pet companionship and take the time to share this with others.
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Photography
Are you a wizard with a camera? Photography Volunteers assist in taking adoption and other photos of our pets so they can go home more quickly or simply to help tell their story in social media posts or other promotions. Photography Volunteers should be comfortable working directly with animals of various sizes, breeds and temperaments.
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Read & Relax
People love to read and our pets love people. Bring your favourite book to the Shelter and find a cat in our cat communal room or dog in adoptions that is in need of companionship and start reading! Feel free to read out loud to the animal or silently to yourself. While reading aloud isn’t essential, please keep in mind that hearing a soft, soothing voice can be especially beneficial for fearful dogs.
In addition to providing much needed companionship, reading creates a calm environment for the animals while they wait for permanent homes and helps them remain calm when adopters visit the shelter. By sitting quietly with a cat or dog, you will also help prepare them for “down time” after they are adopted. Adoptable animals will learn to enjoy the presence of a human without having to be the centre of attention and develop exercise needs that are more manageable for adopters, both key elements for ensuring success in a new home.
You can enrich a shelter cat or dog’s day by spending a few quiet moments with them and offering them what they crave most – the presence of a friend.
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Special Events
Be an ambassador for the Regina Humane Society! Help make our adoption, fundraising and community events a success by joining the Special Events team. You will represent the Regina Humane Society in the community and educate the public on the Society’s important lifesaving work. Activities may include registering event participants, accepting donations, caring for animals, answering questions and much more!
Whether it is an adoption event, the Dog Jog or Pet Pictures with Santa, you could be involved in lots of fun events throughout the year. Once you get started attending events, you’ll be hooked!
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Tailblazers
Walk adoptable dogs in the park areas of Harbour Landing and have a tail-waggin’ good time!
Volunteers who are 18+ and have over 20 hours of dog walking experience at the RHS can take eligible dogs to walk around Wascana Park before adoptions open at the Shelter. The exercise and added socialization improves the dogs’ behaviour and helps them to look and act their best during adoption viewing. Volunteers who have read, signed, and submitted the Tailblazers orientation handout are eligible to participate in the program.
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Kitty Cab Drivers
Kitty Cab Drivers help pets find their forever home by transporting adoptable animals (mostly felines) to our Satellite Adoption Centres, located at various pet retail stores in the area. Transports happen on weekdays as needed to fill Satellite Centre spaces. The use of the volunteer’s personal vehicle would be required.
Please note the following age restrictions for youth volunteers:
- Aged 7–11 years: Volunteers can participate in the Kitty Readers Program, designed to help children improve their reading skills while helping cats at the Regina Humane Society. Must be supervised by a parent or guardian, or a person aged 18+.
- Aged 12–13 years: Are restricted to working with adoptable cats only. Must be supervised by a parent or guardian, or a person aged 18+. All adults volunteering with children must have completed the volunteer orientation, and their own set of waiver forms and submitted a Criminal Record Check. There should be one child per adult so that full assistance can be provided to the child.
- Aged 14–15 years: May volunteer unsupervised. Restricted to working with adoptable cats only. A parent or guardian must co-sign the volunteer waiver forms.
- Aged 16–17 years: May volunteer unsupervised. Eligible to work with adoptable dogs, cats and small critters. A parent or guardian must co-sign the volunteer waiver forms.
Before you get started, please review our application process below:
Step 1: A $30.00 non-refundable administration fee is required with each Volunteer application. Once your application fee has been processed, you will receive a confirmation email that will provide instructions on how to complete the remainder of your application.
*There is no additional fee for children aged 7-13 who are volunteering with a parent or guardian
(as required). If you are a parent, pay the administrative fee under your name, and a link included
for children to apply will be included in the email you will receive after you’ve paid your
administration fee.
Step 2: Before completing your online application form, you will need two things that must be attached to your submission:
- All volunteers 18 years of age and older, including guardians accompanying youth volunteers,
must submit a criminal record check (CRC) – more information on how to complete this can be found here: https://reginapolice.ca/resources/criminal-record-check/ Note that this will be at your expense (the cost for volunteers is $10). If you’ve completed a CRC within the 12 months prior to your application date, a copy of that is acceptable. - Please read and sign the Volunteer Code of Ethics & Volunteer Waiver. Both of these documents can be scanned or have a clear photo taken of them and submitted.
Step 3: Click the applicable link in your confirmation email to complete your application form. You will be asked to create a “My Impact” account which is the online application used for our Volunteer Program. Once your application form is complete, you will be directed to your My Impact main page and you will be able to begin the online orientation process, including viewing our Orientation Video. Be sure to retain your login credentials, as you will need them for orientation and to sign up for volunteer activities.
Step 4: Once you have reviewed the Orientation Video, you will be asked to complete a quiz. After successfully completing the quiz, your application will be submitted to our staff to verify that your documents and application are in order.
Once approved, you will be a new RHS Volunteer!
During your first volunteer shift, an RHS staff member will provide a brief tour to show you around the shelter and can answer any questions you may have.
If you have your CRC, signed Code of Ethics and Waiver documents, and are ready to volunteer, please submit your Administration Fee below, and let’s get started!
The maximum monthly application total has been reached for this month. Please check back at the beginning of next month to submit your application. Thank you!