Animal Care Volunteer

About the Charity

Marias Animal Shelter protects small animals in need of rehoming. We provide safe shelter to neglected, abandoned, or unwanted pets, and offer a second chance through adoption or permanent residency.

Since the charity was founded by Maria Mulkeen in 2000, the demand for rescue services has skyrocketed. The shelter now sees over 300 animals a year, and so relies heavily on the generous donation of time and support from regular volunteers. Based in Probus, Truro, the shelter specialises in rabbits and guinea pigs, and aims to prevent problems through education, training and advice for anyone involved in the care of small pets.

What’s involved

Volunteers join us once a week (or more if desired) from 9am-1pm to help with animal care duties. These include:

• Cleaning and feeding of animal enclosures, primarily rabbit and guinea pig
• Prepare and provide enrichment items
• Assist in providing positive socialisation experiences for small animals
• Assist with handling and/or health checking (only when directed to do so)
• Replenish resources alongside basic tidying duties e.g., sweeping, sorting washing etc
• The opportunity to learn and do more as you settle in
• Please note this is not an exhaustive list of volunteer tasks

We ask that you:

• Are reliable and hardworking with a genuine interest in animal care
• Able to follow instructions closely, and report concerns or questions to staff straight away
• Must be prepared to get stuck in; volunteering is hard work
• Are able to bend, twist, kneel etc to clean enclosures for several hours
• Able to use initiative and work efficiently – time is a precious thing to us!
• Follow health and safety instructions, taking reasonable responsibility of personal safety
• Are gentle and calm when working around animals
• Can communicate clearly and ask questions when unsure

Previous experience with animals is desirable but not essential as training is provided. Please note, we are only able to accept volunteers over the age of 16 and individuals who are able to work independently. Considerable time and resources are invested into organising and training volunteers, so please only apply if you can offer regular hours for 6 months or longer.

How will you benefit from volunteering?

Caring for animals is a lot of physical hard work, but it’s a rewarding role, with many opportunities to meet new people, gain experience in animal husbandry and handling, build confidence, or gain employability skills. You will get to experience daily life inside a rescue centre, whilst helping to keep the doors open to more animals in need.

Student volunteers and work experience. We regularly take on students looking to complete work experience in animal care. Please read through the information below, complete an application form and email it to us.  We take on student volunteers throughout the year if we have vacancies to do so.

What to do next?

If you are interested in volunteering with us please email masvolunteers@outlook.com. We will review your application and get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us.