MARIA'S ANIMAL SHELTER - Volunteers

Maria Mulkeen went to Duchy College, in the year 2000 to pursue her passion for animals and their welfare. After which came an opportunity to start her own animal shelter on a perfect little piece of land in Probus, Cornwall.

Marias Animal Shelter started off with one pony and is becoming a big success, taking in animals including: Goats, sheep, geese, ducks, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, degus, gerbils, degus, birds, hamsters, etc. 

Volunteering at the shelter

We are an extremely busy shelter with only three staff, so we rely heavily on the support of regular hardworking volunteers. We simply could not do our work without you!

Small animals don’t get a choice in when or how they are cared for, or by whom. They often end up overlooked or misunderstood and find themselves without permanent loving owners. By volunteering with us, you can take an active role in animal rescue by providing care to small animals who appreciate someone gentle and understanding that they can trust. Your support will help more animals find their forever loving home.

What to expect? Volunteers typically join us once per week from 9am-1pm. The majority of tasks involve cleaning and feeding the variety of animals we have at the shelter, with the opportunity to learn and do more as you progress in your volunteer position. You will need to be reliable and hardworking with a genuine interest in animal care and willingness to follow instructions closely. Please note, we are only able to accept volunteers over the age of 16.

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 read the relevant ‘Prospective Volunteer Information’ sheet below before contacting us. Then fill in an application form and email it to masvolunteers@outlook.com. We will review your application and get back to you as soon as possible. Please be aware that we receive a high volume of enquiries about volunteering, and are therefore not able to take on everyone who applies.

Volunteer Information and role descriptions:

Please read through this before applying  to volunteer with us. 

Prospective Volunteer – Small Animal role

Application Form:

If you would like to join our friendly hardworking team, please fill in the application form below and email it to masvolunteers@outlook.com

Volunteer Application Form

Thank you for your interest in supporting us. Your help is greatly appreciated.