Volunteer at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital

The support and service contributed to the hospital by our volunteers is invaluable and we offer an increasing range of great volunteer opportunities.  If you have a love of animals and a desire to help your community we would really like to hear from you. You will need to be a minimum of 18 years of age.  We are unable at this stage to accept work experience placements.

Volunteer opportunities include:

• Kitten and Dog Fostering
• PALS (Pets are Loving Support) Program
• Administrative/Office Support
• Assisting in our Cattery/Kennels
• Assisting in our retail shop
• Community Fundraising

Kitten Fostering Program
Socialisation is as equally important for a kitten as being regularly fed and kept in a clean environment.  A kitten’s learning curve is steepest during its first 9 weeks of life and proper socialisation will ensure the kitten grows up well-balanced and happy.

Volunteer foster carers take on the responsibility for general care and socialisation of the animal during those early months until the kitten is ready to be adopted. This `includes bringing the animals to the hospital for weekly health checks.  We provide all food, bedding, litter trays, bowls and toys for the fostered animal plus unlimited advice and support and all veterinary care.

 Foster care for kittens can be for varying lengths of time, from 1 week to 6 weeks depending on the age and size of the kitten. 

PALS program
The Pets Are Loving Support (PALS) Program has been running for 20 years and is a free service provided by the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.  The program coordinates visits to hospitals, rehabilitation centres, hostels and nursing homes by volunteers accompanied by their own assessed and approved dogs. The program’s aim is to help improve the wellbeing of patients/residents through positive contact with visiting volunteers and their dogs.

You will be required to attend an assessment with your dog and police checks are required for volunteers.

PALS information sessions are held regularly.  If you are interested in becoming a PALS volunteer please contact Wendy Lake on 03 9321 7288 or email on wlake@lortsmith.com.

Administrative/Office Support
We often have the need for office support in various departments.  This can be either a regular administrative role or a short term position supporting our permanent office staff during peak times.

Assistance in the Cattery/Kennels
Volunteers are required seven days per week as we have a variety of duties we need extra assistance with ranging from cleaning cages, feeding animals to simply providing the animals with some TLC.  These volunteering roles require a commitment on a weekly basis.  This is a very popular area for volunteers and the demand is high.  Should we be unable to place you in a shift initially you will be placed on our emergency call list.

Retail Shop
The Hospital has a pet supplies shop within the hospital building. The shop is open between normal business hours and is staffed entirely by volunteers. Proceeds from the shop go directly towards supporting our work and funding our animal welfare and community programs. We require volunteers on a weekly basis.

Community Fundraising
If you would like to volunteer for us within your own community or organisation, why not coordinate a community fundraising event for the hospital? 

How to join us as a volunteer
We run regular information sessions for volunteers where you can find out more about the hospital and decide which volunteering opportunities may suit you (all volunteers are required to attend a session).

Volunteer information sessions are held on a regular basis.  If you are interested in volunteering for us and would like to reserve a place on our next session (sessions are very popular and so spaces are limited) please email your details to wlake@lortsmith.com