Volunteering at an animal shelter for a 9 yo

[Anonymous]

My 9 yo DD wants to volunteer at an animal or an adoption center basically any place where animals need help.
We have checked Humane Society and ASPCA - both require their volunteers to be 18 and older.
Can anyone recommend where to go? We are in MoCo.

TIA

[Anonymous]

If you can't find a shelter that will let her volunteer, you might try a stable. Some stables will let young people volunteer to groom horses, etc. You might also find a stable that will let her trade barn work for riding lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can't find a shelter that will let her volunteer, you might try a stable. Some stables will let young people volunteer to groom horses, etc. You might also find a stable that will let her trade barn work for riding lessons.

good point but 9 is too young. what can a 9-yr old do? i don't want any kids running around thinking it's a play ground.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't find a shelter that will let her volunteer, you might try a stable. Some stables will let young people volunteer to groom horses, etc. You might also find a stable that will let her trade barn work for riding lessons.

good point but 9 is too young. what can a 9-yr old do? i don't want any kids running around thinking it's a play ground.

She's not. She can be given strict expectations and she can play with animals who don't have behaviour problems.

It would be a great way to learn compassion,

Keep looking for a place, OP.

[Anonymous]

When I was 9, I took care of my horse before school: cleaned stall, fed, and led him to the pasture. After school I rode him, groomed him, fed him, and did barn chores. It was a really good experience, and I learned a lot about discipline and responsibility from taking care of horses. We had a horse farm, but some of my friends in Pony Club didn't have horses, and they volunteered at a local commercial stable, and one friend was actually allowed to use one of the commerical stable's horses for Pony Club events, and she got free riding lessons. That started in 3rd grade, I think, for her. If your daughter wants to ride, she needs to start early. 9 isn't too early at all. Barn work is a great experience: my friends who just paid for riding lessons but didn't ever take care of horses missed out on a lot, I think. Plus, 9 year old girls who love horses adore hanging out at stables; they can socialize with other horse crazy kids. (I might or might not have avoided washing my hands after touching my horse in the morning so that I could smell horse on my hands all day long).

[Anonymous]

I think you are going to have a hard time finding a shelter or stable because of liability in that age group. I have also looked.
Days End horse will allow volunteers at that age If a parent is present. It's in Woodbine though.

[Anonymous]

Op - why don't you get her a pet instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't find a shelter that will let her volunteer, you might try a stable. Some stables will let young people volunteer to groom horses, etc. You might also find a stable that will let her trade barn work for riding lessons.

good point but 9 is too young. what can a 9-yr old do? i don't want any kids running around thinking it's a play ground.

She's not. She can be given strict expectations and she can play with animals who don't have behaviour problems.

It would be a great way to learn compassion,

Keep looking for a place, OP.

And what happens if OP's kid gets hurt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can't find a shelter that will let her volunteer, you might try a stable. Some stables will let young people volunteer to groom horses, etc. You might also find a stable that will let her trade barn work for riding lessons.

good point but 9 is too young. what can a 9-yr old do? i don't want any kids running around thinking it's a play ground.

She's not. She can be given strict expectations and she can play with animals who don't have behaviour problems.

It would be a great way to learn compassion,

Keep looking for a place, OP.

And what happens if OP's kid gets hurt?

There are no guarantees that she won't get hurt if she's working with animals (or walking down the street), but volunteering at a shelter or stable will teach her responsible behavior around the animals that will minimize her chances of getting hurt. If this stresses you out, you should probably keep her away from animals.

(I used to ride my horse bareback in the fields by myself, and we'd gallop hard as I pretended to be Elizabeth Taylor on the Pie. I also used to jump him over higher fences than my parents permitted when they weren't around, sometimes bareback. I've been kicked, stepped on, and I've fallen off a number of times, and broke two bones...but I had a glorious childhood and that time makes up some of my best memories. I'm glad I wasn't kept under constant watch, or kept indoors because my parents feared injury. I'm now more disciplined and confident from growing up with horses, I think. It makes me sad that my children don't have that).

[Anonymous]

I think Lost Dog and Cat Rescue will let you help at adoption events. As a parent you will probably need to stay and also helP. But basically your DD would walk around the store (and out front) an dog who is up for adoption. Usually at Petsmart. Go to their website and look under "volunteers." My DD and I did it when she was about 11. It was fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Lost Dog and Cat Rescue will let you help at adoption events. As a parent you will probably need to stay and also helP. But basically your DD would walk around the store (and out front) an dog who is up for adoption. Usually at Petsmart. Go to their website and look under "volunteers." My DD and I did it when she was about 11. It was fun.

Just googled this and it looks like kids have to be 14...?

[Anonymous]

I know it's probably too far, but the Alexandria Animal Shelter has a summer camp for kids. I volunteered there many years ago and it was great then. Maybe there is something similar in your area. The kids were able to learn about all aspects of the shelter. It would have been very age appropriate for a 9 year old that wanted to help animals. http://alexandriaanimals.org/summer-camp.html

[Anonymous]

Would you be up for fostering, with the 9yo assuming as many responsibilities as possible?

[Anonymous]

Op I'd pay your 9 year old to walk my small dog if you lived near me in fairfax county. I used to have a neighbor kid that walked my dog but we moved. I miss her because she was so good with my dog. Could your daughter be a dog walker for any neighbors with small dogs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 9 yo DD wants to volunteer at an animal or an adoption center basically any place where animals need help.
We have checked Humane Society and ASPCA - both require their volunteers to be 18 and older.
Can anyone recommend where to go? We are in MoCo.

TIA

He wasn't 11, but my son volunteered with K9 lifesavers walking dogs, and talking to people at rescue events. They required a parent to stay, but he got to do a lot of things that felt like helping to him.