Animal shelter desperate for volunteers

"Volunteers are extremely important,” Wake County's Animal Care Director Michael Williams said.

Williams says he could use around 300 volunteers to help with all that needs to be done at the facility. Currently, he has only 40.

The goal is to walk each dog three times a day. Most often, a dog is walked only once because there isn’t anyone available to take the animal outside. The cats also need care.

"It is nice for someone to play with them. Get them out. Brush them. It makes them more social,” volunteer Renee Filippucci-Kotz said.

To make the situation tougher, the county shelter will soon start taking animals for the City of Raleigh.

As many as 6,000 more cats and dogs will be at the facility. That is in addition to 12,000 animals the shelter already expects to see this year. With the extra animals, comes the need for even more helpers.

"People come in and walk dogs, they play with cats, do dishes," Williams said of the ways people can volunteer.

Williams says the work of volunteers helps put animals in good homes. That means less of them will have to be euthanized.

"You always feel really good when you help someone get adopted,” Filippucci-Kotz said.

Williams says getting volunteers is hard because there is no budget to advertise for them. The center is hosting a few volunteer orientation sessions in the coming weeks. The next session is Thursday, May 6 at 6 p.m.

The training session lasts approximately 1½ hours. You can RSVP for a session by e-mailing the volunteer coordinator at amy.wladyka@wakegov.com.

The minimum age to volunteer is 18. Individuals 16 years and up may volunteer under the supervision of a parent or guardian.