Working with Animals

Author: Kay Sexton

Volunteering with animals is one of the most popular volunteer choices and for many people it is a real vocation to give up some of their time to work with or for an animal charity or organisation. It’s a rewarding task which has a wide range of opportunities such as:

If you're passionate about animal welfare but unsure which type of role suits you best, get personalised recommendations with our free Volunteer Role Finder.

dog walking, socialisation and kennel cleaning with a dogs’ home or rescue trust.
assisting veterinarians and other specialists in looking after injured wildlife.
volunteering at a local community or city farm.
monitoring, surveying and improving habitats for local wildlife.
working with feral cats and on cat rehoming.
helping out at a local zoo, wildlife park or animal sanctuary.
fundraising for a local shelter or sanctuary.

Commitment And Care

It’s quite common for people to think they want to work with animals but discover, quite quickly, that they struggle to maintain the level of detachment required when working with sick or injured animals or those that have been subject to cruelty or neglect. It takes a special kind of person, compassionate without ‘taking home’ the emotions of the workplace, to cope with the sharp end of animal volunteering. If you find that actually working with animals is not for you, don’t be discouraged, consider how you can distance yourself a little from the emotional load and still assist the animals you are so concerned about. For example you could fund-raise or give talks in local schools or businesses to raise awareness of the issue. Many animal related charities also require event organisers, photographers and people to help with administration and publicity.

If you do find you can work directly with animals, you will find that at times it can mean a lot hard, physical work which can be seasonal. For example, wildlife sanctuaries and bird charities find that they are inundated with injured or supposedly abandoned fledgling birds in spring, but have little to do in winter. Alternatively, the period soon after Christmas can be demanding in cat and dog shelters when pets bought for Christmas presents are abandoned or handed in by those who realise they cannot cope with the commitment.

Volunteer Role Finder

Answer a few questions about your interests, skills, and availability and get matched with the types of volunteering that suit you best. Whether you want to work with people, animals, or the environment, we will find your ideal role.

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Training And Skills

Whilst few animal charities require specific skills of their general volunteers, most will expect you to have some key attributes that make it easier for you to work with animals. These are:

Being comfortable around animals.

Able to recognise when an animal is uncomfortable or unwell and seek specialist help.

Relaxed in situations of stress or pressure.

Patience – more than anything else, working with animals means not have a time-table because animals don’t function to deadlines!

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Gap Year And Overseas Animal Volunteering

Working with animals in your gap year or taking a career break to do something animal-related is very popular, and while some charities ask for evidence that you’ve volunteered with animals before, others simply take your word for it that you will be able to cope with animal behaviour once you get to your destination.

It’s a very good idea to try and volunteer with animals before travelling to a strange place to serve as a volunteer, especially if you’re going to be expected to work with large animals. Some people find it extremely daunting to be exposed to wild animals much bigger than anything they are used to at home, while others find the cultural norms of other peoples when dealing with animals to be disturbing and difficult to accept. This can make an intensive animal-based voluntary project highly challenging to the unprepared volunteer.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Volunteer Role Finder lets you answer a few questions about your interests, skills, and availability and get matched with the types of volunteering that suit you best. Whether you want to work with people, animals, or the environment, we will find your ideal role. Try it now →

61 questions

Ask Voluntary Worker a Question

Nado 24/06/2022 at 11:08 am

How do I participate to volunteer with animals? Its my dream volunteering career I'd love to do

ellie 06/10/2021 at 6:17 pm

I am in sixth form, just turned 17 and have loved animals since I was a child i have always wanted to be a vet or work with animals in some way, im trying find voluntary places in my area but am struggling, i have a lot of passion for working with animals and would love to have something else to keep me busy when im not at school studying.

libby 14/07/2021 at 1:25 pm

hi im 14 and i have a love for animals and im doing bronze DofE this year.I need to volunteer and i want to do something i would enjoy, aka being with animals. I have a 14 year old staffy who is my bestfriend and has been since we were 3! i would love to have the opportunity to help and talk more about what i could do, please get back to me, thanks!

Hols 01/07/2021 at 10:35 pm

I am 14 and can't find anywhere in cardiff that will let me volunteer to look after animals. My goal is to become a vet when I leave school so I would love to start now so I get a better chance of becoming the best I can when I pass the exams needed for a vet.

Chloe 27/09/2020 at 6:33 pm

I am looking for an animal volunteering experience that can help with dofe and the future. I’m 13 and have tried lots of different places.

Nate 06/02/2020 at 7:53 pm

Hello I am Nathan I am looking to do volunteering as I aspire to be an exotic vet as I am currently the owner of 11 animals. Including 2 water dragons named groot and hoodini, 2 created geckos named sunny and stumpy, 2 royal pythons names Theodore and Hercules, 2 corn snakes named Alex and zeus, 2 leopard geckos named rusty and snowy and a dog called lola

freyagiles 28/11/2019 at 9:14 pm

Hi and I’m freya!
I’m currently about to start my bronze award for dofe and because of my live for helping out animals I wanted to go for animal welfare side of things. At the moment I am really struggling with finding a place so any advice I would really appreciate.
Many thanks

Joe 03/11/2019 at 2:15 pm

I am currently in year 10, starting my Duke of Edinburgh Silver award and would like to know if you have any kitten socialisation volunteer spaces available? I have already contacted your Cats Protection and unfortunately they are not taking on any more volunteers. Is there anywhere you could suggest that I can get involved in this or any other type of care handling cats or kittens?

Anokhi 18/10/2019 at 6:43 pm

Hi, my name is Anokhi and I just started sixth form. I was looking for a hands on volunteering position with animals (particularly dogs) in the London area. I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you!

Laxcy 24/09/2019 at 10:22 pm

Hi! I'm Laxcy and I've just started sixth form in Brent. I love working with animals and was wondering about any weekend volunteering opportunities in my area.

Shania 07/05/2019 at 7:38 am

Hi my name is Shania I am 14 and I would love to volunteer with animals as animals are amazing. I would like some help on where to find somewhere to volunteer.
Thank you

Kat 22/01/2019 at 7:35 pm

Hello! I’m Kat, I’m currently 13 and I’m starting a DofE soon and want a volunteering job around animals. Any ideas of where I can find information about this? It would be so helpful and I would greatly appreciate it!

LucyCrompton 11/10/2018 at 6:47 pm

Hi I’m currently 15 (16 in January) I am just wondering if anyone knows of any volunteer work with working with animals.
I’m from Manchester so would need to be around there. Just can’t find any that will allow under 18’s.
What should I do/go?

Etienne 06/10/2018 at 3:38 pm

hi, i'm Etienne and i'm 13 and starting my DofE soon but i wasn't sure where your are based.

fia 25/08/2018 at 5:00 pm

hia , im fia , im 14 an i would absolutely love to volunteer ! i live in manchester and any kind of animal is great with me im just not sure how to apply any information would be so helpful thank you :)

Shauna 24/07/2018 at 8:06 pm

Hi,my name is Shauna I’m 13 (14 in less than 2 months) and I really want to start volunteering and working with animals .i have a chameleon that is fully my responsibility two dogs and a bearded dragon ,I love dogs and reptiles but to be honest I generally just love all animals .im up to doing anything even not the most wanted jobs like cleaning out kennels and enclosure etc as long as it means being around animals so yeah .

Hannah 09/07/2018 at 7:52 pm

Hi, my name is Hannah and I love animals. I am 14 and would love to work with cats, nothing that involves fostering. I don’t mind working with other animals in the slightest though. I live the the Twickenham/Richmond area, where should I go?

Hgrimes_ 02/06/2018 at 9:19 pm

Hi there! My friend and I are 13 turning 14 at the end of the year and we’re wondering how we could go about volunteering. Our parents can’t volunteer with us, which we know is a problem in some shelters, but we were wondering if there were and shelters in the Manchester/Warrington area that would allow us to volunteer.
Thanks

Shan 09/05/2018 at 2:51 pm

Hi, my name is Shan. I'm 15 years old, turning 16 in september. I love working with animals, mainly dogs, but I love all animals! Would you be able to help me, please?

Sian 01/09/2017 at 4:54 am

i live in near coventry in the west midlands and i'm looking for a volunteering job with animals mainly dogs.

sian 01/09/2017 at 4:51 am

hi, i'm sian and i am 14 years old. i've always wanted to work with animals and i've looked everywhere online but i can't find a volunteering job for me. can someone please help me?

Sophia 30/08/2017 at 6:55 pm

Hi my name is Sophia I am 15 yrs old and looking to volunteer with animals at the weekends. I live in Kent near Sevenoaks if you know of anything around that area that I could do please let me know.
Thankyou

Alice9481 16/07/2017 at 8:17 pm

Hi! I'm 14 in 19 days and I'm thinking of volunteering. I live in Manchester.. I'm interested in working with animals. What should I do/go?

Beth 26/06/2017 at 11:35 pm

My granddaughter currently looking for volunteer work opportunities with animals. Rescue centres , vets . Hoping to find one soon to complete DovE bronze award
Kiera is 14 yrs old and lives in Glasgow.
Any advice welcome .

Emma 17/06/2017 at 9:28 pm

Hi, i turn 14 in August, I do love animals and i would love to volunteer. I need all the experience i can get as i do wish to work with animals as a future career. I have looked at many websites hiring but i have only found this, i am really interested in volunteering :)

Hannah 13/06/2017 at 2:23 pm

HI my names hannah,
I have a massive love for animals and have always wanted to help out I live in Ipswich. I'm 13 turning 14 in a few months, I would love to walk some dog. What should I do?? Where should I go??

Lil 05/05/2017 at 6:05 pm

I am 13 and want to work with animals what should I do

Habs 22/04/2017 at 6:54 pm

I am 13 I love animals and I love helping I was also wondering if I was too young but I would really love this opportunity thank you

Abi 15/04/2017 at 10:52 pm

Hi, i'm 13 and love animals, i've been looking on a lot of websites who hire volunteers to work with animals under 16 but i can't find any, was wondering if anyone could help

thanks

Joshua 08/04/2017 at 11:21 pm

Yes i will like to do volunteer working with the animal's

Bazi 11/03/2017 at 7:33 am

Hi I love animals and find a dog to be human best friend .

Ny 03/03/2017 at 9:10 pm

Hi I want to volunteer to work with animals,I love animals and have a lot of love and compassion to give,I work hard and I feel this is right for me and would get a lot of satisfaction from helping.

Laura 17/02/2017 at 6:58 pm

Hi I'm a mum of 3 which are all at school and I'd love to be a volunteer of some sort I have a Dog ( I have a blind Labrador who is 10 1/2 years old and a cat which is 18 years old ) so Colchester would be fantastic and in school hours . Thank you x

kk 30/12/2016 at 7:51 pm

hi I am 14 and I live in Nottingham and been wanting to do voluntary work with dogs I really love dogs I have two of my own and I take them on walks at the weekend and I love doing it. :)

VoluntaryWorker Editor 22/11/2016 at 11:45 am

There aren't many orgnisations that are prepared to take under 16 year old volunteers. Here is a link to the Duke of Edinburgh ideas list for volunteers, some of these may be more relevant to people of your age.

lola 21/11/2016 at 5:50 pm

Hi I am lola I have just turned 14 i live in Bradford,england and I have been interested in doing volunteering for a while now.But I have been struggling to find the right thing to do but I really want to volunteer in a hospital.And I have to be older to do that so I have been looking at animals and that's not much help either all of it is just working in charity shops. I don't want to do that so could you please contact me to give advice thank you .

Ariana<3 11/11/2016 at 2:00 am

Hi! I'm 13 years old and I really love animals therefore I would like to work with animals as a volunteer. I have a lot of experience with cats and kittens as I had a cat for 4 years and a kitten for 1 year, although I don't have much experience with dogs. Since I'm 13 it's really hard for me to find voluntary work in animal shelters. I live in Mississauga, Canada. I'm struggling to find somewhere to volunteer near where I live and somewhere that I can volunteer working around my school hours, so ideally at the weekend, could you suggest anywhere that would be good for me and a link to the website? I would really appreciate it, thank you

VoluntaryWorker Editor 22/08/2016 at 11:56 am

No that's true, many organisations which take on volunteers will only take those over 16. You could try asking neighbours and friends if they'd like some help with the pets in the meantime?

Millie 21/08/2016 at 9:31 am

It is my dream to work with animals and i believe that there are ways to deal with the emotion of a seeing them hurt. I am very passionate about animals and have cats and dogs of my own. I am relaxed in an animals company and deal with them well. I have been looking for voluntary work for a while now but as i am 13 there aren't many jobs available for me that will allow me to work directly with animals.

britney 31/01/2016 at 7:28 pm

hello, my name is Britney and I'm 18 years old. I love animals, although I don't have any professional experience. I'd love to get some. Are there any volunteer centres I can go by to help out. I live in the Blackburn area. Thank you.

Shay 21/01/2016 at 10:41 pm

Hi, my names shaley.
I'm 14 years old, and I'm interested in working with animals? Recently I've moved from Barnsley South Yorkshire to my dads in Chafford hundred Essex.
I'm wanting to know if there's any places that will take me for a while.
Some where I can work around school hours. Right now I'm not in school because my dad hasn't managed to find me a placement yet.
Does anyone know of anywhere I can go just to get me out the house a few days a week?

Millie 03/12/2015 at 9:27 pm

Hello I'm Millie from Colchester essex I'm 19 years old really interested in volunteering, I love animals I have 3 dogs and love them and 1 cat. Can someone please recommend something please.

VoluntaryWorker Editor 30/09/2015 at 12:34 pm

Try animal shelters in your area - most however will not accept volunteers under the age of 16. You could ask friends and neighbours if they need help with dog walking, or someone to pop in and feed the cats etc.

Elousia1 29/09/2015 at 5:38 pm

Hello, I am 15 years old from UK Maidenhead and I have a real interest in working with animals. Do you have any vacancies at the weekend, if not I wouldn't mind volunteering. please contact!

Steph 28/09/2015 at 9:57 pm

Hi, I'm Steph and I'm 15 years old. And I live in the Bradford area. Bingley to be precise. And I want to be a dog handler when I am older. And am looking to volunteer with animals as part of that. But the required age for the RSPCA is 16-18. If any charity's are looking for a volunteer...I believe I could do it.

Jess 29/08/2015 at 11:41 pm

Hi, I'm 13 years old, and in less than a month I will be 14, I live in Ramsgate, Kent, England and I really love animals of all sorts, and would love to get into a job or voluntary work to do with animals, but I'm struggling to find somewhere to volunteer near where I live and somewhere that I can volunteer working around my school hours, so ideally at the weekend, could you suggest anywhere that would be good for me and a link to the website? I would really appreciate it, thank you :)

Lukey 09/08/2015 at 10:37 pm

Hi I'm very passionate about animal especially dogs, rabbits and hamsters. I am 13 and 14 in February I was wondering whether they is any animal shelters in Wakefield I could volunteer at

<3 animals!! 26/04/2015 at 11:53 pm

Hi, my name is Ashleigh, I am 13, and I live in Sherburn in Elmet near tadcaster and Selby. I love animals and all I want to do is volunteer with them but I cant find anywhere that I am old enough that's nearby. Please suggest anywhere nearby, and PLEASE give my some advise. Thankyou!!

KK 16/04/2015 at 9:09 pm

Hey, I'm 15 years old and I love animals and would love to be a vet in the future. I've been looking for charities to volunteer for but no luck since the age is usually 16/18. Can someone recommend a charity that would let me volunteer at his age.

VoluntaryWorker Editor 31/03/2015 at 12:42 pm

@Mal. Try the RSCPA and any animal sanctuaries in your area to see if they have any volunteer opportunities.

Mal 27/03/2015 at 5:34 pm

Hi, im from bradford and i love animals. I have two cats and one dog and i do sometimes take care of my cousins horses. I would love to volunteer. if it is possible for me to volunteer please let me know
thanks

VoluntaryWorker Editor 25/03/2015 at 10:21 am

@jessica. Here is a website with a list of animal sanctuaries in Northern Ireland. You should write or ring any that are in your area to see if there are any volunteer opportunities.

Animals4ever?? 22/03/2015 at 12:35 am

Hi, I'm Jessica, I'm 14 years old and love pretty much all animals, but would love to work with Small animals, such as Rabbits, Dog and cats. I love helping animals...and would love to volunteer at a shelter..I can't find any near me though ??. I'm from County Down in Northern Ireland. Does anybody know anywhere that I can volunteer in is area...with animals....at 14. I would really appreciate it ~Sincerely Jessica~

Ilenia 15/11/2014 at 3:01 pm

Hello! My name is Ilenia, I'm a dog trainer and I would be very interested in volunteering.
Thank you and best regards.

clo 28/05/2014 at 6:57 pm

hello, my name is chloe I am 14 years of age I live in rainham , kent I am currently being home schooled as part of this I can volunteer and have always wantd to work with animals. I am finding it hard at the moment to find anywhere local to work with animals. I am a good time keeper , I am also very social and have very good communication skills to anyone. if you could give me any information on where to go in my area I would be grateful. thank you

Rita 08/12/2012 at 4:02 pm

Hello!
I am really interested to do this work as a volunteer with animals. Can anyone help me, who should I contact and how much does it cost. I'm from Portugal, 24 years old.
Thanks,
Rita Coelho

claudina 26/11/2012 at 11:29 pm

Hi, I am 29years old girl from Spain, interested in working with animals and learning english. Anyone can help me, who should I contact and how much does it cost.
Thank you and best regards.Claudia

k4ty 04/09/2012 at 12:22 pm

Hi. I am 13 years old and 1 day hope to be an animal cruelty investigator, or a vet. I was hoping to do some volunteer work as it would help me in the future. If there is anyone who knows who I can contact for this. I am flexiable and will do any sort of work, aslong as I am working with animals and helping them. Pay isn't important, and I can work every weekend. Thanks. Please reply, I would very much appriciate it.

Choclate23 28/08/2012 at 7:18 pm

can 11 year old girls do this because i am diing to get a job but there isn't really anything, i really love dogs and i get along with dogs very easily i just want to know if 11 year olds can please reply

Manuel 15/06/2012 at 6:07 pm

I'm interested in working with animals as a volunteer. But who should I contact?

smarquez 27/02/2012 at 4:01 pm

Hi, I'm 22. I would like to work with animals as a volunteer. It is possible and how much does it cost for me? I'm so interested. Thanks and regards. Sergio

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