How Some Adults Found Purpose Volunteering at Animal Shelters

You close the front door and the house settles into that particular quiet that comes after the morning rush. The coffee is still warm, the newspaper is on the table, and the day stretches ahead with no particular demand on it. For a lot of people in their sixties and seventies, that freedom is something they earned. But it can also leave a small, nagging question: what now?

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Consult a doctor before beginning any new physical activity, and speak with a shelter coordinator about any health considerations before volunteering.

Finding an answer to that question is where a lot of people in later life end up looking at volunteering. And animal shelters are one of the first places that come to mind. It makes sense. Animals don’t care about your age, your job history, or how fast you move. They care about presence, routine, and kindness. Those are things most people over fifty-five have in good supply.

But the real question isn’t whether you could volunteer at an animal shelter. It’s whether it would actually feel as good as people say. And the honest answer, based on talking to people who have done it, is more complicated than a simple yes or no.

Why this matters more than you might think

There is research on this. A large body of studies shows that people over sixty who volunteer regularly report lower rates of depression, lower blood pressure, and even a longer lifespan. But that research tends to group all volunteering together. What gets less attention is that the type of volunteering changes the effect.

Animal shelter work is different from sorting donations at a food bank or reading to children at a library. It involves direct physical contact with living creatures that have been through something stressful. That can be deeply rewarding. It can also be physically demanding and emotionally draining in ways other volunteer roles are not.

The volunteers who stick with it tend to describe the same pattern. The first few weeks are hard. You see animals that have been neglected or abandoned. You clean cages. You deal with the smell and the noise. A lot of people quit in that period. Those who push through describe something closer to what one long-term volunteer called “a quiet sense of being useful that doesn’t go away when you leave.”

What you need to know before you sign up

The biggest mistake people make is assuming any shelter will take any help, at any time, for any task. That’s not how it works. Most shelters have a formal application process, a background check, and a training period. Some require a minimum commitment of three to six months. Others ask for a specific weekly shift that you cannot easily change.

The second thing to understand is that your body will be asked to do things you may not expect. Walking dogs sounds pleasant. But a shelter dog that has been in a kennel for two weeks may pull hard, lunge at other dogs, or bolt after a squirrel. Cleaning kennels involves bending, kneeling, lifting bags of bedding, and working on concrete floors. One volunteer in her late sixties told me she spent her first month with aching knees and a sore lower back before she learned to adjust her technique.

There is also the emotional side. Some animals will not make it. Others will be adopted and you will never see them again. Many volunteers describe a period of grief that catches them off guard. One woman who had fostered cats for eight years said she still cries when a long-term resident finally gets adopted, even though she is happy for the cat. That contradiction does not go away. You learn to live with it.

What the research actually shows

The data from shelters that track outcomes is encouraging. Best Friends Animal Society reports that shelters with consistent volunteer engagement see adoption rates climb and average length of stay drop. A volunteer who walks dogs, socialises cats, or takes photographs for adoption profiles is directly reducing the time an animal spends in a cage. That is a concrete, measurable effect that you can see in the shelter’s own records.

And the effect on the volunteer is measurable too. Physical contact with animals raises oxytocin and serotonin levels, which is a fancy way of saying it makes you feel calmer and more connected. One study found that just fifteen minutes with a dog can lower cortisol levels. Shelter volunteers get that repeatedly, week after week.

The different ways to get involved

This is where most people get stuck. They assume “volunteering at an animal shelter” means one thing: cleaning kennels and walking dogs. In reality, shelters need people for a wide range of tasks. Understanding the full range is the key to finding a role that fits.

Direct animal care

This is what most people picture. Walking dogs, socialising cats, cleaning enclosures, feeding, and providing basic enrichment like toys or training. These roles require physical stamina and a tolerance for noise, mess, and unpredictability. They also offer the most direct contact with the animals. If you want to feel a dog relax under your hand after days of nervous pacing, this is where that happens.

Fostering

Fostering means taking an animal into your home temporarily. This can range from a weekend to several months. It is ideal for people who want a deeper connection with fewer physical demands than a shelter shift. You provide a quiet home environment, basic care, and sometimes medication. The shelter covers food, medical costs, and supplies.

The catch is that fostering requires a suitable home. If you have other pets, introductions need to be managed carefully. And you have to be prepared to let the animal go when it is adopted. Some people find that harder than they expected.

Administrative and remote roles

Not all shelter volunteering happens at the shelter. Many organisations need help with data entry, phone calls, thank-you letters, social media, photography, and event planning. These roles can be done from home, on your own schedule, with no physical strain. One volunteer in her seventies writes donor thank-you notes from her living room. She told me it gives her a sense of contribution without leaving her house.

Transport and outreach

Some volunteers drive animals to vet appointments, to adoption events, or to rescue partners in other cities. Others help at community outreach events, educating the public about spay and neuter programmes. These roles are less physically demanding than direct animal care but still require reliable transportation and a willingness to navigate traffic and schedules.

Options worth considering

Once you have a sense of what roles exist, the practical question becomes: how do you actually start? Below are three common paths, each suited to a different situation. No single one is right for everyone.

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Start with a local independent shelter

Your local municipal or independent shelter is often the easiest place to begin. They tend to have the greatest need, the least restrictive requirements, and the most straightforward application process. You can walk in during visiting hours, ask to speak with the volunteer coordinator, and get a sense of the environment before committing to anything.

The downside is that smaller shelters may have less structure. Training might be informal. You may be asked to jump into tasks without much preparation. For some people that is fine. For others, it feels overwhelming.

A good first step is to check the shelter’s website for a volunteer application page. If they do not have one, call and ask about orientation sessions. Many shelters hold monthly orientations where you can learn about the organisation before deciding.

Join a national organisation with a local chapter

Groups like Best Friends Animal Society or Humane World for Animals have structured volunteer programmes with clear roles, training modules, and support staff. They also offer remote and virtual opportunities for people who cannot travel to a physical location.

The trade-off is that these organisations may require a more formal commitment. You might need to complete an online training course, pass a background check, and commit to a minimum number of hours per month. The structure is reassuring for some people and restrictive for others.

The volunteer page at Best Friends gives a clear picture of the types of roles available and the steps to get started.

Foster through a breed-specific rescue

Breed-specific rescues focus on one type of dog or cat, such as greyhounds, senior cats, or golden retrievers. These organisations are often run by a small group of volunteers and rely heavily on foster homes. They tend to have deep knowledge of the breed’s needs and can match you with an animal that fits your home and energy level.

The limitation is that you may not have a local rescue nearby, and some breed rescues have lengthy application processes that include home visits and reference checks. But for people who have a particular soft spot for a certain type of animal, this can be the most satisfying path.

Narrowing it down to what fits you

The easiest way to decide is to ask yourself three questions and answer them honestly, without guilt.

First: how much physical strain can you handle on a regular basis? If your knees or back are already a concern, direct animal care at a busy shelter may not be the right choice. Fostering, administrative work, or transport roles would place less demand on your body.

Second: how do you handle emotional endings? If you know that saying goodbye to an adopted animal will leave you upset for days, consider roles with less turnover. Some shelters let volunteers work primarily with long-term residents or animals in medical recovery, where the emotional arc is different.

Third: how much time do you actually have, not how much you wish you had? A weekly two-hour shift is sustainable for most people. A promise of four shifts a week that you cannot keep will lead to guilt and burnout. Shelters would rather have one reliable person for two hours than someone who fades out after a month.

Closing thoughts

Nobody can tell you whether volunteering at an animal shelter will feel right for you. The only way to know is to try it, and to give yourself permission to stop if it does not fit. Shelters understand this. They would rather have someone try and decide it is not for them than never try at all.

If you do decide to go ahead, the first visit will likely be the hardest. You will walk into a room full of animals that need things you cannot single-handedly provide. That feeling can be paralysing. But the volunteers who have been doing it for years will tell you the same thing: you are not there to save every animal. You are there to make the ones you touch a little better off than they were before. That is enough.

For a different kind of low-pressure social outlet, some readers find that day trips offer a similar sense of structure and reward without the emotional intensity of shelter work. Both paths are valid. The point is to find the one that fits your life as it is now.

References

Best Friends Animal Society collects volunteer stories and impact data, including the finding that consistent volunteers reduce average shelter stays by up to 30%. Read more at Best Friends volunteer stories.

Humane World for Animals reported that 1,426 volunteers contributed over 83,600 hours in 2025, with a detailed breakdown of policy and direct-care volunteer impact. See the full report at Humane World for Animals volunteer blog.

The Animal Mosaic site offers a first-person account of the emotional and practical realities of shelter volunteering, including the experience of bonding with a shy cat named Luna. Read it at Animal Mosaic volunteer reflection.

Best Friends also published a collection of 13 volunteer profiles showing the range of roles people take on, from puppy chauffeurs to kitten fosters to remote thank-you note writers. Available at 13 stories of volunteers who save pets’ lives.