Dog Rescue Volunteer | CT Volunteer Opportunity

Volunteer Opportunities with Dog Star

As a 100% volunteer-run organization, we are entirely dependent on the efforts of our volunteers, and offer many opportunities to help our rescue’s success, both in person and remote. Explore our volunteer opportunities below. When you’re ready to join us, check out our orientation and volunteer application.

Please note: To volunteer with DSR you must be 18 years of age or older.

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What teams do you want to join?

Adoption Team

Ensuring that the right family adopts the right dog involves a lot of emails and phone calls. We need to conduct vet checks, reference checks, phone interviews and confirm property ownership or rental details. If you like getting to know new people over the phone, we could use your help and can train you to assist our adoption screeners.

Behavior Team

Our behavior team is a group of volunteers focused on dog training and getting our dogs ready to transition into their fosters and their forever homes. If you have any experience with dog training and can help our dogs learn good manners and improve unwanted behaviors, the behavior team would be a great fit for you.

Communications Team

Dog Star Rescue has grown significantly since we started and part of that is due to our publicity and marketing efforts. We are always working hard to increase the visibility of our rescue and available dogs, and to attract more fosters and volunteers to our organization. We need volunteers who have experience in design, marketing, public relations and photography to continue to support our growth and name recognition.

Dog Handling Team

Dog Star Rescue holds adoption events each week and each dog that attends needs a dog handler. Being a dog handler is a great opportunity to spend a few hours with a rescue dog, talk to potential adopters about your assigned dog, and make sure that your dog has a great afternoon full of positive interactions and interest from adopters.

Event Planning Team

Do you have great organizational skills and like to put on events? We are always looking for dedicated volunteers to help organize the many adoption events we have every year that allow us to connect our dogs to their forever homes.

Fostering Team

As a foster-based rescue, we are always looking for foster homes for our dogs. Fostering a dog saves two lives: the one of the dog you are fostering and the one of the dogs we can now take into the rescue because we have a slot available. The more fosters we have, the more dogs we can save! Learn more about our foster program and when you’re ready, submit a foster application!

Fundraising Team

As a non-profit organization, every penny we raise goes toward our dogs. While the dog adoption fee is designed to cover basic expenses, we require additional funding to grow and provide the extra care many of our dogs need. We conduct many events annually and also welcome corporate donors to support our fundraising efforts. We welcome volunteers with experience in fundraising and grant writing or an interest in learning the ropes.

Headquarters Facilities & Maintenance

Help keep our Bloomfield headquarters clean, safe and organized. If you’re handy or have a specialty trade we’d love to have you help. And if you just want to help keep things tidy – we’d love to have you too!

Information Technology Team

Our IT team manages our shelter from both a hardware and software perspective. If you are that “Techie” in your family, or If you have professional experience with IT and would like to get involved, we would love your help!

Intake Team

Our intake team is a great opportunity for detail oriented and computer savvy volunteers who would like to help us from the comfort of home. Tasks include data entry into a shelter software system and writing short biographies for our new arrivals.

Medical Team

Our medical team helps ensure that our dogs are happy and healthy as they arrive at our facility. They are also available to answer questions from our volunteers regarding any health issues that arise about dogs that are cared for by the rescue. If you have prior medical or veterinary experience, we would love to have you on the team.

Retail Team

While we are a foster-based rescue, a few dogs temporarily stay in our kennels at our headquarters if we are unable to get them a foster. Our kennel volunteers help care for these dogs by taking them on walks, feeding them, and supporting their socialization and training. Kennel volunteers may also work on overall kennel maintenance. If you live close to Bloomfield, CT, this is a great opportunity to make a huge impact on these dogs.

Transport Team

Many of our dogs come up from the south on group transport vehicles and need rides to their foster homes or to a kennel for temporary boarding. In addition, rides are sometimes needed to and from adoption events or to meet and greets with potential adopters. If you have a car, a valid driver’s license and can safely transport a dog in your car, dog transport may be for you!

Volunteer Team

Our volunteer team works on improving the overall volunteer experience at Dog Star. We manage the volunteer orientation and onboarding experiences and run recognition programs for our volunteers. If you’d like to work to make our rescue a better place for our dedicated volunteers, the volunteer team is for you!

Adoption Specialist

Duties The Adoption process ensures that the right family is the best match for both the dog and the family when placing the right dog in […]

Volunteer Coordinator (Communication)

Position Overview The Volunteer Coordinator (Communication) manages the flow of information to internal volunteers at Dog Star Rescue. They lead the following tasks: Newsletters. Maintains Quarterly […]

Fundraising Director

Role Overview The Fundraising Director is responsible for leading, coordinating, and overseeing all fundraising and development activities at Dog Star Rescue (DSR). This includes managing donor […]

Community Outreach Coordinator

Position Overview Dog Star Rescue is a 100% volunteer-based nonprofit dedicated to saving dogs’ lives through rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming. We host several key fundraising events […]

Grants Team Member

Grant writers needed to write compelling applications to seek funding for the many projects and day-to-day operations of our rescue! No experience needed – we have […]