AWARE could not continue without the vital help provided by volunteers.
We need volunteers who are prepared to get their hands dirty cleaning pens, for example, and prepared also to get plenty of exercise taking dogs out for a run (or walk) in the woods.
Volunteer Veterinarians are always welcome and are likely to have a busy time doing health checks, vaccinations, treating wounds, along with spay/neuter and other operations.
And of course there’s a constant need for Volunteer Groomers, with plenty of scope for miraculous transformations. (Read Marni Hills‘ graphic account of her time at AWARE.)
We are always very happy to receive help from volunteering veterinarians, too.
With over 300 dogs and around 50 cats we always need help with anything from cleaning, grooming, walking the dogs, spending quality time with the animals, maintaining Shelter facilities and helping out with our education programmes. From time to time we also require help with our spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics, as well as garage sales and other fund-raising events.
Why not gain some valuable experience and at the same time do something extremely worthwhile by helping out at Animal AWARE?
Possible duties include:
- Dogs: feeding, bathing, brushing, obedience training, medicating, cleaning cages, walking, and socializing.
- Cats: feeding, brushing, medicating, cleaning the cats’ living quarters, and getting them used to being around humans.
- Keeping the Clinic clean and organised.
- Education programmes in local schools – must be fluent in Spanish.
- Helping with spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics in local villages.
- Thinking up and organizing fund-raising events.
- Photography.
- Sunday: Hound Heights is open to the public from 10 am to 3 pm. Volunteers can help show people around, assist parking, discourage littering, show animals to potential adopters, etc.
Staying on-site:
We ask for US $5.00 per day per person for staying in the AWARE volunteer facilities. This helps us cover the costs of electricity, water, and gas. Food is not included. The quarters include a shower, bed, drinking water, cooking facilities and a refrigerator. We also ask you to commit at the outset to a minimum 2-week stay. Please understand that we – and also the animals – rely heavily on volunteers, and expect those who stay at the Shelter to establish a daily routine and to get to know the animals they’ll be dealing with. Also, we will possibly have turned down other volunteers who had wanted to stay here at the same time as you, so it would be unfair to both them and to us if you don’t show once you have confirmed your on-site stay.
Staying elsewhere:
There is no charge – nor time constraints – for volunteering with AWARE if you provide your own accommodation. There are rooms to rent at reasonable prices in Sumpango, or you can stay in Antigua and take the bus to the Shelter each day. This journey takes approximately 1 hour door-to-door from Antigua and costs Q16 (US$2) round trip. There is also a comfortable and reasonably priced (approximately US$15 per night) hotel by the Highway at Kilometre 40, within walking distance of the Shelter.
We need volunteers who are responsible for themselves and can take initiative.
The Shelter is located half a mile (800m) from the Pan American highway. It is hilly terrain, and the shelter is in woods at about 7500 feet (2300m). The local village, Sumpango, is a 15-minute walk from the property with internet facilities, food market, and bank.
Here’s a link to an excellent blog post from Belgian volunteers An and Dajo, who were here at the beginning of 2017. They have some interesting things to say (the blog is in Dutch, maybe you can use Google’s – or other? – translation facility), and lots of excellent pictures: http://anendajo-be.webnode.be/news/animal-aware-een-animal-rescue-center-dat-met-weinig-middelen-soms-wonderen-verricht/
If you are interested in volunteering with us, or would like more information, please call or e-mail :
Shelter Cell phone:+502 5401-3148
e-mail: info@animalaware.org
And if you’ve lost your copy of The Rough Guide, here’s a link to their Guatemala page about AWARE:
We always welcome help from qualified veterinarians. We have a well-equipped on-site clinic with facilities for operating. We hold monthly spay/neuter clinics at the shelter, as well as occasional spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics in local villages.
PLEASE NOTE: we do not accept volunteers under 16 years of age without written parental consent.
Download the questionnaire, fill it in, and send it back to us at info@animalaware.org. If you don’t have a PDF editor, you can copy the application form from the questionnaire and paste it into a text file, or simply send us an email asking for the questionnaire and we’ll send you an editable copy.
Click here to open the information about volunteering in Japanese.
Click here to open the information about volunteering in German.
