TAPS welcomes volunteers to help with animal care, adoption events and a variety of special interest areas. Volunteers must be 15 years of age to volunteer at TAPS alone. TAPS welcomes volunteers ages 12-14, who are accompanied by a parent or approved adult.

To become a volunteer, you must first attend a "Volunteer Orientation" held bi-monthly on Thursday or Friday evening. Please call TAPS to sign up for an orientation. Orientations are held at 7:00 PM and typically last one to one and a half hours. During the orientation, you will learn about different ways you can get involved at TAPS and basic animal care and animal handling. You will also set up an appointment to meet with our Volunteer Coordinator, Sheila Borton, on an upcoming day to discuss additional questions and become more familiar with TAPS. Sheila can be contacted at tapsvol@yahoo.com for more additional volunteering related questions.

Foster Homes - Fostering is an extremely rewarding experience - you will care for your choice of cats or dogs and provide a safe, nurturing environment for them as they recover from injuries or illness, mothers who are caring for their nursing puppies or kittens, working to socialize or train animals who are in need of rehabilitation, or senior pets that are not adjusting the pace and environment at TAPS. There is such a need for foster homes and you will impact the lives of many cats and dogs, which in turn positively impacts the lives of so many people who later adopt the pet you cared for, nurtured and loved. Click here for an application.

Gimme Shelter Campaign - This volunteer responsibility is to collect money from assigned doghouse banks that are located at area businesses and mail a cashier's check for the total amount once a month. The money collected goes toward food, shelter and other operating costs associated with providing for the animals on a day-to-day basis. If you are interested in this position, contact Gale Young at galeannyoung@comcast.net.

Special Events – TAPS holds many special events from our Tailwaggers Dog Walk to the parade and booth at the Marigold Festival. We need an endless supply of interested volunteers to help with fundraising and planning these events, to taking part on the committees that research and thing up new ways for TAPS to reach out to the community and promote our animals.

Special Skills & Interest Areas – These include any of your special interests and unique talents – for example; photography, sewing, arts and crafts, fundraising, baking, legal professionals, writers, editors, graphic artists, and market or business professionals. Please tell us what you have to offer and we can find a unique way for you to become involved.

Offsite Adoption Assistants – These volunteers will help the animals reach people who may not otherwise come to the shelter. We hold offsite adoptions at several locations on weekends, and rely on the volunteers to help transport animals or supplies to the destination. Additionally, they help in loading the animals, setting up cages, and care for the animals throughout the event. We also depend on the volunteers to become familiar with the background of the animal in their care so they can communicate and answer questions from potential adopters as to whether the pet is a good fit for their home. Training will be provided by our offsite coordinator or another experienced volunteer. If you are interested in helping us with our offsite adoptions, contact Sheila Borton at 309-241-8226.

Animal Assisted Therapy – Volunteers will take animals to nursing homes to visit elderly people who otherwise might not be able to see pets at all. Many of these people have owned dogs or cats and greatly miss that companionship. Petting the animals is very therapeutic and beneficial to all involved.

Animal Care Assistants – These volunteers will be responsible for assisting our animal technicians in all levels of care beginning with the initial health check up, and processing of paperwork after the animal is admitted to TAPS, to assistance in giving vaccinations, and carrying out treatments, nail trims, cleaning ears, etc. This is a great opportunity for students or adults looking to gain animal handling experience as preparation for pursuing a career as a veterinarian or veterinary technician, or those wanting to work in the field of animal science.

Humane Education – Volunteers in this area will deal with educating the public in many aspects from visiting local schools and day camps to marketing campaigns in the importance of spay/neuter! These individuals may also take part in local community events and fairs to bring further awareness of the TAPS.

Offsite Adoption Counselors – These volunteers will help to organize the assistants to set up for the offsite event, check in with the store or event manager upon arrival, and take responsibility for professional conduct and clean up during and after the event. Additionally, this person is responsible for counseling the adopters, approving adoptions and completion of all necessary paperwork.