Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering with us! Whether you are looking to volunteer in person or remote, we have opportunities for everyone. We can’t wait for you to join our team!
Please find the applications for each volunteer opportunity linked below. If you’re interested in more than one opportunity, you can indicate that in your application as well.
If you have general questions about volunteering, please email us at volunteer@rocketdogrescue.org. For volunteering at events, please email us at events@rocketdogrescue.org – no training necessary.
Sanctuary Shift Volunteers:
If you are looking to make a huge impact in the lives of the dogs at our facility in Oakland this is the role for you! Shift duties include: dog socialization and exercise, cleaning kennels, feeding, and helping with laundry and dishes. Once trained, volunteers also come between shifts to catch up on chores, socialize with dogs, take dogs on day trips or sleep overs, clean/organize, assist with meet and greets, and more.
There are two shifts every day: 9am-12pm, and 5-8pm. We are ideally looking for volunteers who can commit to doing a regular shift, but we are very flexible. We understand that this is a volunteer role and life happens. If you need to adjust your commitment, switch your shift day, or just take some time off, that’s totally ok.
We welcome youth 16+ (with parental permission) to volunteer at the Sanctuary. Youth under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.
New volunteers need to attend orientation and three “shadow shifts,” after which they will be added to our communication platforms and invited to sign up for shifts that work for them.
Please apply here!
Dog Walking/Dog Dates:
We are always looking for folks to help get our dogs out on walks, hikes, or other excursions. The first step is to attend an orientation followed by at least one pack walk with experienced volunteers to ensure you are familiar with our safety guidelines and confident in your dog handling abilities. To get started, please apply here!
Adoption Events:
Come volunteer at our adoption events! If you enjoy cuddling puppies, taking photos, chatting with adopters, or just hanging out and learning more about our rescue, we would love to have you. No training necessary, and children are welcome with parental supervision. Just keep an eye on our events page and social media for the dates/times of events and email us at events@rocketdogrescue.org to let us know you’ll be coming (we will usually not reply unless your help is NOT needed). Please include the name or location of the event in the subject line. If you’re looking to fulfill community service hours, our adoption events are often the best way to achieve this.
Clinics:
Help us with our vaccine clinics and community outreach clinics! We need help with giving vaccines, checking people in, record keeping, and more! If you don’t have any veterinary experience, that’s ok – we can teach you! There is no training required, so come on by to help! Our community clinics are the second Sunday of every month from 12-4pm at our Sanctuary – 3561 Foothill Blvd in Oakland.
Foster Homes:
Fosters are the heart of our program. Our foster families make a huge difference in getting our dogs ready for adoption, and it’s a hugely rewarding, lifesaving act. Fosters provide temporary housing for animals awaiting their forever homes. The more fosters we have, the more dogs we can save. For more information on fostering, visit our Fostering Basics page and then fill out a Foster Application.
Doggie Photography and Videography:
We are also looking for help taking photos and videos of our dogs! Whether you’re into taking high quality portraits or filming and editing videos, we can use your skills! Please apply here, after which you will be invited to attend an orientation before getting started.
Group and Corporate Volunteer Opportunities:
Looking for corporate or other one-time group volunteer opportunities? We have limited capacity to support these, but would love to help if we can. Please email us at volunteer@rocketdogrescue.org to inquire.
Remote Volunteer Opportunities
Adoption Advocates:
If you are looking for a way to help homeless dogs, but can’t commit to in-person volunteering, this role is for you! In this role you will advocate for one or more of our dogs by providing 1:1 support for our foster families, writing adoption bios, screening applications, adoption counseling, coordinating meet and greets, and more.
This role can be done fully remote and has very flexible hours. The minimum time commitment is around 3-5 hours a week, and this can all take place outside of regular working hours if needed. You do a need a computer with a secure internet connection and access to email. You will have full flexibility to advocate for as few or as many dogs as you would like, and it’s fine to take breaks as needed. Training for this role involves an orientation followed by a video “onboarding” call. Please submit an application here to get started.
Please note that the minimum age for this role is 21.