Volunteer Tasks

Do you have a few hours to spare now and then? Do you love GSPs and have knowledge of the breed? Do you enjoy meeting compassionate people? If so, becoming a German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue volunteer may be right for you. Please review the following volunteer task list carefully, to identify areas of interest. Once you have reviewed it, please contact us with additional questions, or, fill-out the volunteer form.

How Much Time Will You Have To Dedicate?

It’s really up to you. You can spend as little or as much time as you are able. Since we are all volunteers, we have busy lives outside of rescue. Often just a few hours of “help” makes a big difference. We always welcome new additions to our rescue family!

What Will You Be Asked To Do?

There are many tasks associated with rescue. Some require a larger time commitment, others only a few hours per month (or less) Here are some examples:

Become A Foster Parent: Foster homes are our most desperately needed resource. We cannot rescue without foster parents. You provide love, modest training, food, structure and teach your foster “the ropes” while they are with you. Rescue covers veterinary expenses and handles all of the legwork in finding an adoptive home. As the foster parent, YOU are the key to saving a precious life. Time commitment: A few weeks to several months. It depends on the age, temperament and health of the dog, and the time of year. Our adoptions are slowest around the December Holidays and the end of the Summer, as children ready to go back to school.

Visit a GSP in a shelter: Confirm the dog is a GSP, evaluate their temperament, interaction with you, general manners, knowledge of basic commands and how well they behave on lead. Time commitment: Depending on the location of the shelter, this task can take under an hour.

Call a vet for a reference: We must have a veterinarian’s reference for each applicant. We simply need to know if any current/past pets are current on vaccines and receive regular veterinary care. Determine if there are any glaring concerns. Time commitment: These calls generally take 5 minutes.

Evaluate a new surrender: When we get a call from an owner who wishes to surrender their GSP for adoption, we need volunteers to “visit” the family and evaluate the dog, take photos, etc. Time commitment: Depending on location, this may take a few hours at the most.

Contact a potential adopter: When we receive a new application from someone wishing to adopt a GSP, we review the application carefully. We speak with them to get a feel for their knowledge of the breed, their family dynamic, their experience with dog ownership, etc. We ask questions about fencing, other animals in residence and cover any “red flags” that appear in the application. Time commitment: The length of each call will vary.

Home visits: Visit the home of a potential adopter. Meet the family members and any current pets in residence. Evaluate fencing, lifestyle, proximity to a busy street, confirm all family members are on board, etc. Essentially, you are simply trying to determine whether this is a home in which you would place your own dog. Time commitment: Depending on location, this may take a few hours at the most.

Transport a dog from a shelter to foster home: If we accept a GSP into foster care from a shelter, they often need to be removed from the shelter and transported to their foster home. Time commitment: Depending on location, this may take a few hours at the most.