Volunteer Services

San Francisco Animal Care and Control is responsible for the city's lost, abandoned, injured, sick, neglected and mistreatedanimals.We receive approximately 14,000 animals every year and rely heavily on volunteers to assure the success of our efforts.Whether you work with the animals, the public or on special projects, you will improve the quality of life for the animals in our shelters and increase their chances for adoption. Volunteers not only brighten the lives of our resident animals, but enrich our lives as well. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old.

* We are not accepting Project 20 applications at this time. If you are required to perform community service and are applying to be an ACC volunteer, you must have approval from the Volunteer Coordinator before the orientation. Please leave the details of your requirement at (415) 554-9414. A minimum of 48 hours (2 hours per week for six months) must be completed to receive a confirmation of hours completed.

 The first step to becoming an Animal Care and Control Volunteer is to attend a NEW VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION. Please call (415) 554-9414 for the dates and times of upcoming orientations. You must sign yourself up for one of these sessions by leaving a message with the date and time of the orientation you've chosen. You will not receive a return call to confirm. There will be time at the orientation to have all questions answered. New Volunteer Orientations last approximately 90 minutes, and take place in the Volunteer Room on the second floor of Animal Care & Control. Animal Care & Control is located at 1200 15th Street, at Harrison, in SF - look for the big orange/multi-color building on the corner.

Upcoming dates for New Volunteer Orientations:

Saturday, September 11 @ 11:00 AM
Sunday, September 26 @ 11:00 AM

Volunteer positions available: :

Dog Volunteer
This volunteer provides exercise, leash practice and off-leash playtime to our available dogs. An assortment of interesting and informative dog training and behavior classes are available at no charge to our dog volunteers.

Small Animal Volunteer
This volunteer works in the serenity of our small animal room, giving visits and veggies to our rabbits, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, iguanas, and whateverother small and exotic animals come our way.S/he introduces adopters to the animals, provides education about the proper care required for these special animals and guides them in choosing the best small companion for their home and family.

Training Volunteer
Volunteers who enjoy sharing their skills and knowledge are essential to the growth of our volunteer program. Volunteer trainers and mentors provide education and guidance to new volunteers by teaching classes, conducting one-on-one sessions and by pairing up with less experienced volunteers to help them build their confidence and comfort on the job.

Kitten Foster Volunteer
This nurturing volunteer provides home care for kittens needing one-on-one time and attention before they can be placed in our adoption program. Fostering is a great way for kids and their parents to help the animal shelter - and get community service credit for school! The age limit for volunteers working at ACC is 18, but children of all ages can earn credit by fostering kittens with their parent(s) at home. For more info, e-mail: acc@sfgov.org

Community Affairs Volunteer
This highly organized volunteer brings excellent oral and written communication skills to the areas of volunteer coordination, event coordinating, media relations and administrative support in our busy Community Affairs office. Whether on-going or on-call, these "take care of business" volunteers can fill a spot in the nick of time.

Reserve Officer
This rugged and resilient volunteer will work on the front lines with our Animal Control Officers as they respond to animal emergencies and enforce animal welfare laws throughout our city. This program requires that participants first volunteer and accrue hours in an animal handling volunteer position.