What can Volunteers do at the Olive Branch Animal Rescue and Refuge?

The first and most important thing that we do is take care of the animals. That includes walking the dogs, grooming the horses, socializing with the cats, kittens, and puppies. Right now, we have a litter of seven        two- week-old boxer puppies that need socializing. Their momma, Molly is one of the sweetest dogs we’ve had! She is a total love bug and would like lots of attention too. A big art of taking care of the animals is keeping their areas clean. Making sure things are cleaned and sanitized daily keeps the possibility of spreading sickness or disease though the animal population. That being said, we clean EVERYTHING. Every Day! The animals live here, we take care of them and their home. Staff arrives at 8:00am each day. Our cleaning is generally finished by 11:00am and the remainder of the day is spent interacting with the animals and completing projects around the rescue. Volunteers have the choice of options: arriving early enough to help with the chores, or coming in later to interact with the animals, or a combination of the two. Most volunteers like to help with the chores and then spend time helping with socializing and spending time with the animals. Our needs depend on who we have at any given time, but we always have dogs and cats who would love the attention! One of our most popular programs is the Read to a Pet Program. Which is exactly what you do. Almost everyone here seems to enjoy it. Below is a detailed overview of what we do in each area.

 Inside the house-

Cleaning of the four inside cat rooms: scoop the litter pans, clean up any messes on the floor, wipe the walls, sweep and mop the floors, and wash the towels, blanket, beds, and rugs they use. We make sure they have fresh clean food and water. We also brush and play with the kitties.  The offices, bathrooms, kitchens, porches, greeting area, and mud room are all cleaned, swept and mopped every day.

 In the kennel:

The kennels are cleaned, inside and out. The bedding is replaced and the beds are cleaned.  The dogs can be played with, walked, brushed, or bathed, depending on the weather.

 In Kitten Corner:

The litter pans need scooped, and if there are animals in quarantine, their cages need cleaned. The litter pans and dishes get washed. The floors are swept and mopped. Also make sure all cats have fresh clean food and water. The outside cats are fed and watered at Kitten Corner as well. The outside cats have access to half of Kitten Corner. This area needs the litter pans scooped, the food and water checked, and they need given fresh food and water as well.

 The entire area gets swept, the walls wiped, and the floors mopped as needed. There is also an enclosed outer area at Kitty Corner that gets cleaned the same as the inside area.  In the warm weather the cats don't use this area often, but it still gets checked. Some, but not all of the outside cats enjoy playing and a good brushing.

 In the pig barn:

The pig area is cleaned and they are given fresh bedding as needed. Some of the pigs also like to be brushed. The water and food pans need cleaned, and the pigs are given fresh water.

 In the horse barn:

The horse stalls and the surrounding outside area need mucked twice daily. The water and food troughs are cleaned as needed. The horses can be groomed. They can also be bathed, weather permitting. The hay needs restocking as it is used, the floor is swept, and in general everything is kept neat and clean.

 General Outside:

The kennel and house yards are kept tidy: scoop the poop, pick up the sticks/debris; in general, make sure there isn't anything laying around. In all weather, the porches are swept and the water for the outside cats located on the porches is kept clean and fresh. 

 This is a what needs done to keep the Olive Branch running smoothly. As a volunteer, you may choose what you would like to do. If you would like to help clean...great, if you want to walk the dogs or play with the kitties...great. We welcome everyone and appreciate everything our volunteers do to help us. Let us know what areas interest you, and we will find a task for you to enjoy.