Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. ~Elizabeth Andrew
I got started with PMRF way back in 2016 as a shelter volunteer! As time and housing conditions allowed I started fostering here and there in 2019 however I didn’t get seriously into it until we lost our heart dog Kellie in January of 2021. Fostering really helped to provide an outlet to distract us from our grief as we started with a particularly rambunctious little puppy and have been nonstop ever since. In 2023 our home managed to take in 24 dogs and 11 cats.
I love that fostering is so flexible and we have such a wide range of experiences with every animal we foster. Some stay for a few days, some stay for a few months – some are already in their golden years by the time they arrive and some have been born under our roof! If you are already part of our FB foster group you will know that taking photos is one of my favourite parts of the gig. A good photo can do wonders in stopping someone from scrolling right on by and I love photo spamming the team!
I joined the dog foster volunteer team in June of 2023 as a coordinator and no two days have been the same in the role. We have a wide range of foster homes with various schedules, needs and preferences along with a wide range of dogs requiring temporary or permanent placement. It’s like being a matchmaker! I love being part of this PMRF team, it is so rewarding watching the animals come out of their shells in our care and seeing them thrive in their forever homes. Thank you for all that you do, PMRF!
Pawsitive Match is volunteer based and we rely on our volunteers to be successful. We greatly appreciate any and all of the help we receive.
You can help by volunteering your time and energy with us by fostering a dog or cat, fundraising, advertising, training, grooming, transporting, helping out the adoption and foster committees, or whatever else your talent may be.
We can always use help from WestJet employees to transport dogs from Los Angeles and various other locations. We would also be grateful for any buddy passes donated. If you are able to help, please send us an email.
We are always looking for flight escorts flying with WestJet, Air Transat or Alaska Airlines to help dogs get to (or across) Canada to begin their new lives. By escorting a dog, you’re not only saving that precious life, but the one who can be saved because of the freed up space at the shelter! Visit our Flight Escort page for more info.
For more information on the positions currently available or general volunteering questions, please contact the Volunteer Team at volunteer@pawsitivematch.org. If you’ve made the decision to volunteer with us, great! Please fill out and submit the application below.
Listed below are the main groups within Pawsitive Match. Volunteers are always needed to care for the dogs and cats at our private shelter facility, to transport animals, or help out at events. There may be more than one person assigned to each position, so you do not necessarily need to commit to all of the duties required to fulfill a position.
Volunteers must be 18 years old to volunteer at our shelter. For our pet store cat cuddling program, minors must be at least 16 years old and must be accompanied by an adult who has been approved to volunteer. Only the adult can fill out the volunteer application where they can make a note of the name and age of the minor volunteering with them.
Looking to get more involved? In addition to our ongoing volunteers needs listed above, we occasionally have specific board member or coordinator volunteer positions that we are looking to fill. Please click here to see available positions.