KennelKitty Has a Question for RHU

I have a question about what to do with a fellow volunteer. :/ It may seem like I'm using a lot of revealing info but I changed some non important stuff just in case.

Hello again RHUers! KennelKitty (formerly StarBitchSoldier) here with a rant and question from the animal shelter.

I usually work alone in the mornings at my shelter but recently I've gotten many new volunteers coming in for a training shift since I'm now one of their top volunteers. These guys have gone through a little "training course" with most information being common sense (to me at least.)

At first, the newbies were great. They were ready to help out and learn the layout and whatnot. Its just what you'd imagine from people willing to donate their time to help kitties. Recently, though, the trainees have gone down hill. They mostly stand around, watching me. I usually show them around the building, the feeding chart, and how to clean a kennel as a demonstration at first. I understand asking me which cleaner to use or where the bedding is kept. But these people I've had the last few times do nothing. They just want to pet a cat or two and maybe feed a couple but that's all. There's another volunteer job for that. I just want to scream at them not to sign up for cleaning if they are too worried about scooping poop or sweeping kennels! Augh!

Then there is the problem of people just leaving without letting anyone know or finishing the job. If you can't dedicate the time to finish, don't even start. Please. It's a waste of time having me explain everything for you to just leave. I finally was able to gather them up on a later shift and confront them, telling them they are here to learn and if they get stuck on a shift alone after training, like I usually do, they better know how to do every task. That and I made them feel bad by telling them when they leave I end up finishing everything myself which means I end up staying at least an hour past my shift (which is true.)

It helped a few volunteers realize they needed to step it up but there are still some who don't really care. Ugh.

Now for my question. I got a trainee recently that I suspect has some disabilities. Now, I have no problem with disabled people. We have a young wheelchair bound woman who comes in with her aide and pets and socializes the very young kittens and more sedentary cats and she is absolutely wonderful at it. What I'm worried about is this young trainee hurting a cat or getting hurt. He seems like he has mental disabilities and does not know how to act around cats.

I spent my whole shift following him around, correcting him on how to hold cats and clean, even explaining that yes, what he found was pee in the cat box and that you scoop it out. The cats avoid him completely, darting and running away from him to avoid his uncomfortable carrying methods.

What do I do? I don't want to be rude or make a point that the mentally handicapped can't work there. I just don't want to see a person or cat get hurt because there is a volunteer not capable of handling cats in there. Maybe if this man had supervision it would be ok, but from my understanding he is there alone. I really want to bring this up to the staff but is it ok if I say anything? If I do, how can I bring it up without being offensive?

Thanks again RHU,

KennelKitty

Comments

[Nubbinz]

Well. That is a tough one. But the best way to bring it up is to go to a boss or coworker and say. X dosn't seem to be getting it...blah blah.... dont even mention your suspicion of mental disabilities because thats not your place to figure it out. your place is to make sure you have a capable group taking care of these kittys. Remember you arn't worried because hes disabled you are worried because he does not seem to get tasks A,b, and c.

[Cee]

There's lots of good info online about running volunteer programs. As much as volunteering is supposed to be similar to working at a job, a good job should help build up the employee or volunteer. It's a reciprocal relationship so it can't be all about taking from vols. Volunteers and the public are the lifeblood of an organization who's mission is to save lives and get as many pets into good homes as possible. Maybe you need incentive programs? People do get bored, so is there a way to rotate tasks or include rewards such as learning new things? How can you make if exciting? If you have some professional photographers locally, can they volunteer to come in and show your vols how to take great pet photos (and pet adoption photos)? How about some vouchers for free meditation or yoga sessions after completing so many hours of service per month? If someone at the shelter has more knowledge of preventative feline nutrition, how about a presentation to a group where vols get free passes? If she/he needs help, how about vols who know how to do PP or other presentations teach others how (I'd sign up for that). You should look at stealing good ideas for your programs from other places whenever and wherever you can. Even ask the vols for feedback similar to how consumers and employees can help out a business. It you want to make your org as good as possible, get your vols involved in the process. They also like to hear how much they are helping to save lives. There might be some good ideas in the Maddies Fund article, "The Value of Good Volunteer Management" online. Best wishes and thank you for what you are doing!

[Cee]

You didn't specify what kind of disability this volunteer has. Some who have a physical disability have normal or above normal thinking abilities. Try and find out what his strengths and skills are and also what he wants to learn. You should be able to discuss his abilities and your concerns with your supervisor, and since you will have talked with the volunteer, you can suggest to your supervisor what tasks he might be good at or want to learn. Take time to research his disability and make him feel welcome. Try and imagine how you would feel in his place. This might be one of the few social outings he gets. Since there is research available on the benefits of cuddling pets, some places have started to offer this service to students studying for exams. Some office workers also like to take a cuddle break or watch cats playing, If your shelter could add such a program, the volunteer supervising it could also supervise your disabled volunteer. This is also a great media opportunity as that program may be unique for your area.

[KennelKitty]

Thanks for the input, guys :)
Unfortunately Cee, I'm not in a position to do any of it (but i know who is :) ) and we actually have many things like that in place. We have a volunteer job of taking pictures and writing cute bios of each animal and we have a job for people who only want to play with the animals. We also have monthly meetings where volunteers can make suggestions and every volunteer gets a big discount at a local pet supply store as well a big discount to animal classes like pet first aid or puppy training. They give out awards for top volunteers (voted by the small staff and volunteers) and the staff host holiday parties and have a volunteer appreciation week with raffles and free food and what not. (This stuff is donated by local businesses and all the food is from the staff so dont worry, the shelter money stays for the animals :D ) The staff really go above and beyond to support volunteers.
I've noticed a trend that it is the young volunteers (high school to college age) that are not working. Maybe I was raised differently from these kids or maybe it's the fact I came from an average family whereas these kids come from a wealthier background. I'm not sure. But I have noticed that the young volunteers are the ones doing half ass work.
And thanks for the advice on the volunteer who can't handle the animals. I'll send an email later on to our head of volunteers using your advice. I'd go in but my own kitty is sick and it's contagious. Last thing they need is an outbreak!

[kuroneko4276]

I, also, am a shelter volunteer, and we have a couple of adults and older teens with mental disabilities who volunteer there. We have a fix that worked out really well for one gentleman in particular, and it sounds like it might help your volunteer as well.

What we did was purchase a stuffed toy cat, as cuddly and lifelike as possible, and we asked this volunteer to show children visiting the shelter the right and wrong ways to hold and approach a cat. This meant that we had to spend a significant amount of time helping him tell the right and wrong ways with 'Practice Kitty,' the stuffed cat, and after a few hours of training, he was perfect with cats, and we bought a second Practice Kitty to go with the first one.

Now, every time a child comes in during his shift, he hands them a Practice Kitty and takes one himself, and he shows them the right and wrong ways to approach and pick up a cat. They mime 'right way' and 'wrong way' together, and it gets the idea across even to the tiniest kids. I'd say it's prevented an untold number of scratches, and since this gentleman is so very sincere, children immediately take him seriously when he shares this valuable information.

We've even expanded his duties to include the 'Safety Dog' program, where he and the Practice Dogs (who are stuffed,) and one highly-trained therapy dog visit elementary schools and show children with various pictures and the stuffed dogs' posture and ear positions, the right and wrong ways and times to approach a dog. Many dog bites occur simply because little children can't tell a friendly dog from a scared one, and with pictures of what scared dogs, angry dogs, and friendly dogs, as well as a really friendly dog in person, it's much easier for children to be safe around our four-legged friends after the Safe Dog program at their elementary school. It's already cut the county's dog-bite reports down significantly in one year of operation, and now when this gentleman is greeting people or returning carts at his regular job, children say hi to him and thank him for showing them how to be safe with animals. You can really see the accomplishment and pride shining in his eyes, and the day a little kid told him that she saw a scared dog and didn't pet him, just went and got a grownup, he really and honestly knew he'd saved a child from a bite and the dog from being put down.

Perhaps your volunteer might also be good at this. There is always something a person can be special at, maybe this is it.

[Queer Geek]

These are definitely great suggestions Kennelkitty that you should try out for your volunteers. Unfortunately, this is a volunteer program and because many of them might not have the same work ethic that you have, you're bound to run into a few bad apples. I like the idea of some sort of incentive program. I know this sounds like they should been given a reward for something that should be willingly agree to without reciprocation but if you're having trouble getting the volunteers motivated, this might be the added push you need to get them to perform tasks.

As for your disabled volunteer, perhaps you can talk with your supervisor of coming up with strategies where the person can still perform his duties without harming himself or the other animals. I like the idea of using a mock stuffed animal as an example. That way the individual can still work for the organization but won't get himself or the cats hurt.

[Mollywobbles]

I just want to say that I LOVE kuroneko's Practice Pet idea. It's amazing that the reports of dog bites in your county has been reduced since the Safe Dog program started, and it warms my heart to read about the man who teaches the children, saving them from potential dog bites.

I'm going to second the motion of letting your supervisor know which tasks the suspected disabled volunteer is having trouble with without letting on that you think he might be disabled. He might just be very socially awkward or have memory problems, and you'd feel pretty awful if you told your supervisor that he might be mentally challenged and it turns out he's not. As for the half-assing kids, let them know about the alternate volunteer program. Tell them plainly, "If you don't want to clean up after the pets, please don't volunteer for pet clean-up. If all you want to do is hold and pet animals, there's another program altogether specifically for this purpose. Perhaps you might be interested in it?"

[KennelKitty]

Mollywobbles, you hit the nail on the head about my worries. I dont know if he is mentally disabled for sure and its be terrible to label someone like that if they werent so im kind of afraid to bring it up. Ill just tell them what tasks he has trouble with and leave it at that. The staff do this for a living so theyll have the knowledge on how to approach the situation.
And that practice pet idea is great! I'll include that in the email. I think, regardless if he is disabled or not, they'll move him to playing with cats instead of clean up. Clean up is the more tedious and paperwork heavy job so no matter what, so they may move him. Thanks again everyone, I don't feel like a douche now by saying something :)

[Shadowcat]

some of the "lazy" work ethic teens may just want an "easy" job to fill out mandatory "volunteer" credits/hours for their graduation. some may just be lazy (many --not all-- of the teens in the last 20 yrs have gotten lazy). best of luck with your predicament. --S-- in Michigan

[Book Baby]

I have volunteered at our local shelter for YEARS. We don't get discounts a the local pet stores or anything else. I am in it to help the animals, NOT what goodies I can get! that being said, it's nice that your organization is doing this for its volunteers.

I socialize both cat and dogs and spend time training dogs in basic obedience skills. Usually, our volunteers are a dedicated bunch, but every so often, we get one who is all starry-eyed about "helping the poor puppies and kitties". Reality usually slaps him/her in the face when the animals is an untrained 80 pound whirling dervish who knocks him/her down, or he/she get peed on, puked on or covered in pet hair. You haven't LIVED as a volunteer until you have used tweezers to pick engorged ticks off of a puppy!

[Skittles]

KennelKitty I have worked for the past 8 years in mental health and some of that time was with developmentally disabled(pc talk for retarded) folks I have found that it is best to directly discuss any issues with them but not dumb any thing down unless they ask you to. As long as you talk to them like you would to any other peer you shouldn't have a problem. Some of the people I have worked with respond well to talking to them like they are children but I find it to be disrespectful in my opinion. Just avoid any accusatory statements, aggresive posture, or aggresive tone of voice. If you have addressed it with the person and they wont change that behavior then you should go to whoever is in charge of volunteers and ask them to help. It may not be possible for that person to safely work with animals.

[AmigaTech]

I'd like to bring up another angle. I volunteer on a sailboat (a 120' schooner, not a small nor simple boat) and sometimes you can and should yell at the volunteers.

Make them do what they have already been trained to do.

Some won't like it - They can leave. But yeah, sometimes you have to tell the nicest people to go away because they're not helping, and it's not worth your time to deal with them.

If they want to help, they will have to put up or shut up.

Volunteering is work. Sometimes a lot of volunteers need to be reminded of that.

--AT

[Danielle Tate]

The issue here isn't the disability--it's whether the volunteer can do the job.

If you have a disability and you work, your employer hired you because you can do the job. Some people with disabilities need some kind of adjustment made; others don't. With those adjustments, if they can do the job, there's laws that says you have to consider them equally with all the other candidates.

So this is a volunteer. Same principle though. If the guy can do the job--with or without adjustments to the job, extra training, whatever--then you keep him on. If he can't, you find him something he can do, or (unfortunately) explain to him that he doesn't have the skills that volunteers should have.

Do consider the adjustments that can be made, though. Think out of the box, get creative. He may be the best "consultant" for you to refer to when solving the problem, considering it's his disability and he's been living with it for a while. Be honest with him; it wouldn't be any fun for him to find out you've been trying to "spare his feelings" for a long while, and he's just been getting in the way. That feels awful. Better to know that you can't do something, than to know people have been patronizing you.