Kitten Nursery

The nursery officially opened on April 1st! Our dedicated staff members will be caring for kittens around the clock. Volunteer shifts are currently available from 8am to 8pm. If you're in the building before or after open hours, please stay within the kitten nursery area.

Feline handling training will not be required to sign up, but volunteers will need to watch 7 prerecorded videos on My Impact, beginning with 'Introduction to Kittens.' We highly recommend signing up for a Kitten Nursery Observation shift before attending a Kitten Nursery Helper shift if this is your first time bottle feeding at DAS. 

New Playgroup Times 

Our playgroup team works hard every day to give dogs a chance to get out of their kennels, stretch their legs, and have some fun—all while learning more about their behavior and playstyles.

Volunteers can walk dogs to and from the play yards, watching them interact, and picking up some great insights into canine behavior along the way. If you've completed your Canine Handling Training, you can sign up for a volunteer shift at one of the following times: 8:00–10:30 AM, 1:00–3:00 PM, or 3:00–5:00 PM. Help make a difference—sign up here!

Dog Walking Tracker

A new red and green slider system has been installed above each kennel door to help track which dogs have had time outside of their kennels each day. If the slider is set to red, it indicates that the dog has not yet been out for the day. If the slider is set to green, it means the dog has either been taken for a walk, spent time in the play yard, or participated in a daycation.

When returning a dog to their kennel after any of these activities, please ensure the slider is moved to green before you leave. Staff will be resetting all indicators at the end of each day. This system will now be used in place of “Who Let the Dogs Out”.

We kindly ask volunteers to prioritize dogs with red sliders during their shifts to ensure that every pet has the opportunity for enrichment and time outside of their kennel each day.

Volunteer Shout Out!

Every newsletter we try to randomly select an active volunteer to recognize for all of their hard work! This month, we would like to shout out Kevin Finn. Thank you for everything you do as a volunteer.

How long have you been volunteering at DAS?

I started volunteering at DAS in June of 2024.

Do you have any pets at home?

We have Rose, a 5-year-old female Staffy/Pitty mix that we adopted from DAS three years ago.

What is your favorite volunteer position?

I like Furtography because I help dogs get out of their kennels and run around in the yard while I take pictures and get to show them some love. Playing with dogs is good therapy for me too.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with DAS?

The staff is friendly and helpful; the other volunteers are great. Plus, I get to play with dogs.

Do you have a favorite DAS story to share?

A couple of months after I did my dog handling training, I was taking an excited dog named Bella out to the yard for pictures. I was down on one knee so I could get the loop of the lead around Bella when she came out of the kennel.  Bella had other ideas. She faked left and then pushed around me. I panicked because I just knew she was going to go running through the building and bolt for the parking lot. Instead, Bella ran around behind me and jumped on my back, like this was all a game. Since she was so squirmy and excited, I grabbed her with both arms and had to lay on top of her until I could get the lead on her. All the while, she was wiggling and licking my face, having the time of her life. Luckily, no one walked in to see some old guy wrestling with a dog on the floor outside of her kennel. And I did get some great pictures of Bella running around the yard and trying to crawl up in my lap for pets.