Get Involved: Join In Our Fun & Rewarding Efforts.
It’s all for the Dogs!
Scroll through our opportunities below and find something that excites you, then fill out our application, and we will be in touch. We can't wait to meet you.
Weekly Walking & Care Team
Ellijay Paws in Need is committed to taking care of every dog in the facility., every day. This means walking them and/or playing with them in one of the play yards, whichever is most appropriate. At times it also means supporting the staff in other ways, such as helping bathe or take care of their kennels.
We need people that can commit to a regular routine schedule where you come once a week for 1-2 hours during the hours of 9 AM – 2 PM.
This weekly consistency is very critical for the care of the dogs. As the dogs begin to know you and you know them, you have more opportunities to help them socialize. As this happens, they become more adoptable.
You tell us the day of the week that is best for you, and we will add you to that team.
Each day of the week has a team leader. Once you complete orientation, you will be connected to your team leader.
Afternoon Enrichment Team
Afternoons at the shelter are spent providing enrichment for the dogs. Canine enrichment involves engaging dogs in activities designed to stimulate their minds and to keep them physically fit at the same time. As the American Veterinary Association says, “All dogs need enrichment.” Enrichment can be social, cognitive, or sensory-oriented and is a 1:1 activity for dogs and volunteers. Volunteers take the dog either to the play yards or to our “real life room” and play games with them. We have many tools to choose from. The important part is matching the dog’s needs with the best enrichment tool. Our volunteers are trained, and as they get to know the dogs, they have a lot of fun picking out that day’s activity!
Morning Playgroup Team
Mornings at the shelter are spent providing socialization and enrichment in the form of play groups supervised by trained volunteers. Dogs Playing for Life - the organization that provided the program’s initial training - says “playing can be a dog’s most natural form of positive interaction and communication with both humans and fellow dogs. For shelters, allowing dogs to be dogs in playgroups can reveal their behavioral tendencies better than their reactions during the intake process, while kenneled, or during a formal behavior evaluation”. We agree!
Playgroups run most days and we are always looking for volunteers who are willing to commit to training and learning how to safely supervise our dogs in this vital outlet.
Become a Foster or a Medical Foster
We Need You! Short-term fostering is a beautiful way to help our dogs decompress, heal, and prepare for their forever homes.
Specific needs include 2-week foster placements before transport. This time allows the dog to de-stress before being placed on transport to the rescue in the Northeast. The transport itself is stressful and dogs who have been in a home prior to the trip do much better with the long ride and when they meet the rescue at the end of the transport.
Our dogs are often spayed and neutered while in the shelter. Having a quiet calm place to recover and heal is a Godsend for them. The dog will usually stay in your home for 3-7 days.
We often also have dogs with various medical needs that would heal much quicker in a home than in a stressful shelter.
Once you fill out the foster paperwork, you can foster as often as you like. And, we would like you to foster as often as you will. So, we make the process of getting you onboard as simple as possible!
Take a Dog Hiking
Do you love to be outdoors? Do you want to help our dogs but you can’t commit to coming to the shelter once a week? Our Take a dog hiking program may be just what you are looking for.
We love hiking! And there is nothing better than hiking with a dog companion!
Once you complete an orientation with us, we will match you with your hiking partner. You will be required to fill out brief paperwork in order to take one of the dogs off-site. Once you complete the paperwork and you and your dog buddy are checked off by our volunteers, you are free to come get your hiking partner whenever you like and take him/ her on more fun hikes!
The hiking opportunities are endless in the North Georgia mountains. Our shelter is located next to the Rich Mountain Wilderness where there are miles of trails to explore, complete with rivers and creeks for your hiking buddy to splash around in.
Donate To The Dogs
You Can’t get to the shelter but you want another way to make a difference in our dogs’ lives? Your donations are always a huge help!
Food: As part of our mission to support the well-being of the dogs in care, we ask that you please donate Purina One Smart Blend Canned and dry dog food. We try and feed the dogs the same food at all times to cut down on the GI difficulties. Changing food all the time makes for very upset stomachs. Feel free to donate any of the various proteins (beef, salmon, turkey, chicken., etc) just make it Purina One SmartBlend.
For about 17.00 a month, you can be one of our monthly donors by having 1 case of Purina One SmartBlend canned food delivered to the dogs. This helps ensure that they never run out of good food.
Chewy and Amazon both deliver regularly to the shelter.
Pumpkin: Many of our dogs have GI issues. Pumpkin settles the stomach. We can always use cans of plain pumpkin (no sugar). Click on the link to order yummy pumpkin and help us create healthy stomachs.
Harnesses and Collars: Most of our dogs have never been leash trained which makes it a challenge to get them exercised. This 2 Hound No Pull Harness is a game-changer and we always need new ones! We need sizes M, L, and XL. Click on the link and it will take you right to the website. We also need Martingale-style collars from 2 Hounds. The puppies keep eating them off of each other! The smaller sizes in any color are appreciated. Click this link.
Blankets: Other items that can ALWAYS be used are “throw blankets.” These 60L x 50W throws are the perfect-sized blankets for the dogs and our washer and dryer are able to handle them. Larger bed size blankets unfortunately don’t do so well in the shelter’s washer and dryer.
Treats: Our dogs love a healthy snack that is good for them. Buddy Biscuits are one of their favorites! But they also love surprises…so surprise them with a healthy treat and imagine their tail wagging as they thank you! Please do not send raw hide of any kind.
Check out our Amazon wishlist to order treats for the dogs.
Donations can be sent directly to:
Gilmer County Animal Shelter
4152 Hwy 52
Ellijay GA 30536
If you make a donation please let us know so we can thank you!
Email us at Ellijay Paws