Home Checker
Skills and experience required:
- A good level of animal welfare knowledge and experience
- Excellent verbal communication skills
- Able to work independently
- Able to represent the SAA in a professional and confident manner
- Full driving licence and access to a vehicle
- Prior experience of working or volunteering at an animal rescue
How this helps the SAA:
To ensure the best match is made between animal and adopter, and to check that every animal is going to a home which is safe and suitable for them, the SAA conducts home checks on all potential adopters.
What is involved?
Liaising with the animal care staff, you will book and carry out home-checks of potential adopters of cats or rabbits. This will involve travelling to the adopter’s home, assess the suitability of their home environment for their chosen animal, answering their questions and providing them with animal care advice. You will then report back to the animal care staff whether the homecheck should pass, ensuring appropriate records are completed.
Dependent upon experience, we are looking for volunteers for specific animals; i.e. only carrying out home checks for rabbits, you are not required to carry out homechecks for all species.
How will we support you?
Your contact will be the SAA animal care staff, who will provide you with day-to-day support, information, guidance and direction. You will be given an induction into the charity, to explain our work and purpose. You will shadow an animal care staff member or experienced volunteer before being asked to conduct your own home checks.
What you can gain from volunteering with the SAA:
- New experiences and knowledge
- Meeting and working with new people
- Developing existing skills or gaining new ones
- The experience of using your skills and abilities to help the SAA’s animals.