Care Team Volunteer Expectations

The Care Team is asked to volunteer 2 hours a week. Come when you can.

Start laundry and keep it going throughout the shift, do dishes, and keep the ICU clean and organized.

Clean up puppy rooms: pick up feces, change out bedding. Let the medical volunteers know if there was vomit, diarrhea, or anything else in the room and mark it on the chart. This is critical for tracking the medical progress of each patient and detail must be included. Flush feces down the toilet.

Ask medical volunteers what food and/or water to offer the puppy, since it varies depending on the dog's condition. You may need to hand feed the sicker puppies. Procedures are included in the Feeding Protocol page.

Hold puppies while they are getting medications to support medical volunteers and staff.

Discharge dogs from the ICU once they test parvo negative using the Discharging Protocol.

Be reliable and present.

Abide by all disease procedures, including washing hands, spraying hands, scrubs, and feet down with disinfectant, and scrubbing in and out.

Be mindful of cross-contamination and wash hands before entering or after leaving any Parvo room and clean any bowls or toys you remove from any Parvo room. Trifectant is your best friend in the Parvo ICU.

Be safe (know correct holding techniques for helping with treatments), and watch out for safety hazards in the ICU, such as keeping all wires off the floor.

Treat all puppies with love, compassion, and respect.

Come to shifts prepared. Do not to come into a shift exhausted, hungry, or needing to go to the bathroom!

Be honest. We all make the occasional mistake.

Be willing to learn. If you’re unsure about anything or flat out don't know, just ask someone! There are no stupid questions in the Parvo ICU.