Therapy Animal Expo

Interested in volunteering with your well behaved pet? Enjoy the day learning about your pet and the best volunteer job ever!

Do you have a friendly, well behaved pet?
(dog, cats, equines, rabbits, guinea pigs, llamas and alpacas, birds, miniature pigs, and rats)

Have you ever considered sharing your pet with people in hospitals, nursing homes or other environments?

Come out and learn the process to become a team and hear from animal trainers and therapy animal experts. You will gain knowledge about your animal that will help you prepare for the best volunteer job ever. You’ll also get to visit with therapy animal programs like the ones at The Mayo Clinic, Community Hospice, the Duval Courthouse, and more.

Do you already volunteer with your pet?

In addition, if you are already volunteering with your pet, there will be sessions to expand your knowledge and improve your therapy animal visits. There will be representatives from Northeast Florida therapy animal programs for you to connect with in your search for volunteer opportunities.

Therapy Animal Coalition’s 4th Expo is for aspiring volunteer therapy animal handlers, already registered handlers and the facilities and organizations that want or have therapy animal programs. The Expo is open to the public and offers informational workshops and speakers to help those new to the field or those wanting to expand their knowledge.

Whether you are new to pet therapy or already volunteering, choose from several sessions throughout the day and participate in two keynote addresses from nationally known speakers, Dr. Aubrey Fine and Rev. Elizabeth Teal. To learn more about the event specifics, please visit the event website: https://therapyanimalcoalition.org/expo/

Breakfast and lunch are included in the ticket price of this event. HUMAN ONLY EVENT: Please leave your pets at home. Only service animals are allowed at this event.

*If you are a professional looking to use therapy animals in your practice, please register for the UNF Animal -Assisted Therapy Symposium which will award Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from University of North Florida. The Symposium and the Expo are two events happening in the same location on the same day and share keynote speakers. Please register for the Symposium at this link https://www.unf.edu/ce/AATS/

Catty Shack Volunteer Day

Join us as we volunteer at the Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary whose mission is to “provide a safe, loving, forever home for endangered big cats, and to educate the public about their plight in the wild and captivity.”

The last hour will be reserved for a guided tour of the facility!

Jacksonville Citizens Step Up for Pups

Jacksonville Citizens Step Up for Pups \ SUNNY issue \ by Janice Frank

When a local program supporting Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) came an end, a plea was made to the public to help reignite the dog house program. Once led by the Englewood high school wood shop class, dog houses were supplied to ACPS to distribute in the community to keep dogs with their owners and out of the shelter. Unfortunately, with the retirement of the shop teacher, the dog house program came to an end however the need did not.

Luckily, a local man and his son answered the call! Dave Howard and son Luke, a senior at Bishop Kenny, had been discussing potential opportunities for Luke to fulfill his school’s community service requirements. As dog lovers and handy hobbyists, they thought this would be a fun way to spend time together while serving the community!

With a need averaging four dog houses per week, Dave and Luke made a goal to build nine houses and relied on neighbors and friends for some quick fundraising to make it happen. Their request was responded to with great generosity (because our community is awesome), and the pair were able to build nine beautiful houses for dogs that didn’t have shelter! They would love to continue the effort, but need community support. Materials for one house cost about $75, and the project welcomes both business and individual sponsors.

Please join EPIC Outreach for the first fundraising event to help make more dog houses for under served areas of Jacksonville, August 27 at Hamburger Mary’s—Bingo For Dogs!

To see more photos and find out how YOU can join the project, follow The Major Dog House Project!

Hank, Unleash’s Fun Correspondent, doing final inspections.
Strong men lifting things.
Companies like the wonderful MERO REALTY can sponsor houses!
“Paws up! These houses are good to go … get ‘um outta here!”

Squirrel cage building event. (Ages 12 and up!)

We are building new cages for our squirrels! This is an opportunity for adults and younger volunteers (12 and older) to help the wildlife in our community, and will count towards community hours needed for school, scouts, or Bright Futures Scholarships!

You will need to bring needle nose pliers and wire cutters to build your cage, we will supply the rest of the material.

Because the event takes place at a volunteer’s home, we didn’t want to post it online, but if you are interested, drop us a comment or private Facebook message and we will get you set up!

Hosted by Wildlife Rescue Coalition of Northeast Florida

Event will take place at a volunteer’s home in Arlington, so please contact us for address.

Clay County Animal Services Volunteer Orientation

Interested in helping out the homeless animals of Clay County? Come out and get signed up to start volunteering. We are signing up photographers, cat socializers, dog walkers, dog playgroup, special event, customer service and other volunteers.

Children ages 7-17 welcome with an adult. Please wear close-toed shoes. No flip flops. 🙂