How Can I Help?There are so many ways you can help our homeless animals.
Adopt!
If you are looking for a new best friend, the Humane Society can be an excellent place to find one. We always have a wide variety of dogs, cats, and even other types of domestic animals. If you are looking for a purebred, we often have several of those in our shelter as well. Check out our Dogs & Puppies for Adoption and our Cats & Kittens for Adoption. Or better yet, stop by the shelter. Our hours are at the top of the page, and directions can be found on our Home page.
Visit with pets at the shelter. We always need dog walkers and people to spend time playing with our cats and kittens. You can add some light to an otherwise boring day and get some exercise as well. Not to mention the documented health benefits humans receive by spending time with animals!
Spay or neuter your animals.
This is an excellent way to help put us out of business. Here is an article from the Humane Society of the United States website about Why you should Spay or Neuter your Pet. Pets adopted from the Humane Society of Wicomico County must be spayed or neutered if they are not already. More information about this can be found on our About Adoption page. Adopting pets from the shelter is an enormous help to us, and is even more important to the animals to whom you give a home.
Support our annual fundraising events. They're a great opportunity to have some fun while making a valuable contribution. Join us for our annual Walk For The Animals. And end the year having Pet Pictures with Santa taken just before Christmas.
Become a member. Simply fill out this membership form, print it, and send it along with a check (made payable to the Humane Society of Wicomico County) to the shelter address at the top of this page. It's an excellent way to stay abreast of activities at the Humane Society. The Paws & Claws newsletter has excellent articles on pet behavior and training. It also carries tips on pet care.
Gifts
Do some of your Christmas or other gift shopping at the Humane Society. We have T-shirts, sweatshirts, pet rescue window decals, water bottles, mouse pads, watches, coffee mugs, and dog leash reflectors for sale.
Also, you may have noticed various links to other websites on this page. Anytime you click a link and then buy something from that site, a portion of the proceeds go to the Humane Society of Wicomico County. So make sure when you're buying online from Petsmart, that you get there by clicking one of our banner ads!
Volunteer
Volunteer from home. We have several things you can do. We always need volunteers to make follow-up calls on adoptions. It provides a needed service for the pet and the new owner. It's our way to check and be sure everything is going well and gives new pet owners a chance to get assistance during the adjustment period. Computer assistance is another sought after skill. We can put you to work typing or programming. Writing for the newsletter or other publications can help us expand our Humane Education message. If you're an aspiring writer, it's a great way to start building a portfolio of published pieces.
Volunteer at the Shelter. We always have things to do in the office. It's a pleasant place to spend a few hours if you just want to get out of the house. Even if it's one morning a week or a couple afternoons a month, you'll find a bustling environment with staff and volunteers to greet you. They'll be very grateful you came by to lend a hand.
Share a special skill. If you have a special skill you'd like to share please tell us. We have volunteers who donate their woodworking and carpentry skills building dog houses. The houses are given to folks who can't afford to buy houses but have pets in need of shelter. Other volunteers groom shelter pets. This special skill helps to make pets more adoptable since they look their best when people come to visit.
Join a volunteer committee or just help out at an event. The fundraising committee is always looking for folks with new ideas and energy, to help raise the necessary funds to ensure our animals have a safe, comfortable place to stay. You'll receive satisfaction of making a vital contribution and also meet a convivial group of folks to work with. Or join the education committee, assisting in humane education programs at schools, scout troops, and other community organizations who are eager to learn about being responsible pet owners.
If your schedule doesn't permit regular meeting attendance, sign up as a committee support volunteer who can be called on occasionally to lend your heart and hands to a worthy endeavor.
If you would like to volunteer with us, please complete a volunteer application and send it to us.