Who can become a Pet Grief Support Service Volunteer?

People well suited to become Pet Grief Support Service Volunteers include those who:

•  have suffered the loss of a special companion animal, long enough ago to have developed some perspective;

•  have worked through their own grief and experienced some degree of resolution;

• are comfortable with their own mortality as well as that of their animal companions;

• are able to talk about their own experience with some degree of objectivity;

• have enough perspective to use their own experience to help others;

• are flexible enough to accept other views of death without being judgmental;

• respect other lifestyles and cultural differences without being judgmental;

• are independent enough to work on their own, but also work well as team members;

• have a sense of humor as well as empathy;        

• have a personal life sufficiently stable that they can make a commitment to be there for others;

• are open enough to continue learning about themselves as they learn the Service volunteer experience;

• can be honest and assertive about the time they are willing and not willing to devote to volunteering;

• are committed enough to give the necessary time for preparation, phone calling and attending meetings for volunteers;       

• are able to maintain the confidentiality of the people they help, both on the telephone and in support groups;

• are demonstrably pleasant, kind, caring and perceptive;

• are able to start a conversation;

• are able to listen well;

• are able and willing to learn from callers and group participants;

• can offer friendship, understanding and guidance to callers and group participants;

• can call upon and share their own experiences;

• recognize when a caller’s or group participant’s needs exceed their own availability or capability;

• seek consultative support as needed.

What is expected of a Pet Grief Support Service Volunteer?

The Pet Grief Support Service requires that its Volunteers

• Complete and submit a PGSS Volunteer Application Form (Right click on the link and select "Save Target As" then save to your desktop) Click for a free copy of Adobe Acrobat to read the pdf files.

• Be members in good standing of the Companion Animal Association of Arizona, Inc.

• Read the Pet Grief Support Service Manual for Helpline Volunteers as well as the book The Final Farewell: Preparing for and Mourning the Loss of Your Pet and the booklet Children and Pet Loss: A Guide for Helping, written by our mental health consultant, bereavement counselor Marty Tousley.

• Attend as soon as possible at least two meetings of the Pet Grief Support Group.

• Be available to obtain recorded messages from the Helpline answering machine during the assigned shift.

• Maintain Pet Grief Support Service Helpline Assistance Log sheets on all calls.

• Send a sympathy note or card and selected Pet Grief Support Service literature to the caller.

• Notify the Volunteer Coordinator if they think a caller’s needs are greater than they can handle, or if they’re having trouble dealing with their own feelings about a call.  (The Volunteer Coordinator will then help the Volunteer decide what to do. The Mental Health Consultant is always available to the Volunteer Coordinator, if needed in such situations.)

• Keep copies or notes from their log sheets for their own records, and send originals to the Volunteer Coordinator at month’s end.

• Keep the Volunteer Coordinator informed of any problems (grievances, vacations, illness, etc.).

• Attend whatever meetings may be called for Pet Grief Support Service Volunteers.

• Read the pet grief training articles and other mailings periodically sent to Service Volunteers.
• Save and attach all receipts for expenditures to the Helpline Volunteer Record of Expenses form and submit completed form to the Volunteer Coordinator for reimbursement.