Volunteer Every task helps a dog on their journey home.

It’s a feel-good thing. Do you love dogs? Are you looking to make a difference, learn something new, give back to your community, and meet people with similar interests? As a Second City Canine Rescue (SCCR) volunteer, you get to contribute to a cause you care about.

We are always looking for passionate people willing to help. If you are at least eighteen years old, we would LOVE to have you be a partner in furthering our mission of rescuing responsiblySM.

There are lots of ways to get involved; below are some areas where we always need volunteers. If any of these opportunities are a good fit for you, please click on the link at the bottom of the page to begin your online application.

Foster Home (Visit our Foster Page)
  • Care for a dog as your own until it finds its forever home
  • Bring dog to an SCCR veterinarian for care as scheduled by our medical coordinator
  • Bring dog to adoption events or the SCCR Adoption Center for potential families to meet
Adoption Center Volunteer 
  • Volunteer at our Adoption Center (located at 570 N Smith St in Palatine) to walk puppies and socialize them as they wait to meet their forever families
  • Work with puppies on socialization tasks, tidy the living spaces, other daily tasks as requested
Adoption Show Handler
  • Introduce the dog you are handling while at the Adoption Show
  • Engage with the dog you’re handling
  • Involve adoption counselors when potential adopters are recognized
  • Spread awareness about SCCR’s mission
Marketing Team Member
  • Design email campaigns and/or social media posts
  • Create graphic design projects
  • Select photos for marketing projects
Dog Dash
  • Transport foster dogs to places such as vet appointments, adoption events, and babysitting foster homes.
  • Transport adoption center puppies to places like vet appointments and events.
  • Transport medications to foster homes.
Adventure Tail Foster
  • Take an adoption center pup on a field trip to explore the world
  • Host an overnight or weekend adventure
  • Provide opportunities for puppies to experience new sights and sounds

Have an idea we didn’t touch base on? You can help!

Important: Sometimes our email replies go to spam. Please check your spam folder for replies from @sccrescue.org and @volunteer2mail.com or add volunteer@sccrescue.org to your contacts. Click the button below to sign up to volunteer with SCCR:

Important: We are unable to provide court-ordered community service hours.

Effective 6.5.24, volunteers must be 18 years of age or older due to insurance requirements.

Email questions to volunteer@sccrescue.org