Volunteers

If you are interested in volunteering with Cavalier Rescue USA, please contact the Regional Chairperson for your area.

Strong preference is given to people who already have or have had a Cavalier, and the process of becoming a volunteer includes an application, vet reference, discussion with the regional chairperson, and a home visit. 

A key role in volunteering is fostering.  You don’t have to be a dog expert to foster, but you do have to have time and love to give, and to be able to balance your heart and head. Parting with the foster dog can be difficult, but is a necessary part of volunteering. While foster families do occasionally adopt their foster dog, this isn't the purpose of volunteering, and the dogs tend to be older or special needs dogs for whom placement outside of the rescue team is more difficult.

The foster family’s role is to bring the Cavalier into their home, get needed medical care completed, assess the dog to determine the best type of new family for the foster Cavalier, and work with the regional representatives to place the Cavalier into a loving and appropriate new family. This work isn’t always easy, but is almost always tremendously rewarding.

We have other volunteer opportunities available too that are very critical, such as doing home visits with prospective new families, providing transportation for Cavaliers, and assisting with fundraising activities.

Please volunteer to help with rescue if you can. Working together, we can help all Cavaliers find a way home.

To learn if you might be a good fit for our volunteer team, please contact the team leader for your area. Here is a link to the Contacts page...Contacts

Violet's Story:
She's my co-pilot...

Foster Mom Cindy with Precious, now called Violet...

Violet's new Mom wrote their story...

"Last January I was feeling blue. My co-worker was in the process of getting her "dream puppy" and asked me what my "dream puppy" would be. I told her I had always wanted a Cavalier, but would only consider a rescue. ( All my critters are rescues.) She jumped on the computer and googled up the Cavalier Rescue.

I applied online and cruised the website 3 to 4 days a week. We originally wanted a puppy. I watched the website diligently. As soon as a puppy was available, we saw "adoption pending".

In January though, an elderly dog was featured. Week after week she was there while the younger dogs came and went.

We have rescues. A dog with severe ADHD and OCD. One with 3 legs. 2 abandoned cats. Why not a geriatric? As the weeks went by and no one wanted her, I figured that meant that she was destined to be ours.

.  

Last March we travelled 1300 miles round trip from Minnesota to Indiana and back in a weekend to meet two of the nicest folks we've ever met and to adopt the most wonderful dog I've ever had.

Here we are on adoption day...

Violet is now 13 years old. She's deaf, arthritic, and has bad knees. Since we've been privileged to have her, she's had some teeth removed, and 3 surgeries on one of her eyes. She's lost most of her sight in her left eye. She requires joint supplements, and pain and eye meds daily.

What a privilege is is to have this old lady! She makes me smile and laugh every day. I am a veterinary technician of 25 years. Every morning Violet crawls out of her huge, fluffy bed that's benn placed right next to my bed. She creeks down a stair or two outside. Then back in to watch my morning routine to make sure I'm doing everything right. She follows me out to the car and puts her front feet up on the floor board to wait for me to give her a boost up. She's my co-pilot every morning on the way to work.

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