Your Time Your Impact: Flexible Volunteering with Pet Partners
10/24/2025
Spending time with your pet is one of life’s greatest joys. But imagine turning those moments into meaningful service. With Pet Partners, you and your pet can not only give back, but do it in ways that fit your schedule and your lifestyle.
At Pet Partners, we know that every volunteer journey looks a little different. That’s something to celebrate! Maybe you and your pet can commit to weekly visits at a local hospital, or perhaps your schedule only allows for occasional events with a Community Partner group. No matter how much time you have, every visit brings comfort, connection, and joy to the people you serve. With Pet Partners, you decide what your path looks like, and we’ll support you every step of the way.
The Power of Choice in Volunteering
The Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program emphasizes the power of choice for our therapy animals, but we don’t stop there. It’s important for our volunteer handlers to also have a wide variety of options to choose from for volunteering so that their team can thrive.
We recognize that life is busy, and your availability may change over time. That’s why we offer options to fit different lifestyles and interests. Whether you’re looking for regular commitments, occasional opportunities, or one-time events, we can help you find a volunteer opportunity that suits your team best. What matters most is the impact you and your animal can make together.
No matter how you choose to participate, your service supports the Pet Partners mission: improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond. Every interaction – from weekly hospital visits, to monthly library reading sessions, to once-a-year community events – creates meaningful moments that enrich lives. By tailoring your volunteer journey to your schedule, you and your pet become part of a nationwide network of teams working to bring comfort and joy where it’s needed most.
Flexible Ways to Volunteer
Individual Visits
If you love the idea of visiting on your own schedule, individual visits might be right for you. Many Pet Partners teams arrange one-on-one visits at local hospitals, schools, or senior living facilities.
From you and your therapy dog sitting quietly as a child practices reading, to you and your miniature horse spreading joy amongst staff in a hospital, there’s a wide range of activities for teams to do. All kinds of individual visits can be rewarding for people who want to give back without a set group commitment.
Group Visits with Community Partners
If you prefer being part of a group and living near a Pet Partners Community Partner, joining one of these groups could be the perfect fit! Community Partners are groups of locally organized Pet Partners volunteers. They often bring teams together for regular visits and special events. Joining a Community Partner can provide extra camaraderie, and give you guidance from seasoned volunteers as you share your pet with your community.
Events and Special Initiatives
Beyond traditional visits, you can participate in optional events and special initiatives tailored to your interests.
- Read With Me™ helps children build literacy skills.
- Animal-Assisted Crisis Response provides comfort during events like natural disasters, emergencies, or collective grief.
- Seasonal events, like the Pet of the Year, bring together volunteers nationwide to fundraise in support of the Pet Partners mission.
Why Flexibility Matters
Volunteers come from all walks of life. Students, retirees, and busy professionals alike want to share their amazing pets with people who can benefit from their companionship. That’s why it’s so important that we offer flexible volunteering options. It gives everyone the same chance to give back with their pets.
This also allows Pet Partners to bring their mission of the healing power of animals to more communities nationwide.
Volunteer Journeys in Action
Much like how every pet is different, every team’s volunteering takes a different path. Here are just a few examples:
- One volunteer team visits with soldiers to give support as they fly to and from military deployments. That same team also enjoys visits on a university campus, offering students the chance to “paws and relax” during exam time.
- Another volunteer team regularly visits at a pediatric cancer clinic where one teenage patient said the Pet Partners therapy dog that her visits were the best thing about being in the clinic.
- Yet another volunteer supported the Pet Partners mission with a virtual bingo event in support of their World’s Largest Pet Walk team with their local children’s hospital. All the funds they raised go towards bringing more therapy animal visits to more people in need.
Each volunteer journey is unique, but all are united by the same goal: making a difference through the human-animal bond.
Support Every Step of the Way
No matter how you choose to serve, Pet Partners is here to prepare and guide you. From our comprehensive Handler Course and team evaluation to ongoing support and insurance coverage, we give you the confidence to volunteer safely and effectively. You and your pet bring the healing; we’ll provide the tools and resources.
Final Thoughts
Whether you want to volunteer every week or just a few times a year, you and your pet can create moments of joy and healing in your community. With Pet Partners, your time is valuable, your bond is celebrated, and your impact is limitless.
For those ready to join now:
- Join our next Pet Partners: Step by Step webinar for more info on what makes a pet a good fit for this work, what’s expected of you as their handler, the registration process, and the amazing ways you can make a difference. Register on our events page.
For those still exploring:
- Explore all the ways to volunteer with Pet Partners here.
- Stay in the know by signing up for the Pet Partners newsletter at the bottom of this webpage.
- Check out our related blogs below for more information.
