Lend a Hand in Rescuing Homeless Airedale Terriers
Volunteer with SOAR
SOAR is an all-volunteer organization who could not accomplish what we do without the help of some amazing volunteers! We are always looking for people with a soft spot for Airedales who would like to be a part of our team. If you have some extra time, please join us in our mission to place adoptable Airedales in loving new homes.
SOAR does not have a facility; instead, our volunteers work out of our homes and communicate by phone, email, and our website. Our volunteer positions fall into two broad categories: Hands On and Support, both of which are defined below. Take a look and see if there is something you can do to help.
Hands On Volunteer Positions
Foster
One of the most rewarding and satisfying ways to volunteer is to become a foster family. It's not always easy, but it is critical to a successful adoption.
The purpose of a foster home is to provide a home environment while evaluating the dog's behavior around other dogs, children, and to observe the dog's personality, attitude, and temperament. Most dogs need help with something, whether it's house-training, separation anxiety, shyness, jumping on people, or just plain house manners. Our fosters help them to become better pets and more adoptable.
SOAR takes care of the vet bills.
Home Visits
Prior to placing a rescue Airedale with a new family, SOAR needs to personally see the homes and yards and visit with the families. There is no better way to help SOAR determine if an applicant should be approved than to see where and how our rescue Airedales will live. Home visits are also a great way to see how a family interacts with an Airedale. Coordinators and foster homes rely on this input to help them make good decisions when matching our rescue Airedales with forever homes.
Transports
SOAR covers 3 states which make for quite a bit of territory. We work together when it comes to finding our rescue Airedales good homes. Sometimes, the best home is found in a state other than where the Airedale is being fostered. Sometimes, the Airedale needs surgery, training, or special foster care to get ready for their new home. Any of these reasons result in the need to move our Airedales to other states within our area.
Transporting is a great way to give a small amount of your time without the long-term commitment needed to foster. It is also a great way to combine assisting SOAR with activities you might not otherwise have done. Take a friend with you and catch up on the latest news while helping SOAR do a transport. Do some shopping in a long-distance town after dropping off your Airedale. Regardless of whatever else you might do along the way, you can be sure SOAR and the Airedale appreciate your support!
Support Positions
Here are some of the ways that you could help SOAR by performing a support role. Many of these support positions can be done from home on a part-time basis.
- newsletter editor
- writing thank You notes
- e-bay auctions
- annual calendar publication
- merchandise manager
- vet committee
- microchip manager
- auction committee
- transportation coordinator
- stories coordinator
- Web site support
- helping with outreach, promoting and education
- professional help such as accounting, finance, legal, public relations, etc.
Click on the "Volunteer App" button to let us know how you can help!
Meet Our Volunteers
Our volunteers are a precious resource to SOAR! We value each and every contribution they make from transporting to fostering, from publicity to fundraising, or just simply spreading the word. We have gotten to know our volunteers and would like to give you a chance to meet them also through the pages below.
If you would like to become a volunteer for SOAR, click on the button to the right. We would love to have you join our team!
Karen and Steve Detrick
We are happily fated to be forever, not foster, homes. Why? Because we’d be foster fails every time. We’d simply fill out the paper work and adopt them all. After we adopted our Airedale, Martha, from SOAR in November 2012, we were hooked on helping, and began volunteering the following spring. I’m sure all rescues are great,…
Read MoreKat McMain
Working with SOAR is like being part of a family, made up of people who have known one another “forever.” Except that our “family” works together with one common goal: giving second chances to a very special breed of dog. I volunteer because I love our Airedales and I absolutely love all of the people…
Read MoreKathy Short
Hi, I’m Kathy Short from Fayetteville, AR, and I’ve always owned Airedales. Over the years, I’ve worn many hats. As a teacher, I wrote a curriculum on the economics of pet overpopulation, for which I won first place honors and a trip to Washington DC. I began a “Be Kind to Animals Week”, now a…
Read MoreKelly Toland
Although I’ve just started volunteering for SOAR, I’m amazed by all of the dedicated and generous volunteers I’ve met. I’m one of the transport coordinators, and working alongside such wonderful people, not to mention our amazing Airedales, I know how important it is to give back to the community, especially to organizations one feels passionate…
Read MoreLynn O’Shaughnessy
I officially started working with Airedale rescue in 1995. I have done everything from transporting (many transports using my airplane), home visits, fostering (failing at fostering and keeping my foster), newsletter editor, fundraising, serving on a Board (including as president for 5 years) and everything in between. I thoroughly enjoy Airedale rescue and am happy to serve…
Read MoreMargie Hirsh
I inherited my love of Airedales (and animals in general) from my parents. They had Airedales before I was born, and I grew up with an Airedale named Samson. I now have an Airedale of my own named Aggie, whom I adopted through SOAR. I began volunteering with SOAR shortly after its formation in 2009.…
Read MoreMark Howitz
Hi. I’m Mark Howitz from Buffalo Grove, IL northwest of Chicago. I have been owned by or been associated with Terriers my entire life. Between my own family and my immediate relatives, we have had two Wire Fox terriers, two Wheatons, two Scotties, assorted mixes and five Airedales, four of which currently dictate my day.…
Read MoreMary Wright
Jake was my first foster dog. He was seven years old when he came into rescue. He came a mess, but with love in his eyes. Good medical care, good food, and lots of love have given me a great, old dog. He loves to sleep on my bed and greets me at the door…
Read MoreMichael Billion
I’ve been involved with SOAR since its inception, and part of the reason for my dedication to this caring and committed organization is a woman named Lynn O. I love her drive, her devotion and her determination. I also happen to be mad about Airedales. For me, life isn’t life without a wonderful, wooly and…
Read MoreNomi Berger
I never experienced the exquisite intensity of unconditional love until I adopted my 6-year-old Maltese, Mini, in 2014. Having grown up in an “allergic” household, we had no pets, and owning one never occurred to me. I was a born writer. Words are my passion and were my profession. A journalism graduate, I’ve been a…
Read MorePatricia Funke
It all began with an Airedale named Luna. She was a kennel mate of our current ‘dale, Britta, one of 27 dogs rescued by a humane society in 2013. Sadly, Luna’s first placement was far from ideal, and when I met her in November 2014, she was in great physical distress, and needed urgent medical…
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Airedale Rescue Training (ART)
Whether you are a seasoned rescue volunteer or thinking of becoming a volunteer, you will want to know about these articles written by National Airedale Rescue. NAR started the ART program (stands for Airedale Rescue Training) to help provide insight to various aspects of doing the job of rescue. Approximately once each month, a new article is published through their e-newsletters. If you would like to get on the list to receive the ART e-newsletters (or any of the other interesting e-newsletters they offer) you can sign up with the module at the bottom of the right sidebar of their Website.
Click on the link below to check out the ART articles.
