Sanctuary shift
Feeding, cleaning, laundry, turnout, and enrichment on the Jonestown property. The unglamorous work that the animals actually depend on.
4-hour shifts · Jonestown, PA · 18+
01Get involved
Four ways in, and none of them require you to be a hero.
Most people who help us are not in a position to adopt. They have a spare room for six weeks, a car and a free Saturday, an hour a month for grant paperwork, or twenty dollars. All of that is load-bearing.
02Adopt
Five steps, about two weeks, no fee to apply
Our process is slower than a shelter’s on purpose. Every step exists because skipping it is how animals come back.
Send the application
One form, about ten minutes. Tell us about your household, your schedule, your other animals, and what you are hoping for. There is no fee to apply and no obligation.
Talk it through
A placement coordinator calls within three business days. This is a conversation, not an interview — we are trying to find out what will actually work in your home, including whether the animal you asked about is the right one.
References and vet check
We contact your veterinarian if you have current or past pets, and your landlord if you rent. Renting is not a barrier; an unaware landlord is.
Meet in Jonestown
You come to the sanctuary and spend unhurried time with the animal — ideally more than once, and with everyone who lives in your home, including the dog you already have.
Go home
You sign the adoption contract, pay the fee, and leave with vaccination records, the microchip transfer, a two-week supply of the food the animal is already eating, and a phone number that works after hours.
Adoption fees
- Dog, adult
- $250
- Puppy, under 6 months
- $400
- Cat, adult
- $95
- Kitten, under 6 months
- $150
- Senior, 8 years and over
- Waived
Bonded pairs adopt together at the cost of the higher fee alone. Fees cover a fraction of what we have already spent on the animal; they are not a price, and no animal is priced by desirability.
What every adoption includes
- Spay or neuter, completed before placement
- Core vaccines, appropriate to age and species
- Microchip, registered in your name
- Deworming and flea or tick treatment
- Heartworm test for dogs; FeLV and FIV test for cats
- Two weeks of the food the animal is already eating
- Complete written medical and behavior records
- A lifetime return guarantee, at no cost
03Foster
It costs you space and patience. We cover everything else.
Fostering is the single highest-leverage thing most people can do for us. Every animal in a foster home is a kennel freed at the sanctuary, and animals recover faster in houses than in runs.
We ask for a defined commitment — usually two weeks to six months, agreed in advance — and honesty about what your household can take. A retired greyhound and a litter of bottle-fed kittens are not the same job, and we will not put the wrong one in your living room.
You are never financially exposed. Food, crates, bedding, litter, medication, and every veterinary bill are ours. If something goes wrong at two in the morning, you call a number that a human answers.
What we provide
- All food, bedding, crates, and supplies
- 100% of veterinary costs, routine and emergency
- A named coordinator and an after-hours phone number
- Behavior support for the whole placement
- A firm end date, agreed before the animal arrives
- Backup cover if your circumstances change
04Volunteer
Six roles, one of which is probably yours
Every volunteer completes an orientation before their first shift, and every role has a trained lead. You will not be handed a traumatized dog on day one and told to figure it out.
Transport driver
Moving animals between shelters, veterinary appointments, foster homes, and the sanctuary. We supply crates, cover fuel, and train you first.
Ad hoc · NJ / NY / PA · Own vehicle
Foster home
Space in your home for an animal who does better outside a kennel — a recovering surgical case, a nursing mother, a dog terrified of concrete.
2 weeks to 6 months · NJ & PA
Classroom educator
Delivering our humane education sessions in schools — bite prevention, animal body language, and the real cost of owning an animal.
School hours · Both states · Training given
Skilled trades
Fencing, carpentry, plumbing, and groundwork. Four acres generates a permanent list, and every hour donated is a repair we do not pay for.
Flexible · Jonestown, PA
Remote support
Grant writing, bookkeeping, photography, and application screening. Real work that does not require being on the property.
Remote · 2+ hours per week
05Give
What your money actually turns into
Seventy-eight cents of every dollar goes to direct animal care. Below is what specific amounts buy, and the ways you can give.
Unit costs of care
- $25
- A week of prescription food for a recovering dog
- $60
- Core vaccines and a microchip for one intake
- $150
- A spay or neuter surgery, start to finish
- $400
- Dental extraction for a senior cat
- $900
- Orthopedic repair for a leg fracture
- $2,100
- One sanctuary resident's care for a full year
Ways to give
- One-time gift
- Goes straight into the medical fund, which is where costs are least predictable and hardest to plan for.
- Monthly giving
- The most useful money we receive. Recurring gifts are what let us commit to a surgery in March that we will still be paying for in June.
- Sponsor a resident
- Fund one sanctuary animal by name. You get their story, their care plan, and photographs — and their annual costs stop being a question.
- In-kind donations
- Unopened food, cleaning supplies, crates, fencing, and unexpired medications. We publish a current needs list on request.
- Employer matching
- Many employers double charitable gifts. Send us your employer's form through the contact page and we will complete our half.
- Legacy and estate gifts
- A bequest is how the sanctuary funds animals whose care will outlast the people who love them. We are glad to talk it through.
Gifts to A Call 4 Paws are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Tell us how you would like to give and we will send the details, including our EIN and mailing instructions for cheques and stock transfers.
06Still deciding
Not sure which of these fits? Ask us — that is a normal thing to do.
Tell us roughly what you have — time, space, a skill, a car, money — and we will tell you honestly where it would do the most good. We would rather place you well than sign you up fast.