The place to learn about any events involving HSoP. Check back regularly for updates and upcoming events! Annual Events HSoP hosts and participates in several yearly events to help raise funds for our lifesaving efforts. Many of these are long-standing traditions that we've hosted for decades! We hope you will join us in our cherished fundraising events listed below. Paws and Pearls When: January 22nd, 2027 Where: 1912 Center What: Join us for an unforgettable evening of compassion, community, and celebration at Paws and Pearls, our elegant fundraising gala benefiting the animals of Latah County. Guests will enjoy a beautifully plated dinner, spirited live and silent auctions, a thrilling dessert dash, an inspiring paddle raise, and heartfelt impact stories showcasing the lifesaving work your support makes possible. Tickets go on sale in November 2026. Soup & Pie Luncheon When: February 15th, 2027 Where: 1912 Center What: HSoP's annual soup and pie luncheon is the tastiest way to support your local animal shelter. For just $15, you can enjoy delicious soup and pie with great company! This long-time event brings together compassionate people with good food for a worthy cause. Idaho Gives When: May 4th-7th 2026 Where: Online What: Idaho Gives is an annual week-long giving event for hundreds of nonprofits within the state of Idaho. Participating organizations are able to set fundraising goals and supporters can watch the donations grow in real time! Nonprofits have the chance to gain thousands in additional funding by winning one of the many available prizes . Paw-Louse 5K Fun Run and Walk When: June 27th 2026 Where: Starting at Alturas Analytics What: Our annual Paw-Louse 5K is a chance for people to bring their pups together for a great cause! Take a gorgeous stroll down the Paradise Path in Moscow, and enjoy complimentary water and snacks. All registration funds directly benefit HSoP! Howling at Hamilton When: September 13th, 2026 Where: Hamilton-Lowe Aquatics Center What: The canine event of the summer! Each year, Hamilton-Lowe Aquatics Center welcomes us to host a dog day at the pool before being drained for winter. Pooch pals are welcome to take a dip in the pool, make some new furry friends, and even take part in a pool jumping contest! You won't want to miss out on this. Alternative Giving Market of the Palouse When: December 2026 Where: Great Room of 1912 Center What: AGMP is an organization focused on encouraging gift-giving in the form of donations and useful supplies to local nonprofits. Primarily active during the holiday season, AGMP successfully raises tens of thousands of dollars per year for local organizations in need. Thanks for all you do AGMP! Pet Pictures with Santa When: December 4th 2026 3:00pm-6:00pm December 5th 2026 11:00am-4:00pm Where: Moscow Pets are People Too What: Jolly ol' Saint Nick always manages to make time for our amazing pets. Each December, Mr. Clause joins us at Pets Are People Too to spread Christmas cheer with all. Bring your best friend in for a festive photo or two! Photos each cost $15, which is then donated to fund lifesaving efforts here at HSoP. All we can say is: we wish we had Santa's job!

Volunteering for special events is one of the best ways you can support your local humane society! We host several fundrasing events per year, and our volunteers make it all possible. Event Volunteering HSoP holds several annual fundraising events, many of which require volunteers to ensure the event is running smoothly. Event Volunteering is a great opportunity for clubs, community, business and philanthropic groups to support an organization with a great cause. Soup and Pie Held every February, Soup and Pie is a social luncheon where HSoP supporters can enjoy a bowl of soup and a slice of pie. Volunteers at our soup and pie event are responsible for selling tickets at the door, admitting those with tickets purchased online, serving soup to attendees, and slicing up delicious pie for all of those who came to support our animals. Volunteers are also extremely helpful for the setup and teardown of event materials (tables, chairs, decorations, food, etc.). Paw-Louse 5K Fun Run & Walk Paw-Louse Fun run is a fun outing for all family members (including the furry ones) that starts and ends at the corner of Rail Road and Sweet Ave. Volunteers make this event possible by handing out water and snacks, distributing T-shirts, setting up the 5k route, and helping to keep our participants (people and dogs alike!) on track. Howling at Hamilton The Sunday after Labor Day, at the Hamilton Lowe Aquatic Center, it’s the dogs’ day at the pool. With dog dock diving contest. Volunteers have a great time at this event! Some volunteers collect entrance fees at the gate, while others sell toys and treats to those who attend. A few lucky volunteers will even get to help judge the pool jumping contest! Pet Pictures with Santa Each December, patrons and their pets spread the holiday cheer while posing with Santa. Our volunteers help bring Christmas joy by setting up the photo station, cleaning up after the fact, and keeping our photogenic furry friends entertained. Volunteers also help us to collect the funds from this event. Are you interested in being an event volunteer for HSoP? We would love to have you on our team! Feel free to call us at (208)883-1166 or email Sierah, our Shelter Director at director@humanesocietyofthepalouse.org . Thank you for thinking of our animals!

Want to volunteer in our shelter and help care for homeless animals? This is the place for you! Learn about our volunteer guidelines. Volunteer Guidelines Volunteer Volunteer Volunteer Form The Humane Society is always happy to have volunteers come out and help care for our animals. The animals like new faces as well. Are you interested in Volunteering? Please contact HSoP and schedule your first shift! Due to limited space, HSoP can only accommodate so many volunteers at one time. Volunteer Hours are available Monday through Friday from 2:00-5:00. We can schedule up to three volunteers at a time. Sign up for your shift today! Contact HSoP by phone at (208) 883-1166 or through email at information@humanesocietyofthepalouse.org Do you have questions about volunteering with us? Click here to visit our Volunteering FAQs ! Junior Volunteers Junior Volunteers Junior Volunteer Form Additional Guidelines for Younger Volunteers You must be at least 12 years old to be a junior volunteer. During their first volunteering shift, junior volunteers must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to go over rules, sign the application, and ensure their child understands the process. After the initial supervised shift, junior volunteers can volunteer alone for up to one hour per day. Junior volunteers are not allowed in the dog kennels without their parent or guardian. There is a 3-strikes rule! If we have to remind you about following these rules three times, you will not be allowed to return to volunteer without a parent. HSoP cannot accommodate volunteers under the age of 12 at this time. ***Junior Volunteers can socialize with animals that are already accustomed to younger people. If an animal is not comfortable or socialized with children, you will not be allowed to interact with them.*** Dog Walking Dog Walking Form Our dogs love getting to go on walks! These mini adventures offer a fun break from the shelter environment, and give our pups a chance to practice their leash skills before going home. If you'd like to help our pups get some relaxing walks in, we would love to have your help! If you haven't already, be sure to fill out and submit a volunteer application. Next, fill out and submit the dog walking form above. Be sure to carefully read all guidelines. Just like that, you're all set to walk some dogs! We will ask to hold onto your ID while you're out. ***Junior volunteers cannot walk dogs by themselves. If they are accompanied by an adult parent or guardian, then the junior volunteer can accompany the adult for the walk, but may not control the leash.*** Group Volunteering Group Volunteering Thank you for considering HSoP as the beneficiary of your groups’ philanthropy! Due to space restrictions at HSoP, we are unable to accommodate large groups of volunteers on site. However, groups can do a lot for the animals currently at HSoP by organizing fundraisers, pet food drives, or pet supply collections for the homeless animals of Latah County. While we aren’t able to accommodate groups at our shelter, your group efforts can still make a huge difference to the homeless animals found within your community. After your group has organized a fundraiser, supported a pet food drive for our Pet Food Pantry, or done a supply collection, a tour is a wonderful way to top off the experience! This is a great way for your group to see exactly how your efforts have benefited your pet community. To schedule a group tour, or for fun ideas for group projects, please contact us by phone at (208)883-1166 or through email at information@humanesocietyofthepalouse.org . Fun ideas for how groups can help: Car washes Volunteering at HSoP events Bake sales Supply donation drives Pet food drives Making dog toys Making dog treats Making cat treats Making cat toys Making blankets for our kitties! Our cats and kittens love to lie on handmade blankets. You can knit, crochet, or tie blanks out of fleece. The recommended measurement is about 18-20” x 18-20” when you’re finished. Court-Mandated Community Service Court-Mandated Community Service Information Profile, Code of Conduct/Waiver Thank you for your interest in serving your mandated community service hours at the Humane Society of the Palouse. Individuals seeking to fulfill community service requirements do not participate in the volunteer program: they complete projects and tasks that do not involve any contact with the animals or the clients at the shelter. Community Service Volunteers must read the guidelines, complete information profile, and sign the code of conduct/waiver in order to get started. Please note that the Humane Society of the Palouse reserves the right to refuse a Community Service Volunteer for any reason. Community Service Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older. Volunteers must schedule in advance Time slots available are from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm, Monday – Saturday To sign up, please contact HSoP by phone at (208) 883-1166 HSoP reserves the right to turn away any Community Service Volunteers who do not show up on time, and to ask Community Service Volunteers to leave early if there is not enough work available. Shifts are filled on a first come, first serve basis and HSoP can only accommodate 1 volunteer per day. Duties may include laundry, dishes, sorting donations, cleaning, and more. Dress Protocol To prevent slipping, exposure to harsh cleaning chemicals, and injuries, all Community Service Volunteers must wear flat, enclosed rubber-sole shoes at all times. All Community Service Volunteers must not wear thong sandals, flip flops, or any shoe with an open toe, torn clothing, cut-off shorts, T-shirts with controversial or offensive messages, halter tops, backless shirts, half-shirts, muscle shirts, tank tops, dangling earrings, or other jewelry that may interfere with volunteer duties. DIY Volunteerng Ideas DIY Volunteering Ideas Are you interested in helping HSoP but are unable to come into HSoP during our hours of operation? This page has ideas for how you can still help homeless animals. Did you know that providing homeless dogs and cats with toys is very important for their well-being? The ideas on this page can help you make some very special critters their own toys that are theirs to keep both at HSoP and in their new home. Do you have a large group that would like to help HSoP? These ideas are great for a large group to do together and then bring into HSoP. Under each idea, you will find how many volunteer hours you can receive for donating these DIY items. Stuffed Monkey’s Fist Knot: 1 hour awarded per every 2 toys. Click here for instructions. No-Sew Fleece Blankets: 1 hour awarded per every 2 blankets. Click here for instructions. Fleece Dog & Cat Toy: 1 hour awarded per every 5 toys. Click here for instructions. Flirt Pole: 1 hour awarded per every 2 toys. Click here for instructions. Ball & Tug Dog Toy 1 hour awarded per every 2 toys. Click here for instructions. Check out this fun PDF for even more ideas on DIY dog and cat toys! Volunteering FAQ How old do I have to be to visit the shelter? Anyone is welcome to visit the shelter during our open hours! We do have some restrictions about who can see and interact with shelter pets: - You must be at least 18 years old to enter our dog kennels or to interact with our adoptable dogs without a parent or guardian present. - You must be at least 18 years old to interact with our adoptable cats without a parent or guardian present (unless you're working a junior volunteer shift). - Those 17 and under are welcome to visit the shelter and interact will all of our adoptable pets, so long as they're accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18. How old do I have to be to volunteer? We offer volunteering for those age 12 and older. HSoP cannot accommodate volunteers below the age of 12. Junior volunteering is offered 2:00-5:00pm Monday through Friday. Junior volunteers must be accompanied by a parent or guardian during their first shift, and can come in for one unsupervised hour at a time following that. Junior volunteers cannot enter our dog kennels or interact with our dogs without having a parent or guardian present. Be sure to visit our volunteer page to learn more about junior volunteering! When is HSoP open for volunteers? HSoP is open for volunteers Monday through Friday from 2:00 PM through 5:00 PM. To volunteer, call us ahead of time at (208) 883-1166 to get on our volunteer schedule. What kinds of things can I do as a volunteer? Lots of different things! Our volunteers help in a multitude of ways, here are a few examples: - Spend time playing with our dogs outside - Exercise our cats by playing in the adoption room - Help HSoP staff with laundry and other cleaning duties - Make special treats that provide enrichment for our pets - Spend time brushing out both cats and dogs - Take cute pictures of our pets to help them gain attention online - Give some attention to our friends in the small animal room Volunteers can also help us with special events like fundraisers and shelter clean-up days! What should I wear when I volunteer? Wear long pants and flat, closed-toe, waterproof shoes. Please wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty! Will I receive any training before volunteering? During your first volunteer shift, a HSoP staff member will give you a short orientation. They will walk you through our facility and explain how you can stay safe while you are volunteering and how you can help keep the animals safe as well. The staff member will show you our volunteer board that has different tasks you can sign up for helping HSoP with. When can I start Volunteering? In order to volunteer with the Humane Society of the Palouse, you must complete the required volunteer form and arrange a time to come in for your first shift. Please call HSoP at 208-883-1166 to get on our volunteer schedule. I have a group that wants to come help HSoP. When can we come? All of us here at HSoP are grateful for all the interest in group volunteering. However, we do not have the space in our tiny facility to accommodate groups larger than 3 at one time. If you are interested your group helping HSoP, we have a list of group volunteering ideas and DIY volunteering ideas listed on our volunteer page. You can also email us at information@humanesocietyofthepalouse.org with any group volunteering ideas. Why can't HSoP take in large groups of volunteers? During our regular hours of operation, having such a small facility, there simply isn’t enough space for large groups of volunteers and potential adopters. We are very grateful for the interest in having groups come in helping the homeless animals. However, allowing enough space for potential adopters to come in during our hours of operation is what is needed in order to find homeless animals their forever homes. I have court mandated community service. Can I do my hours with HSoP? Yes. HSoP can take in volunteers needing to complete disciplinary community service Monday through Saturday from 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM. You must schedule in advance by calling us at (208) 883-1166. For more information, visit the Court Mandated Community Service section on our volunteer page. I have completed volunteer training at a different Humane Society. Can I skip HSoP volunteer training? That’s great—thank you for your previous service—however, each humane society, animal control facility, or rescue group is an independent agency, so very few of us are connected locally (as in some states) or to any organization on a national level. Therefore, our policies and procedures might be completely different from the facility where you previously volunteered. Most shelters adhere to a “Standards of Best Practices/Care” so there are certainly some similarities; however, we need you to be familiar with our shelter and our policies/procedures. This includes training for dog walking. I am an avid runner. Can I take HSoP dogs on a run with me? As with people, dogs need to slowly build up muscle strength and endurance in order to avoid potential injury when running or jogging. The dogs HSoP has up for adoption have not had the training needed to prevent injury or to build the endurance to sustain them on runs. To avoid injury, we do not allow running or jogging without first being conditioned to do so. I want to volunteer by making blankets for your pets. What size should the blankets be? Our pets would absolutely love some snuggly homemade blankets! We can typically use any size blanket for our pets, but some dimensions do work better for our cat kennels and dog beds. For blankets that fit each of our cat kennels, we would recommend the size to be about 20"x 24". For blankets that fit the beds in each of our dog kennels, we would recommend the size to be about 24"x 36". I can't give my time right now, but I would still like to help HSoP. There are many ways to support our work! Make a financial contribution. Visit our Donate page for options. Make an in-kind donation. With just a few simple clicks, you can send much needed supplies to our shelter through our Amazon Wish List, our Kitten Supplies Amazon Wish List or our Wish List for donations that may be dropped off at the shelter during open business hours. Volunteering FAQs Volunteering FAQs

The Merlin Fund was created to act as a financial safety net for the pets who need us most. When pets arrive in life-threatening condition and require emergency vet care, or when they arrive with an extensive health complication which requires prolonged care, the Merlin Fund ensures they have access to the life-saving veterinary care they need. HSoP Merlin Fund The Merlin Fund was created to act as a financial safety net for the pets who need us most. When pets arrive in life-threatening condition and require emergency vet care, or when they arrive with an extensive health complication which requires prolonged care, the Merlin Fund ensures they have access to the life-saving veterinary care they need. The Merlin Fund allows us to look past cost as a barrier for necessary care. When you donate to the Merlin Fund, your contribution has a direct positive impact for those pets who arrive in need of critical veterinary attention. Since its inception in April of 2016, the Merlin Fund has ensured lifesaving care for dozens of pets in need throughout Latah County. The fund has covered emergency amputations, lengthy rodenticide treatments, urgent mass removals, entropion reversals, complex surgeries, burn treatments, and so much more. The Merlin Fund is truly representative of our motto: "Helping those who cannot help themselves ". When pets arrive helpless and in dire need of assistance, the Merlin Fund ensures that we can do whatever it takes to give them a fighting chance. Please consider making a donation to the Merlin Fund today, and ensure endless tomorrows for the next pet who arrives at HSoP in need of immediate or lifesaving vet care. You can donate via debit or credit card through PayPal by clicking the button below, or you can donate on Venmo: @HumanePalouse. Please write "Merlin Fund" in the memo so we can allocate your donation properly. Donate Now on PayPal Merlin Fund Success Stories:

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