Volunteer Descriptions

Thank you for your willingness to help us with this event. As with all events, what makes them successful are all of you, and we are very grateful for your assistance. We hope that within your volunteer experience, you will also have a good time!

No matter what position you are helping out with, we ask that you be respectful of our vendors and patrons, help out even in situations outside your job description, and never, ever, walk past a potty mess without cleaning it up. If we all work together, you know we'll have success. Please also police your own trash, and do not leave it behind for others, or in storage boxes (we don't want to find your hamburger wrapper amongst things in a box that we open next year with a big surprise! And, please do your best to ensure our organizational belongings do not get broken, etc. Replacing items can be expensive. Just follow the simple rule of treating our stuff like it was your own!

EVENT INFO
The I Love My Dog Expo is held at the Lancaster Event Center on 84th and Havelock Avenue. We are located in Pavilion I. The entrance doors are under the green awning (shared with the Flea Market). Please leave any parking spaces close to the building for our patrons. There is ample parking at the event center. Once you enter the door, please visit the Volunteer table to check in. You will need to fill out a volunteer release form (even better if you have it filled out before you arrive!). The person working the table will let you know where you station is located and/or whom to report to if that information is available. If you are bringing your therapy/service dog, please be sure your dog is well behaved at all times, and in cape as you are representing the organization to the public, so we'd like to show off our 'Sunday best' so to speak. If you have a DP volunteer ID tag already, please wear it. If not, an ID will be provided for you.

Below are basic descriptions for various event positions.

Position: Poop Patrol
The primary focus of this position is to ensure our guests and vendors have a clean area that does not have bad odors. Below are the basic duties:
Keep the floors clean (pick up poop and put waste into a poop bag; seal it and throw it away. If a dog urinates, clean it up with paper towels, then spray the area with vinegar, and wipe up the area again.)
If you see an attendee walking along while their dog is going potty, you may politely let them know that there is a clean up station available.
Example: Ma’am [or Sir], you may not have noticed, but your dog has gone to the bathroom. There is a station located xxxx that has clean up supplies for your use. Always say Thank You, or We appreciate you cleaning up after your pet.
Make sure the clean up stations are always stocked. This includes paper towels, spray bottles with vinegar, poop bags and fresh water in the water bowls for the dogs.
Change trash bags from the cans. There will be times where the trash cans are not full, but there is a definite odor coming from them. In this case, change out the bag and throw the bag in the outside dumpster.
At the end of your shift, please go outside and remove any poop from the grassy areas (again, place in poop bags, tie it shut and throw away in the outside dumpster); also check the designated potty areas.
QUESTIONS? Ask your Poopervisor

Position: Door Security
You will be asked to sit or stand (your preference) by a door. There are many other events going on at the event center besides our dog expo. Doors from Pavillion I are accessible from other rooms. We also share the concession area with the Flea Market next door.
Check for signs of proper admittance. Attendees will get a mark on their hand. Vendors will have wristbands. Sponsors will have id tags. Domesti-PUPS volunteers wear red tags. Domesti-PUPS board members will be wearing name tags. If someone does not have a mark on their hand, or a tag around their neck, you should not let them enter. Advise them that they will need to go back the way they came in, and go through the admissions area.
You can advise them that the admission fee is $8 per person, and children under 10 are free. If they give you a comment about the price, please be sure to let them know that this is a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization and that we’d “really appreciate their support.”
OR
You may be stationed by the exit door. You will need to guide patrons out the appropriate door to help with the traffic flow. Ensure that people are not coming in the Exit door without paying an admission fee. The Admission clerks are also watching, but aren’t always available to see everyone that comes through.

Position: Volunteer Check-in
The primary goal of this position is to ensure that Domesti-PUPS volunteers check-in before their shift. By checking in, they will receive a volunteer tag or wristband. This allows them entrance into the expo without having to pay an admission fee.
When the volunteer arrives at the table, ask their name, and where their shift is (what booth). Ask if they have a completed release form. If not, provide them a form to fill out. We must have forms on all people volunteering for the expo.
Once this transaction has been completed, provide them with the appropriate volunteer instructions for their position. Show them where their position (booth) will be on the map. Remind them to return their lanyard/tag/wristband after their shift. Thank them for volunteering with us today.
Vendors may approach you to ask for additional vendor tags. Advise them that the tags are $2 each and ask how many they would like. Gather the appropriate number of tags, and hand them to the cashier to complete the payment transaction. If they grumble about having to pay, please advise them that most vendors will have their volunteers do a trade off, meaning that the person ending a shift will wait at the door for the next person’s shift. When they arrive, they transfer the lanyard/tag to the new person. This alleviates having to purchase additional tags.
There may be some tags left for additional people or groups. They will be marked on the envelope on the table. Please provide them with the tag once they identify themselves.

Position: Raffle
At the raffle station you will be selling (and encouraging to sell) raffle tickets for $1 each or 6 for $5. Each person buying a raffle ticket will be filling out a ticket and should be instructed to place the ticket in the numbered bag associated with the prize they want to win.
Customers need not be in attendance to win, but their name, phone number and email address MUST be legible, or the prize will be redrawn.
Keep tables/displays in orderly fashion.

Position: Photos to Go
When volunteering at the photos to go booth, you may be helping with a variety of things from assisting the camera person to get the dog’s attention (making a noise, squeaking a toy, etc) at their direction.
You may also be making financial transactions, or you may be transferring images off a memory card and recording the images to a thumb drive for the customer.

Position: Security
The primary focus of this position is to minimize any potential risks that could during this event. If you see a dog that is reactive to other dogs, or is overly stressed, you have the right, at your discretion to ask them to remove the animal from the expo. Things to watch for are growling, snarling, snapping, posturing, etc.
Asking a dog owner to remove their dog will be offensive to them. You will often hear, “My dog never reacts like that.” Please always be as polite as you can.
Example: Sir [or Ma’am], events like this are extremely stressful for our pets when they are not used to conditions like this. We feel it is the best interest of your pet that you take him back home. We would be happy to have you come back without your pet.
Don’t offer to refund their money, but if they insist, we can certainly do that.
If they become rude, you can escort outside through the closest door!
If you see a dog owner using a flexi-lead and the dog is not close to them, please ask them to shorten their leash and keep it in the locked position. Remind them that it is safer for their pet if they are close by them.
Dogs that require a muzzle should not be at the expo (except for police dogs). While we appreciate the fact that an owner has the foresight to muzzle his/her pet in case of a potential incident, we feel the expo is probably too stressful an environment for a dog that is potentially reactive.
NEVER TELL A DOG OWNER THAT THEIR PET IS AGGRESSIVE. (You’ll start an argument you’ll never win.)
Keep perimeter doors closed. Many vendors will take a dog outside to go potty from the side doors. This lets much heat out of the room and makes the temperature uncomfortable for other vendors. Open doors also encourage people to come in without paying the entrance fee, which we’d like to avoid. If you see a door propped open, please remove the item holding the door open and make sure the door is closed.

Position: Sackers
The primary purpose of this position is to insert information into a sack that each attendee will use as their shopping bag during the expo.
Brochures, flyers, etc may be available on the tables for you to insert into the sacks as people come through. It is often beneficial to have the sacks completed ahead of time to ensure you’re not causing traffic flow issues if attendees have to wait on you.
The secondary purpose of this position is to encourage participation in the passport program. Attendees have an opportunity to win a gift basket filled with items from the Kong company. To win, the attendee must take a passport card and visit the Domesti-PUPS booths, and the booths of two of our sponsors. They are to find out the answers to the questions on the passport card, and mark the appropriate answer. They are also to provide their contact information (as designated on the card) and place the card in the box before they leave.

Position: Admission
The primary function of this position is to charge attendees an admission fee. The cost is $8. Children under 10 are free. Well behaved dogs are allowed at no charge. Once you complete the financial transaction, you or another Admission clerk will need to mark their hand to show they have paid the fee.
Answer Questions. You will receive questions about where a specific vendor might be located, where the concessions are located, where the ATM is, etc.
Help minimize any potential risks that could arise during this event. If you see a dog with behavior that makes you a little uncomfortable, you should advise the owner that the environment may be too stressful for their dog, and that we would not encourage them to bring their dog.
Also, when you see a dog on a flexi-lead, be sure to ask the owner to keep the leash short with the leash in the locked position.
When you see small children walking, or in a stroller, please advise the parent that their child is at eye-to-eye vision with the dogs, and they should pay extra close attention to keep their children safe.
Dogs that require a muzzle should not be at the expo (except for police dogs). While we appreciate the fact that an owner has the foresight to muzzle his/her pet in case of a potential incident, we feel the expo is probably too stressful an environment for a dog that is potentially reactive.
NEVER TELL A DOG OWNER THAT THEIR PET IS AGGRESSIVE. (You’ll start an argument you’ll never win.)

Position: Booth Volunteer
When volunteering at a program booth, your primary objective is to encourage patrons to join the organization in some form or fashion from pet therapy to raising a puppy to helping with events or office work. We are ALWAYS in need of volunteers!
Answer questions to the best of your ability. If you do not have the answer, feel free to take down their name and email address, and their question, and it can be addressed after the expo.