Volunteer places near Burbank, Southern California?

[tamarin monkey]

Where do you think are the best places to volunteer at in southern California near Burbank??
Would it be better to volunteer at the Burbank Animal Shelter or the Pasadena Humane Society? I want the option that i will give me more experience with a veterinarian.

Or are there other places I should try?

Thank you.

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[swingnsave]

I suggest you talk to both and try them out. If you feel like you get more quality experience at one more than the other then choose that one. I'm not familiar with that area, so I can't tell you if/when you'll ever be allowed to volunteer with the vet on staff (if they even have one). I started out as a regular volunteer (dog walking, cat socializing, bather, etc.) for my local SPCA in northern California and worked my way up to be volunteer in the S/N clinic, and then eventually become part of a small group of volunteer vet assistants. If they don't allow volunteers to work with the vet, then I would try going to private practice clinics, dropping off your resume and asking them about potential volunteer/shadow opportunities. It took me a long time to finally find a clinic, and it took a lot of determination. You really just have to search around your area. Other than that you can look up local zoos, aquariums, wildlife rehab/rescues, stables, farms, etc.

 

[tamarin monkey]

Thank you for your response. I know the pasadena one does lead to assisting the vet, but their program is full till september. I will wait and see. Do schools still accept volunteer hours that have not been done under a veterinarian?

 

[JaynaAli]

Do schools still accept volunteer hours that have not been done under a veterinarian?

On the applications, there are different categories for vet experience (which is hours supervised by a veterinarian) and animal experience (hours related to animals but not working with a vet). Working/volunteering at a shelter but not with the veterinarian would fall under animal experience. Animal experience is important, but vet experience is probably more important to most schools in the grand scheme of things.

 

[primatevetjess]

Go and talk to the vets at Media City Animal Hospital. That's where I got started with veterinary volunteer hours. It was many years ago (6? 7?), but I just checked and the two vets I worked with are still there and were always very open to volunteers. Good luck!

 

[tamarin monkey]

Perfect thank you for your responses. Sorry one more question, do the vet schools care much about if i go to a UC or a Cal State, i do have a 4.0 GPA at my community college level now.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Perfect thank you for your responses. Sorry one more question, do the vet schools care much about if i go to a UC or a Cal State, i do have a 4.0 GPA at my community college level now.

THere was a long discussion about this several years ago.
UC Davis says they don't care.
But when you look at their accepted student body almost all of them come from UC system, and much fewer from the cal state schools.
Now, maybe that is just a reflection of the applicant pool... no one really knows.... but if I had a choice I would stick with a UC school.... But that is just my opinion.

ALso, why are you looking mainly at shelter work, there are a TON of private vets in the area.... do a little work and find one that will let you in.

 

[Falina]

UC Davis tends to like to pull students from its own undergrad program, but honestly they don't care too much.
You can see where people did their undergrad here
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/students/dvm_program/admissions/ClassOf2017Statistics.cfm

More students were accepted from UCs, but there were twice as many UC applicants as Cal State ones. (I did my undergrad at CSU Fresno, so I'm biased toward the CSU route

 

[tamarin monkey]

I was thinking of going to a private vet after i got more general experience, I would feel uncomfortable going without knowing anything. I was actually thinking of going to Cal Poly Pomona, its closer to home and it will be cheaper than a UC. Plus they do have a pre-vet major.

I was as well assuming that most students come from UCs because honestly most of the dedicated students go to a UC.

 

[tamarin monkey]

What do you feel is better, UC Davis or Western University for DVM?

 

[Falina]

I can give you the reasons why I chose Davis over Western, but many of them are personal preferences. Both get you your DVM, so honestly either works

For one, I wanted a school that was farther away from home (which is So Cal). I love my parents, but I didn't want them visiting me or expecting me to visit every weekend.
I wanted a school with a hospital and livestock on campus.
I didn't think that Problem-Based Learning would best suit my learning needs. I was right about that, because my least-favorite part of Davis so far has been the few PBL projects we've done.
Davis is cheaper for in-state students.

If money isn't as tight for you, and you'd rather be close to home, Western might be a better choice. In the end it's a decision that only you can make