Before I adopted my first dog, working at a shelter was a fantastic way for me to get that interaction with animals that I desired(non-sexual of course) while at the same time being able to give back to the local community and brighten the lives of some truly awesome canines. I did a lot of work with the cats too. It really kind of helped solidify my at-the-time wavering beliefs of what kind of person I was, and what I really wanted to adopt a dog for. It was awesome to meet and really be able to learn and understand about how intricate their personalities can really show themselves to be after you interact with a given animal for a while.

Unfortunately between my job and my two dogs now, I find it hard to make time at the shelter because of the way their hours work. Luckily the community I live in gives a lot of support to local community service-type groups so the animals at the shelter still get lots of love. I would definitely recommend volunteering to anyone looking to experience that sort of thing. It's not just working with the animals though, but also cleaning kennels and washing bowls and doing all of the important stuff there is to keep the shelter running.

If you're like me and can't really fit animal shelters into your schedule, I'd also recommend(though it's not that relevant) you look into other ways you can get into giving back to your community. I really enjoy volunteering overnight at the local homeless shelter because it can really change your point of view on a lot of things in life. Giving someone the chance to feel genuine appreciation for you(though they don't all lol) is just a really great feeling and really makes you feel like you're making a difference.

I have worked in a few shelters over the years myself, it's a very rewarding experience and I learn a lot when doing so. I really liked having access to so much knowledge and their openness to share whatever they knew to help make non-human lives better.

I was never open at such places, but I got the feeling that most of the people I dealt with were far more concerned about how the non-human animals were treated than in what parts were being touched.

I used to volunteer a long time ago, but it's a sad job. Seeing animals get euthanized all the time was depressing. Seeing them live in tiny spaces and walk on the same floor they just pissed and pooped on for extended periods of time was depressing. Getting to know every animal, and knowing I'd have to part with them at some point was also depressing. Otherwise I wouldn't even care if my coworkers would hate me if they knew how I felt about animals and I'd volunteer anyways, because it wouldn't matter if it was at a shelter, or at a fast food place, or any other place where I'm bound to run into strangers. There will always be zoo haters, everywhere. The majority of people who surround you when you go grocery shopping, would probably want to see you die in the most painful way ever, as a form of entertainment. Think about that for a bit, and you'll find that there really are no safe places for us. So just do what you love, and tell people to mind their own business when they start asking questions about your love life.

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Never done it but was close to trying it. The animals I have helped has been straights or wild animals. Each person helps in their own way. I do think it would be depressing to see so many dogs in suffering in there... kinda why I quit facebook, was tired of seeing all the daily bad news about dogs and cats from animal pages.