To complete this application for a Intern position with Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, please have ready a cover letter, your resume, and information for three personal and/or professional references.

The application process will take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete.

Incomplete or dishonest applications will automatically be declined.

 

Important Information to Know

Submitting the Intern Application does not guarantee an intern position at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. All applicants are required to complete the same process, and eligible candidates will be selected for a virtual interview before an intern position is officially offered. Accepted applicants will be provided with several documents to review before the candidates officially commit to their indicated volunteer term.

 

Accepted Interns, but especially those assisting the Animal Care Department, complete many physically-demanding tasks on a daily basis. Furthermore, due to the nature of caring for wild animals and working outside in the elements, Animal Care Team members face hazards and potential injury. 

Please read through the following common tasks to know what will be expected from you as a volunteer:

 

• Animal Care is completed every day regardless of the weather or time of year. Animal Care Team members perform regular daily tasks in rain, snow, below freezing temperatures, and the high, dry heat of summer. The same applies to Building and Maintenance Interns.
  

 

• While assisting in Wolf Kitchen, preparing meals for the rescues, team members lift anywhere between 25 and 85 pounds of meat and other ingredients and supplies and spend multiple hours outside sorting through donated domestic and game meats.

 

Please Note: At this time, Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary offers limited rustic, modest housing options for team members. While we will do our best to accommodate your housing preferences, we cannot guarantee assignment to your primary choice.

Excluding the off grid options, the small dwellings include electricity, heat, and WiFi. No housing options at this time include running water or indoor bathrooms. All members share and are welcome to use the Community Kitchen in the main compound of the sanctuary, and in the campground a Shower House and Laundry Facility are available.

Shared housings do not exceed a three person occupancy at this time.

*Applicants are solely responsible for the pursuit and obtainment of off-site housing. Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary cannot assist in providing off-site housing and cannot be held responsible for providing on-site housing if the off-site arrangements fall through. 

FOR ANIMAL CARE VOLUNTEER APPLICANTS ONLY

The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary Team understands that Animal Care Intern applicants wish to work exclusively with our rescues. However, the majority of the work completed by all team members does not include direct contact with the animals. Only about 5% of the day is spent interacting directly with rescues while the remainder of the time is dedicated to completing tasks and projects that directly benefit our rescues, including responsibilities in Wolf Kitchen, providing guided tours to the visiting public to support Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary's mission of Education, assisting our Media department with collecting photosgraphs, and helping to keep the sanctuary USDA-compliant, which involves regular enclosure and grounds maintenance.  

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary operates with the philosophy of "The Animals Come First." This means that all decisions, actions, and tasks are determined and carried out with this in mind. As such, please note that animal interaction is a privilege and not a right granted to volunteers only after extensive training. Interacting with animals without express permission will result in immediate dismissal. It is then the volunteer's responsibility to schedule travel and other arrangements to leave the sanctuary.

While Animal Care Interns will be trained to care for specific rescues and habitats after the initial extensive training is completed, not all individuals will be trained on the same rescues and habitats. The following factors come into play when determining whether a specific person will be beneficial as a caregiver to a particular rescue or habitat: an animal's unique mainenace level (and all of the factors that went into their maintenance level classification), experience reading canine body language, operant conditioning training program requirments, animal comfort levels with specific individuals. Some of our rescues respond more favorably to female caregivers, for example, than males, and therefore it is less likely a male would be trained and assigned as the primary caregiver to such a rescue or habitat. However, the reasons for an individual not being trained on an animal will be communicated to them directly, and opportunities for improvement will be provided and encouraged.

By providing my electronic signature below, I certify that all of my answers are true and complete to the best of my knowledge, and I understand that a full background check will be performed. If any answers are discovered to be false, I understand that my application to become a Long-Term Volunteer at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary may be rejected.

By providing my electronic signature below, I certify that I have read and understood all information provided on this application and I agree to adhere to all outlined policies. Furthermore, I understand and agree that by submitting this application I am not guaranteed a volunteer position with Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. If not accepted into the program, I agree to not speak ill, slander, harass, or demean Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, its employees and volunteers, board members, or any and all representatives of Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.

 

Drug and Alcohol Policy

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary enforces a strict drug and alcohol policy that prohibits use within the compound, excluding communal living areas. Any individual caught in violation of this policy faces immediate dismissal and may be asked to leave the sanctuary.

 

Drug Testing Policy

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary reserves the right to perform or request random drug testing.

 

Discrimination Policy

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary does not discriminate on basis of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, and/or gender, nor will we tolerate anyone who has issue working with people on basis of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and/or gender. Any individual who violates this policy will be terminated immediately without exception.

 

Sexual Harassment Policy

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary strictly prohibits unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and all other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual or otherwise offensive nature, especially where it is made a term or condition of employment or program placement and submitting to or rejecting such conduct is used as the basis for decisions affecting an individual's employment or program placement. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary also prohibits sexually offensive comments, jokes, innuendos, and other sexually-oriented statements directed from one team member to another; sexually-oriented pictures, photos, and illustrations displayed in the workplace to the view of employees, volunteers, or the public; and demands or requests for sexual favors from one team member to another.

Any individual who violates this policy will be terminated immediately without exception.

 

Violence in the Workplace Policy

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence. Accordingly, all acts or threats of violence will be taken seriously, and each act or threat of violence will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken, up to and including termination.

A threat or act of violence shall include but is not be limited to: any act or gesture intended to harass or intimidate another person; any act or gesture likely to damage Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary property; and any act or gesture likely to leave another person injured or fearing injury.