Focus Area
Animal & Wildlife Volunteer Opportunities in Central Oregon
Matching organizations, in a different order on every visit
Think Wild is Central and Eastern Oregon's only public wildlife hospital and conservation center, located on four acres on Bend's east side. Its veterinary staff and volunteers rescue, treat, and release hundreds of injured and orphaned native animals each year, from hummingbirds and flying squirrels to bald eagles and bobcats. Think Wild also runs a wildlife hotline, humane wildlife conflict help, Beaver Works Oregon habitat restoration, and education programs and camps for youth and the community. Found injured or orphaned wildlife? Call the hotline at 541-241-8680 (8am–6pm daily).
Volunteers help in the wildlife hospital with animal care, diet prep, and enclosure upkeep; rescue and transport injured wildlife; care for ambassador animals; support education programs, camps, and community events; and assist with humane wildlife conflict projects. Youth and family volunteering is available for kids and teens, and families and groups can join habitat restoration through Beaver Works Oregon. Training is provided.
FIXBend, a program of The Rawley Project, works to reduce pet overpopulation in Central Oregon by providing affordable spay and neuter surgeries for cats and dogs, including for families who could not otherwise afford them. Its volunteer-supported clinics help keep more pets healthy, in their homes, and out of local shelters.
Volunteers support FIXbend's spay/neuter clinics — helping with clinic setup and breakdown, assisting with laundry for surgical linens, and helping monitor animals during recovery. No veterinary experience is required for most roles, though some clinic-day positions may involve hands-on animal handling.
Second Chance Bird Rescue rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes surrendered and abandoned parrots and other companion birds, and educates the public about responsible bird care.
Volunteers help care for rescued parrots and other pet birds, including feeding, cleaning cages, and socializing, and support fostering, adoptions, and events.
Vets for Pets mission is to raise charitable contributions and utilize these funds to educate the general public thus promoting the benefits of human-animal interaction.
Skydog Ranch & Sanctuary
also known as Skydog Sanctuary
Sanctuary for wild mustangs and burros on a 9,000-acre ranch near Prineville, home to 300+ wild horses and dozens of wild and rescued burros. Skydog takes in BLM-branded mustangs and burros pulled from kill pens, auctions, and neglect, reunites bonded wild horse families separated in roundups, lets them live out their lives in herds on open land, and educates the public about wild horse adoption and protection.
Volunteers join the equine team for morning feeding and mucking, and pitch in on all-around ranch work like stacking trees, picking up old wire, pulling weeds, and general chores across a big working ranch. Horse experience is valued but a strong work ethic matters most. The ranch is remote, about an hour from Bend or Prineville, so it suits people who can commit to regular early-morning shifts.
The Crook County Sheriff's Mounted Posse is a uniformed volunteer horseback unit that assists the Sheriff's Office, emergency responders, and search and rescue teams, and represents the county at parades, rodeos, and community events.
Uniformed volunteer members provide their own horses for search and rescue, event security, and community patrols, and represent the Sheriff's Office at parades, rodeos, and civic events throughout Crook County.
Wild Side Rehabilitation is a Central Oregon wildlife rehabilitation nonprofit that cares for orphaned and injured wild mammals, from fawns and elk calves to raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits, until they can be released back to the wild. It is led by a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and veterinary technician and supported by trained volunteer caregivers.
Volunteer caregivers work under the licensed rehabilitator's supervision to feed, clean, and care for orphaned and injured wildlife as they recover, and help with transport and releases. Training is provided; volunteers legally care for animals only under the rehabilitator's license.
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Posse is a uniformed volunteer horseback unit that supports the Sheriff's Office with mounted search and rescue, patrols of county parks and trails, and a presence at parades, rodeos, and community events.
Uniformed volunteer members (not law enforcement) provide horse-mounted search and rescue, patrol Deschutes County parks and trails, and represent the Sheriff's Office at parades, rodeos, and community events.
A Bend-based nonprofit (formerly East Cascades Audubon Society) fostering knowledge and appreciation of birds through nature education, conservation, research, habitat restoration, and advocacy in Central Oregon.
Volunteer roles include Board and Committee members, Project and Program Leaders, guided birding field trip leaders, and hands-on habitat projects like hummingbird garden maintenance for pollinator pathways.
Harmony Farm Sanctuary, between Sisters and Bend, rescues and rehabilitates abused, neglected, medically compromised, and senior farm animals, giving more than 150 residents lifelong care. Run entirely by volunteers, it also partners with schools and youth programs on its Compassionate Curriculum, teaching empathy and kindness through time with the animals, and advocates for the humane treatment of animals.
Harmony Farm is entirely volunteer-run. Volunteers staff twice-daily animal care shifts, including feeding, cleaning, grooming, and giving individual attention to rescued pigs, goats, horses, cows, and poultry, and help with farm projects, events, and the Compassionate Curriculum for visiting youth. Schedules are flexible, from several times a week to once a month.
The High Desert Museum, just south of Bend, is the largest cultural institution in Central and Eastern Oregon and the only museum in the nation devoted to North America's High Desert. Opened in 1982 on 135 acres, it brings together live wildlife, art, history, and the region's Indigenous and pioneer cultures through indoor and outdoor exhibits, living history, bird of prey encounters, and hands-on STEAM programs, camps, and outreach for learners of all ages.
Volunteers support nearly every part of the Museum, from staffing exhibits and leading hands-on activities for visitors to helping school groups on field trips, assisting at Admissions, and interpreting living history and natural history at various sites. Teen-specific roles are available seasonally. Adult volunteers complete a background check and orientation.
BrightSide Animal Center is a high-save animal shelter in Redmond that cares for displaced dogs and cats, rehabilitates them, and places them in responsible, loving homes. Every animal is spayed or neutered and microchipped before adoption, and a foster hospice ("fospice") program lets older or terminally ill pets live out their lives in volunteer homes.
Volunteers walk dogs, socialize cats, staff the BrightSide thrift store, and help at adoption and community events; foster volunteers care for animals at home, including senior and ill pets in the fospice program. Start with an application and a general orientation; hands-on animal roles also require online Fear Free certification. Junior volunteers ages 10–17 are welcome with a parent (no dog walking), and court-mandated community service is accepted.
You haven't seen them all yet. There are more organizations below.