It’s time to show off your adorable animals! Our Annual Pet Photo Contest starts tomorrow, Saturday, September 19^th. Entry fee is $10 per photo and $1 per vote. You can enter as many times as you want, and you can vote as many times as you want! 100% of the proceeds will benefit shelter pets, ensuring they receive the best care possible as they await their new, loving homes.

The contest runs from Saturday, September 19^th thru Saturday, October 17^th at 10pm. Enter now and spread the word to get as many votes as possible for a chance to win one of the many prizes in store this year.

Grand Prize (2 photos with the most votes):

• The top 2 photos with the most votes will have bragging rights of their photo being featured on a limited-edition beer can by Bent Hill Brewery (Braintree)
• A complimentary case of your pet’s beer can design
• AND receive a private Professional Pet Photoshoot* with Vermont’s portrait photographer, Paul Richardson of Storyworkz. *Private Pet Photoshoot: Each winner will receive a 45-minute session with the photographer at their Montpelier studio. Subjects can be pet and guardian, or pet only. 5 electronic images are included in the prize package, with the opportunity to purchase additional images from the photo library

 Top 13 photos:

• The top 13 photos, as voted by our community, will be featured in our 2027 full-color calendar,
• AND be entered into a raffle to win a $100 Walmart Gift Card

All entries:

• Have a chance to be 2027 CVHS Calendar Cover Pet,
• AND will be featured in the photo collage on last page of calendar

Just want a guaranteed spot in the calendar? You can Reserve a Date for your pet for only $15. Simply pick a day that is special to you and your pet and submit a photo to ensure your pet is featured in the 2027 calendar. It could be their birthday, gotcha-day, or another memorable date. Reserve a Date is first-come first-served, so don’t wait. Claim your special day now! 

During the month of October, we are the recipient of the Hunger Mountain Co-op’s Give Change program. Just tell your cashier that you would like to round up your total to benefit the shelter pets at CVHS. Every single penny makes a difference! Shop at our amazing local Montpelier Co-op and help animals at the same time- win win! We would like thank Hunger Mountain Co-op for choosing CVHS, their impactful program does so much good for our community. Don’t forget to round up in October!

We are looking for people to join our active and focused Board of Directors (BOD), who generously volunteer their time to work in partnership with key staff to provide fiduciary oversight, strategic direction, fundraising assistance, and expertise to CVHS. The BOD meets every other month, with committee meetings in between.

Members of our BOD are expected to attend the majority of meetings, serve on at least one committee (current committees are Governance, Donor Stewardship/Development, and Finance), support CVHS events like our Walk for Animals and Fur Fest, and be engaged, active participants. In particular we are looking for expertise in Human Resources, legal, fundraising, or community engagement, and we are open to all applicants.

Board Member Job Description

Board Committee Descriptions

Our Mission

Our Strategic Plan

For more information,  please email info@centralvermonthumane.org and put “BOD inquiry” in the Subject Line.

Need an amazing gift for someone?  Sponsor a homeless pet!  A meaningful and heartwarming gift that will save animals at CVHS.  Sponsoring a pet is easy- go to our our adoption pages (which are updated in real time), choose a pet you would like to sponsor, and click on “Sponsor Me” under their description. To give as a gift, you will receive an email confirmation that includes a note you can send to your gift recipient telling them you sponsored a pet in their name.  Gift or not, sponsoring a pet is a great way to help animals who are in CVHS care while we help them find loving homes.

The animals at CVHS thank you so much!

Choose a pet on one of our Adoption pages below, or donate now

Adoptable Dogs page

Adoptable Cats page

Adoptable Critters page

We are looking for dedicated Cat Wing volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Can you spare a few hours, especially in the morning, on a regular basis to help feed and clean Cat Wing? Bonus, you get to pet our adoptable kitties in between cleaning. We know cleaning up Cat Wing isn’t exactly glamorous, but keeping Cat Wing spotless is vital to keep our kitties healthy. It is a very important job!

We need more people to volunteer to drive our pets to and from one of our supporting veterinarians in Bradford. On Wednesday mornings, pets need to go to the vet, and on Wednesday afternoons they need to come back to CVHS. This is typically needed as early as 7:30am, so we’re looking for an early riser for a morning shift. An afternoon shift would require availability beginning at 2:30pm. There is an option of using our CVHS van or your personal vehicle, but we do not reimburse for gas/mileage if you opt to drive your own car. If there are more animals than can fit in your personal vehicle you will need to drive our van. Drivers need to be accustomed to driving in Vermont weather conditions. Volunteers are required to have a clean driver’s license and proof of insurance.

Not able to commit to a regular based driving schedule? We often have animals who need to go to other local vet offices in central Vermont so could have you on a list to contact when in need. 

If you are interested in fostering, and have a quiet space in your home that could house baby kittens or an adult animal in need of medical care, learn more about our foster program by clicking here. 

Please contact volunteer@centralvermonthumane.org if you are interested in these opportunities!

Due to limited staffing, we cannot accommodate any mandated community service hours or school required volunteer hours due to the oversight needed for those volunteers.