Toronto Humane Society

Please provide a description of the practicum site and student activities:

Toronto Humane Society is best known as a animal shelter however, our services have expanded tremendously over the last 135 years. We provide expert-led programs in training and behaviour, temporary sheltering, accessible veterinary care, and community support programs and services including accessible veterinary care, pet food bank and foster care for those in crisis in order to maintain the human animal bond. We recognize that in order to help pets, we must help their humans as well. We believe benefiting from the bond with an animal is not a luxury – rather, by working to increase accessibility we ensure our community members experiencing marginalization can enjoy the tremendous benefits of caring and loving a pet. Most of our programs are intended for those who may be challenged with the financial elements of pet care. We partner frequently with human support organization such as mental health facilities, human shelters, community centres, community housing and hospitals to ensure families receive the care they need and deserve.

Veterinary social work is still in infancy in Ontario and in Canada in general. Toronto Humane Society is looking for students who are interested in learning about this specialization with primary tasks related to working in our  Urgent Foster Care (torontohumanesociety.com) foster program which offers temporary fostering to families experiencing hardship as well as speaking with families who are seeking support, services and guidance to support their pets through our Pet Parent Support Network (torontohumanesociety.com).  The student may also be required to attend offsite veterinary clinics in nontraditional spaces such as human shelters. Other opportunities may be offered based on students’ incoming experience and skill set, including providing grief and bereavement counselling to pet owners.

Practicum Requirements. Click on all the boxes that apply.

• Covid Vaccinations
• Police Reference/Vulnerable Sector Check
• Travel by public transportation between home visits, or satellite offices, or community meetings, etc.
• Comfort working with the population being served
• Changing shift attendance
• Schedule may require evening and/or weekend remote work

Does your practicum require any previous experience? If yes, please specify.

A student with experience supporting community members who have experienced housing insecurity, food insecurity and health challenges will be given precedence.

Please indicate whether this practicum will be in-person, remote or hybrid.

Hybrid

Please indicate whether this practicum will involve direct work or a mix of direct and indirect.

Mix – most work will involve engaging with families via inperson, phone or email

Field Instructor(s’) name and credentials (BSW and/or MSW)

Dillon Dodson, MSW

Do you require a resume? Or resume and cover letter?

Both please

Accessibility Considerations:

• Will the student have access to a private space for notes or computer use?  Yes

• Are there breaks between clients/patients/meetings?  Sometimes

• Is the practicum considered fast-paced?  Medium

• Is there a high noise level in the practicum?  High

• Is the site wheelchair accessible?  Yes

• What are the physical demands of the practicum? Role involves handling animals and animal-related supplies of varying weights.  Animal handling training will be provided.

• Are there any other accessibility considerations that potential applicants with disabilities should be aware of?  The space does have acoustic challenges; our clinic and community days can be busy and loud. Many of our staff wear marks so lip-reading and facial expression can be difficult.

Students registered with University of Toronto Accessibility Services may receive appropriate accommodations for practicum settings. To register: https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/department/accessibility-services/ or call 416-978-8060 

To apply for this opportunity, please send your application to miri.ben.dat@utoronto.ca by 4 pm on September 22, 2025. Applications will be sent to the site.