The Unpaid Job that's My Most Rewarding Ever

Finding homes for Boston Terriers became a full-time undertaking for Julie Klam. Thankfully, she inherited the volunteering gene from her mom. PLUS: An open thread about YOUR volunteering and pets.

Julie Klam

and

Sari Botton

Oct 24, 2025

Julie Klam with her mother, her inspiration for volunteering.

Readers,

Today we have a personal essay by author and newly minted Substacker

Julie Klam

. It’s about the most demanding of her jobs, among all the work she juggles, and how rewarding that job is—despite the absence of a paycheck.

In addition to writing books and freelance articles, and raising her now young-adult son, Julie puts in many hours each week in a volunteer position: head of intake for Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue. While there’s no financial benefit, the work fulfills her in other ways, something she knew was possible after watching her mother volunteer.

I realized the two topics Julie touches on here—volunteering, and sharing our lives with pets—would make good subjects for an Oldster Magazine Friday Open Thread. Julie’s essay is just below this section. ⬇️ After you’ve had a chance to read it, in the comments, please tell us:

How old are you? Do you do any volunteer work? If so, with whom do you volunteer? What prompted you to get involved with a cause in that way? What rewards does it offer you? And/or, do you share your life with pets? How many? What kind? What do your pets give you? What do they require of you? Answer as many or as few of these questions as you’d like! (If you’re commenting, please also do me the favor of hitting the heart button ❤️ for algorithmic purposes. Thank you!)

Here’s Julie Klam’s essay. ⬇️

Julie Klam at home in Manhattan with a couple of Boston Terriers a few years ago.

The Unpaid Job that’s My Most Rewarding Ever

Finding homes for Boston Terriers became a full-time undertaking for Julie Klam. Thankfully, she inherited the volunteering gene from her mom.

As I was leaving Paris early in the morning a week ago, I received an email from the animal control officer of a Massachusetts police department, clearly a very kind man, asking me if we could take a sweet, neutered 7-year-old Boston Terrier that had been surrendered to him. “His name is Milo,” he said, “and all he wants are kisses.” I stopped zipping my suitcase and wrote back and told him that we could and, I would be in touch, but I was about to jump on a plane.

I make my (not quite living) as a writer, but in the other twenty hours in the day, I am a very vocal trans rights activist, mom, wife. But somehow my biggest job has become the head of intake at Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue. It’s full-time, no pay, and the benefits are nothing unless you like endless photos of cute dogs and having your heart full.

When I was younger, I thought you could only volunteer if you didn’t work. My mother “didn’t work” (she had three kids, a husband, many animals to feed, and if that ain’t workin’ I don’t know what is) but she was a boots on the ground volunteer for so many organizations. It was the 1970s and she was woman! I always knew when I was older, that would be me.

When my son was a toddler, I thought about how I wanted to volunteer to show him what we need to do to exist in society. It was 2006 and at the time, and the area I wanted to volunteer in was helping needy dogs. I googled Boston Terrier rescue, because I had rescued a Boston in 1996 who changed my life, and for sure changed his.

Because I had a small child, it would have been hard to for me to foster because dogs, since they could be unpredictable with kids, but we were all kind of young and dumb, so we did it anyway. The first dog was a puppy who was completely out of his mind after being crated most of the day of his 8 months. We were in our apartment on West 106^th street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan watching him fly around the room with his big jaws open chomping on everyone in his way. I looked in horror as my son said, “Ha ha, he funny!” And of course not wanting to scare him, I said, yes, so funny! He called him Hank the Flying Clown Dog. And a couple of days later, Hank was quietly moved to a farm upstate – no really, a foster home upstate who had a farm and far more experience than me.

Since then I’ve fostered many, many, many dogs. There was the dog who had run away from New Jersey all the way to New York City! And the dog who humped my legs so much that the next day I looked through I’d been in an intense cupping session. There was the dog who pooped on two bottom bookshelves, I mean the books weren’t Pulitzer winners, but come on. At least I never felt bad about a review after that.

But when my dogs hit maximum occupancy, it was impossible for me to foster more. At one time I had five dogs in my New York City apartment, and no, that was not why I got divorced. When I walked them, they went in five different directions, North, South, East, West, and Ouch.

My life got complicated, so occasionally I would do home visits. But I missed it. I missed being someone who added to society. Volunteering doesn’t fulfill your needs like making money or giving your family food, but until you aren’t doing it you don’t know that it really does fulfill a need. And especially living in a society where kindness and empathy are looked down upon, taking care of vulnerable beings feels more important than ever.

I asked the person running intake at Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue if they needed help, and after a couple of years, they stepped down and I was running intake. Our territory covers Washington, DC to Maine. It’s a lot of dogs. And every dog that’s surrendered—by an owner or in a shelter or being dumped by an Amish puppy miller who has a dog he can no longer breed or a puppy he can’t sell—goes through me. It is unbelievable how many dogs we get in. I work with three fabulous women plus our president, and we manage to do it pretty well.

When I was in France, it was the first time I left my post since I was installed as director in the beginning of this year. I had one eye on it all the time, and it so busy and difficult. Worrying I’d come home to everyone having quit, I texted them encouraging words and promises and told them to hang on! They swore they wouldn’t quit, if just to make sure I used the free Wifi on the plane to make plans for Milo. By the time I landed, Milo had placement and I had completed my first rescue from 10,000 feet in the air.

If it sounds exhausting, it can be. The days are full of stories— sad starts and happy endings. And the good feeling of helping needy dogs, while it doesn’t pay my Visa bill, does give me a feeling of purpose. And like it or not, I am good at this, mainly because I can do this, and go to my other volunteer meetings, and cook my family’s dinner. Just like my mother.

Okay, your turn.

How old are you? Do you do any volunteer work? If so, with whom do you volunteer? What prompted you to get involved with a cause in that way? What rewards does it offer? And/or, do you share your life with pets? How many? What kind? What do your pets give you? What do they require of you? Answer as many or as few of these questions as you’d like! (If you’re commenting, please also do me the favor of hitting the heart button ❤️ for algorithmic purposes. Thank you!)

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