Volunteering under 18?

I live in the US and I am sorry that I don't know about Ireland. The SPCALA near me allows children to volunteer with a parent at the age of 12. At 17 they can volunteer on their own. Basically you get to hang out and socialize dogs and cats whenever the facility is open. the animals need human contact at much greater amounts than the staff can provide, so volunteers do most of it. They do train volunteers how to train the animals as well as other things like cleaning, grooming, and decorating the shelter. I have never done any type of volunteering that I have enjoyed as much. If there are spcas near you, perhaps they have something similar.