Dog charity’s round of applause for its volunteers

An animal welfare charity is saying a big thank you to its volunteer doggy foster carers who have continued to go the extra mile for their four-legged friends in recent months.
Dogs Trust foster carer Alistair with Terrier cross Annie. Photo: Alistair HorneDogs Trust foster carer Alistair with Terrier cross Annie. Photo: Alistair Horne
Dogs Trust foster carer Alistair with Terrier cross Annie. Photo: Alistair Horne

This week ( June 1-7) is Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering.

Currently Dogs Trust Glasgow volunteers aren’t able to help out at the rehoming centre, but volunteer foster carers have been keeping busy doing their bit to help dogs most in need in these uncertain times.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Zoe James, Home from Home Co-ordinator at Dogs Trust Glasgow, said: “Dogs that go into the loving homes of our foster carers are usually only there for a short time, revelling in their home comforts until they can find their forever homes.

“But because of the current situation, they have been there for a while longer than anticipated and we want to say a huge thank you to our dedicated foster carers who have continued to give them all the love and care they need.”

Dogs Trust’s fostering scheme, called Home from Home, was established at Dogs Trust Glasgow in 2016. There are 25 foster carers signed up to help provide temporary homes to dogs that come into the care of the rehoming centre but would benefit from continuing to enjoy home comforts until they find their forever family.

There are currently 14 dogs in foster homes locally from a nine-week-old Jack Russell Terrier puppy to the oldest being a 13-year-old Pug cross. There are also a mixture of breeds, from a Chihuahua cross to a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and a German Shepherd.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One of those loving life is Annie, a three-year-old Terrier cross, who is living with foster carer Alistair in Glasgow.

Alistair says: “This is our second time fostering during the recent lockdown and we’ve found the process really easy and enjoyable. When Annie was first brought to us, she was quite independent and a little anxious, however, in the week she has spent at home she has really come out of her shell.

“Annie loves nothing more than a game of fetch with a ball, which really helped us build up a bond with her and now she enjoys getting lots of cuddles. Zoe has been great and is always on hand to give us advice and support during the fostering process and really has been so rewarding to be able to give our time to a good cause, especially as life is so restricted at the moment.”

Volunteers are a vital part of the team at Dogs Trust Glasgow but they aren’t currently able to help out on site with the usual tasks of everything from dog walking to cleaning kennels and laundry.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Zoe added: “We can’t wait until we have our volunteers by our side at the rehoming centre once again and we know they are raring to go, but in the meantime we want to say thank you to all of them for their continued support, and to our foster carers who are doing such a fantastic job.”

Dogs Trust Glasgow has been overwhelmed recently with members of the dog-loving public offering to become foster carers. As a result, the centre has temporarily paused applications. If you would like to support Dogs Trust in other ways please visit here.

Dogs Trust Glasgow is still closed to walk-in members of the public. However, recent changes in the government guidance means that from Monday, June 1, the team can now book appointments for those dogs who can’t be rehomed using our new ‘handover at home’ process. Potential new owners will be able to meet the dog they are interested in rehoming at the centre in an outside play area, or in a spacious area that is separate from the main rehoming centre such as a training barn, whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.