Dogs Trust Darlington 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.
This week (1-7 June) is Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. Currently Dogs Trust Darlington 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.
Rebecca Roscoe, Home from Home Co-ordinator at Dogs Trust Darlington, says:
“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 Darlington in 2016. There are 32 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 13 dogs in foster homes locally and one of those loving life is six-year-old Greyhound Daisy, who is staying with her foster carers Angela and David from Darlington.
David says:
“We are building up a great relationship with Daisy and you can already see how relaxed she is becoming at home.
“With the help of Angela, we have both been fostering for just over six months. We both love having dogs in our lives, little and large; and it’s so good when they build up trust with you, and you know you have helped prepare them for life in a permanent home.”
Volunteers are a vital part of the team at Dogs Trust Darlington 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.
Rebecca Roscoe says:
“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 Darlington 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 www.dogstrust.org.uk
Dogs Trust Darlington is still closed to walk-in members of the public. However, recent changes in the government guidance means that from 1 June 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.
