Charity With Bow Wow Wow Factor Seeks New Canine Volunteers
A North East charity that helps the elderly, isolated and bereaved by befriending dog lovers in their own homes, hospitals or care homes is looking for a new breed of volunteers to meet the rising demand for its services.
Wag and Company based in Hexham, Northumberland was formed by volunteer CEO Diane Morton in 2016 and since then, the charity has made some 90,000 friendship dog visits to people who can no longer have a dog of their own because they are in care or are too disabled to look after them. The charity currently has around 400 professionally assessed Visiting Wag Teams visiting those in need everywhere between North Yorkshire and the Scottish Borders. They are recipients of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, and they have the Duchess of Northumberland as their patron.
Dogs must be at least 18 months old, have a good temperament, love cuddling and be under control; they don’t have to be obedience champions! All dogs are assessed for suitability by qualified trainers, Kennel Club Accredited Instructors, or members of the Animal Behaviour and Training Council including members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, or they can be individually assessed and accredited by other senior Wag assessors. Wag volunteers also receive lots of help and support, they’re helped through DBS checks, and finding the right matches, they have uniform including the lovely Wag bandana for their Friendship Dogs and they’re insured. Usually they give up to two hours most weeks and matched to people close to their own homes to make it convenient to fit in with their lives.
CEO Diane Morton explains why the charity needs more volunteers:
“We have huge demand for what we do, now as we’ve got more than 220 care homes, hospitals, and hospices on our waiting list and around 20 home placements that we need to find lovely Visiting Wag Teams for. We always look to match our home placements first as they are generally people who are more isolated, living on their own and with more complex health issues.
“Anyone that could give a couple of hours a week to share their time and their dog with an elderly neighbour would find it one of the most rewarding things they’ve ever done. You meet some great people with great stories and life experiences to share. They’re obviously huge dog lovers too and many have had a whole life of loving different dogs and breeds and they’re going to love the one that comes and visits them once a week too.”
Anyone wishing to find out more about volunteering, the charity’s website is www.wagandco.co.uk/volunteer
Media and PR keith@highlightspr.co.uk 07814 397951