Meet some of the volunteers helping Tameside's four-legged friends

We headed down to Dogs Trust in Denton a couple of weeks ago to meet some of the wonderful volunteers helping Tameside's four-legged friends.

On arrival, we met Kerry - whose job it is to recruit and manage the volunteers within the rehoming centre.

Kerry explained that roles can vary heavily from helping out as a dog walker or a gardener to a foster carer. She also shared with us some of the main requirements for those wishing to get involved.

"We're mostly looking for people who just have a real passion for dogs and who want to get involved with lots of different aspects of the job - we do also train our volunteers as well so that they can expand their skill set and help more with rehoming," she said.

She added that, due to the centre holding around 70 dogs at any one time, cleaning can sometimes be a large aspect of the role.

Paul, who has been volunteering with the centre for four years, said that the reason he first applied for his role was because he 'just clicked' with dogs.

"There's so much more to the role than just walking a dog," he said.

"We have 70 dog bowls to fill each day and then you're washing up and sorting the dogs' bedding - the workers can't do it all by themselves, we get to help them out a lot. We're teaching the doggies all the while too, while we're out on walks around the industrial estate we can constantly teach them new skills and tricks."

He continued: "Every dog is very unique and when they come to us, they can sometimes be quite nervous so you can't just go in there like a bull in a china shop; you've got to be subtle and approach them as a friend. Building up that trust with them and creating a friendship is so important - sometimes it happens quite quickly but other times it can take a while."

Kimberley, who has been located as a volunteer at the centre for just over a year, said that she used to drive past the Dogs Trust building and think 'one day I'll volunteer there'.

Each Monday, she now not only helps out in the Canine Care department - focusing primarily on walking the dogs, cleaning their bowls and doing laundry - but also volunteers in a Home From Home role which consists of taking the dogs out to foster care, transporting them from one foster placement to another, bringing dogs into the centre for vet checks and transporting medication to their temporary homes.

"I have always absolutely loved dogs," she told us.

"Every week is different and every Monday is my favourite day, but then the next Monday comes around and that's my favourite day! They're such funny characters and I used to think I'll feel sad when they get adopted but you're really not because you're just so happy and excited for them."

With 30 volunteers on the books right now, the centre are always searching for more dog lovers to give a helping hand.

They welcome volunteering applications from all backgrounds but will be sure to list any specific requirements needed in the role descriptions. However they do ask that all of their volunteers are over the age of 18. 

More information can be found here: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/support-us/volunteering.