Providing a happy home: Dogs Trust feature

“We always strive to give a better dog back than the one we got,” foster carers Liz and Phil Ashton explain.

The couple have been fostering for six years and are currently housing their 44th foster, a gorgeous Terrier (Staffordshire Bull) cross named Zoora. 

“The main focus, for us, is that not all dogs are suited to kennel life,” Phil continued.

“It’s great for those dogs in particular to become part of a loving family. We love it and really do get a lot from it too. It’s lovely to see them come out of their shells, as a lot of them haven’t had the best start and haven’t settled into their life as such; we get to really work with them, introduce them to a routine and teach them some tricks.”

Liz said they have accommodated a huge variety of dogs from American Bulldogs to tiny Chihuahuas, which is the ‘beauty’ of their role within Dogs Trust.

The pair can spend anything from a week to four months with their canine pal, striving to make a real difference to the life of a dog most in need.

All essential costs are covered by Dogs Trust, leaving carers to focus on providing the stability, love and care their dog needs to prepare for life in their forever home. 

Tracy Hill, Home from Home Fostering co-ordinator, said that the charity will provide everything from dog beds and medication to bowls and toys.

She added: “We find out from foster carers what their abilities are to find the dogs best suited to their environment - if people aren’t able to do a lot of walks, we will place a dog with them that doesn’t need a lot of exercise.

“And equally, in terms of space, if anyone likes the idea of a bigger dog but is worried about the space that they’ve got in their home, it’s still worth applying; we can have a chat with them and, at the end of the day, their home is bigger than the kennel that the dog would be staying in here.”

After meeting Zoora, Mark and I met the lovely duo, Blue and Fudge, who are currently in foster care waiting on their forever homes. Blue is a nine-year-old Chihuahua and Fudge is a 13-year-old Shih Tzu.

They have been with their foster carers, who said that you ‘wouldn’t even know they were there’, for four months now. 

“They’re really easy-going little dogs,” Tracy said, “They’ve been absolutely fine being left on their own for a couple of hours and they’ve been clean too - they don’t have a
lot of future home requirements to be honest.

"They just need somebody with plenty of space on their sofa, and ideally their lap for Blue!”

Tracy highlighted that the pair have lived together for a long time and are ‘best buddies’ so will be kept together when moving on into their forever home.

All of the details about the pair are on the Dogs Trust website, or if you do not have access to the internet, you can either pop down to the centre or call them on 01613373600.

More in- formation about the fostering process can also be found at: www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/fostering.

Alternatively, if you think a volunteering role within the Denton rehoming centre would suit you better there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with.

Carol Margieson, Assistant Manager, said the centre has an ‘amazing’ volunteer base.

“We have some excellent people who give up their free time,” She said, "And it always amazes me that they give up that time to help look after our dogs.

"Anybody can be a volunteer really, they just need to be comfortable working outside - in all weathers, it’s irrelevant what the weather is as the dogs still have to go out.”

Carol described the workplace environment as ‘very emotional and challenging yet exceptionally rewarding’.

“It’s an amazing place to work,” She said, “I think, because we were the first urban centre within the Dogs Trust family, we haven’t got a lot of grass - certainly not a lot of fields - for the dogs to run in, so we wanted to bring in all the different types of surfaces.

“They’ve got the sandpit to dig in, the AstroTurf which is again a different feeling from grass and there’s a water feature so this is a great place for them to charge & have fun in.”

The centre, which will be celebrating its tenth anniversary next year, also offers the Canine Care Card, which is a free service meaning that if anything was to happen to a dog’s owner then there are still measures in place ensuring that the dog is looked after and goes straight into the care of Dogs Trust.

Supporter relations officer, Nicola Hardman, said: “It just gives the owner that peace of mind that if they don’t have any friends or family who could step up and take care of the dog, it’ll come into our care and we’ll do everything we can to then find them a loving, new home.” 

Jack and Chops arrived at the Denton-based rehoming centre via the Canine Care Card after their owner passed away.

The two are devoted to one another and affectionately known as ‘little and large’. Eleven-year-old Rottweiler-Cross, Chops, and his faithful canine companion, Jack, who is a seven-year-old Jack Russell, have been waiting more than two months for a new home.

Despite the changes they have been through, Chops and Jack love meeting people and are very friendly so could live with children aged eight and over.

They love food, so tasty treats will be a great way for their new family to build a bond with them, and they would love to settle in with a family who are around a lot. 

They would also like to be the only pets so they can lap up all the love on offer.