How we’re responding to the Covid-19 outbreak to keep our staff, our supporters and our dogs safe - updated 24/03
Page updated 24/03/2020 6:43pm
Over the past few weeks, we have been closely monitoring the Government’s advice regarding Coronavirus, and working towards a plan of action that will allow us to continue the essential care for all of the dogs in our centres.
Rehoming
Our centres are closed to walk-in members of the public and as of now, we will not be starting the rehoming process for any new adopters. If you are due to take a dog home in the next few days, we will contact you as soon as we can, please bear with us. Anyone who is due to have a rehoming appointment, unfortunately these have been suspended until further notice. Due to Government restrictions, we will be unable to take in dogs to our rehoming centres right now. If you need urgent help regarding giving up your dog, please contact us immediately and we will offer you as much advice and support as we can.
We’d like to reassure you that our wonderful staff will continue to provide the best possible care for our dogs, while avoiding any close interaction with each other. We’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to those individuals, who are doing everything they can to make sure our dogs get fed, walked and looked after.
We’d like to say a big thank you to you, for your continued support.
Shops
As of Friday 20th March at 5pm, our charity shops will also close. We ask that you please do not leave any pre-loved items for donation at our charity shops or rehoming centres. We look forward to receiving these items when things are back to normal, and we will update our website and social media channels as soon as we can start accepting pre-loved donations again.
Dog School and events
In addition to these measures, all Dog School classes are currently suspended, and any public events due to take place have been postponed for the time being.
Shared Adoption Scheme
From March 18th, due to Coronavirus we need to change the way that we manage the dogs who may fall under the SAS. Please visit the Shared Adoption Scheme page if you have a dog under this scheme to find out what these changes are and what you may need to do.
Fostering
We have been overwhelmed with the offers of help that have flooded in this week from members of the dog-loving public. We’re so grateful for everyone’s support and couldn’t do what we do without the help of our amazing volunteers. Because of the enormous response we have seen we are temporarily pausing new Home from Home fostering applications while we process the ones we have already received. It’s taking a little longer than usual to respond to requests, but rest assured, we’re getting back to everyone who has been in touch and will let you know when applications resume.
If you would like to support us, we are still recruiting for foster carers for our Freedom Project. For more information visit www.dogstrustfreedomproject.org.uk
Volunteering
We have been overwhelmed with the offers of help that have flooded in over the last few weeks from members of the dog-loving public to volunteer with us and we’ve appreciated every single offer to help. However, based on the latest Government advice, we have not accepted any new volunteering applicants and have temporarily now closed applications for any new volunteers. We have also advised our existing volunteers to stay at home and keep safe for the time being. We are however, closely monitoring the situation and taking guidance from the Government as to how best to support our community of volunteers.
Hope & Freedom Project
We are still continuing to run our vital services but with restricted resources and extra measures in place to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers, service users and dogs. If you, or someone you are supporting, needs help or support through our Hope (support for dog owners who are homeless or in housing crisis) or the Freedom Project (pet fostering service for dog owners fleeing domestic abuse), please do get in touch with us directly and we will do all we can to help. More information about how to contact us about the Hope Project here, and the Freedom Project here.
Keep up to date with us
Our online community is here to support you, and you can keep up to date with all of our latest news and advice on our website and social media platforms which we will keep updated regularly.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Worried about your dog?
Currently there is no evidence that the virus responsible for COVID-19 can be transmitted from dogs to humans (or vice versa), but we will continue to monitor this and take guidance from the World Health Organisation.
If you are concerned about how to look after your dog if you need to self-isolate, take a look at our top tips on keeping dogs happy and active at home.
Read our advice