A city based organization offers dog lovers a chance to enjoy quality time with their four legged friends.
Last Sunday, 82 people signed up to be Wakey Wakey Walkers with a charity organization called Friends of the Dogs. After a 30-minute briefing at Cardiff Dogs Home, groups were sent out to each walk and play with a dog. Red, an enthusiastic Staffie, was one of the lucky dog present that day. Joyfully wagging its tail, Red clearly had a great time walking and playing with the volunteers.
Maintained by Cardiff City Council, Cardiff Dogs Home makes its 44 kennels available for stray dogs. Some of them simply got lost and were later successfully returned to their owners. Some others have been abandoned by their owners.
There are currently 38 to 40 dogs waiting in the shelter to find their new home. While adopting one of them is a possible solution, it is not the only one. Many different kind of dogs can be found in the shelter, ranging from small terrier dogs to big collies.
Susie James, the chairperson of Friends of the Dogs, explains the importance for the dogs to walk at least two hours out of their 24 hours in the kennel. These two hours, Susie says, are vital for the dog’s mental health because being locked up inside the kennel and do nothing may worsen their condition. Therefore, many volunteers are needed to take turns at walking the dogs every day. These volunteers are called Wakey Wakey Walkers.
Most of the volunteers own dogs or used to own dogs. As Susie explains: “ If you have a dog living with you and your family, you understand that they are pets, they got needs. When the dogs come into Cardiff Dogs Home, they have nothing. They have no lead, no collar, not even a name.”
To be a walker, you don’t need any special abilities or certification as stated on the website, Friends of the Dogs “welcome volunteers of all ages and abilities.”
Nevertheless, there are certain steps to be done to register as a legal dog walker :
- Register on their website
- Do come to the induction session which is usually held on the last Sunday of every month at 10 AM
- On the induction day, you will be given a form of Guidance for Dog Walkers to be read and signed
- While handing out your signed form, you will get your walker number
- After you signed it, you will attend a 30-minute briefing while possibly interacting with one of the shelter dogs
- After the briefing, you can have your first walk anytime you want
However, remember that Friends of the Dogs is not just about walking the dogs. As Susie explains: “ We pay vet bills. We also provide enrichment activities, we walk the dogs, we play with them, we give them kennel enrichment toys, we put music in the kennel. We just try to give them as normal a life as possible while waiting for their forever home.”
Everyone is more than welcome to be a part of Wakey Wakey Walkers.The dogs need you! Next induction is on Saturday 23rd April at 1 PM, so don’t forget to register your name online beforehand!
Follow Friends of the Dogs on:
Twitter & Facebook
