Easter Egg-stravaganza at Dogs Trust Loughborough...

It was the Thursday before Easter and the bunny arrived early at Dogs Trust Loughborough. Of course chocolate is toxic to dogs but our staff definitely love it! We had an Easter egg treasure hunt so everyone was divided into teams and off they went following clues to find the eggs containing sweets. There was lots of laughing, running and scratching their heads at the clues. The final clue sent the teams back to reception where the members of the winning team were given a large chocolate egg each. They were all very competitive and the winning team finished in less than 30 minutes! Watch out for next year as its going to be tougher!

Good Friday was especially good as the cakes arrived! We had a cake stall in reception manned by our volunteers and the staff helped too by buying lots of the homemade cakes on their breaks. There were sponges, crispy cakes, lemon cakes and delicious cupcakes for the humans. Our doggy friends were not left out as they could choose from homemade bone biscuits made with peanut butter, dog chocolate or even some without gluten for those with delicate stomachs.
 

 

The volunteers also sold raffle tickets to win a hamper filled with chocolate bunnies and lambs, cakes and biscuits which was won by one of our adopters. She was very happy when she won and rushed straight down to collect her prize!

The canine carers were very excited as we had a special visit from one of the puppies who were included in our Opening last June. Redgrave (now called Ozzie) is a beautiful tan lurcher who loves to talk to everyone and bounce around full of fun. It’s a miracle he managed to sit still long enough to get this photograph as at one point he wanted to play with the camera. He socialised in reception talking to children and adults alike and basking in the attention and cuddles.



 

The egg-citement continues with our “Guess How Many” competition where there is a very tempting jar of chocolate eggs in reception and the customer who has the closest guess wins them all. The jar is sealed tightly to prevent any of the eggs ‘sneaking’ away until April 8th when the winner will be revealed. Good luck to everyone who entered.

So far we have raised over £325 from the Easter events, a huge thank you to our volunteers for making the cakes, selling them and tempting everyone to enter the competitions!

A Day in the Life: David, Canine Carer - Dogs Trust Kenilworth

As Dogs Trust Kenilworth continues to take over our social media channels, one of the centre's front line staff talks about his role getting dogs into those all-important forever homes.

My name is David Evans (here with Looby). I’m 50 years old and have worked for Dogs Trust for nine years. Previously I was a maître d', so I am used to helping people! Now I help them rehome dogs.

My job as a Canine Carer is to promote our dogs to help them find loving new homes. So today’s "take over" day has been amazing. A big part of my job is to keep our website up to date with images and photographs of all our dogs, but seeing our dogs all over Facebook has been lovely and I know we’ve had calls already.

As promotion is built into my role I also deal with our mobile rehoming unit that takes dogs from our centre to towns and cities that maybe aren’t so aware of our work. Today I had to assess two dogs for the MRU. One was Ozzie, whom you saw earlier today (on Facebook: here he is). To assess them I have them in reception for a while to see how they cope with the hustle and bustle but also to not always being the centre of attention. Ozzie was as good as gold so I know he’ll be fine on the MRU tomorrow and hopefully will get a good home.

Once the dogs are chosen, I also do all the write ups so people can see at a glance what sort of home the dogs need. I like to give as much information as possible to encourage new owners to come forward and to really show off the dogs personality.

I’ll make sure the reception boards are up to date with the latest dogs in our care and the newest photographs.

If there’s a phone ringing I can answer the phone and advise callers on any dogs that I think maybe suitable for them.

I’ve really enjoyed today and I’ve been able to see how quickly we can reach so many people. I can’t wait for the dogs we’ve featured to get homes!

Visit our website to find out more about the dogs waiting for homes at Dogs Trust Kenilworth, and give the centre a call on 01926 484 398 to find out more. You can drop in for a visit between 12noon and 4pm any day, including weekends, except Friday, when we're closed for staff training - no appointment is needed during opening hours.

Dogs Trust Loughborough: Photos, Info and Jobs!

Did you know there's a brand new Dogs Trust rehoming centre coming to town?

Dogs Trust Loughborough will be opening late Spring / early Summer. The centre will be based in Wymeswold, Leicestershire, to cover that area of the country (although, as ever, if you have a UK address and can visit as often as you need to, you can rehome from any centre).

Recently we held an Information Day at Loughborough Town Hall to share information on our plans for the centre as well as career opportunities. There are over 38 job openings in at least 13 different roles... more about that in a moment!

First, here are some great photos from the day, many featuring Nikki Smith, the new Centre Manager, whom we warmly welcome to our team.

More information about what to expect from the centre can be found on the Dogs Trust Loughborough page on our website. This will be kept regularly updated, so it's the place to look for opening dates, events and more. You can also follow the centre on Twitter @dt_loughborough, so do go and say hi to Nikki there.

So, about those jobs! Here's where you can find the details on our website. The closing date for most of them is February 3rd, with interviews taking place from late February, so there's still a little time to think about your application.

Please note: it's important to carefully follow the instructions given for each individual role, as most require an application form (no CV), though some might require a CV instead (with a supporting statement). If you're not sure which, or you have any other questions just drop a line to our HR department. You are welcome to apply for more than one position. Part time roles are indicated.