I started at Islay Dog rescue in February 2020. Initially, I started because my daughter wanted to volunteer at IDR for her Duke of Edinburgh, so I went along with the youngest daughter doing her D of E, my husband, and other daughter.
Having a rescue dog ourselves, I was keen to give my spare time helping other dogs, who, through no fault of their own, are found in the rescue. It became a regular Saturday morning every weekend at the rescue. Meeting the dogs and giving them enrichment time is what it's all about.
The Saturday mornings soon turned into being at the rescue all day on Saturdays, with also helping out with lots of other jobs that needed doing to assist the senior and other volunteers. I then became a senior volunteer in May 2024 and took on some extra duties to help out, such as sorting and organising donations, assisting with some admin duties, and keeping things tidy and anything technical Lorraine asks me to do .
Islay Dog rescue has such a friendly team of seniors and volunteers who make it a special time when helping out. It is very rewarding and heart warming to see the changes in the dogs who have arrived at IDR some in such poor conditions mentally and physically that have been nurtured back into good health through the love and dedication of our volunteers enabling them to move on into their forever homes. Many volunteers I have spoken with have said how volunteering with the dogs had also helped them out with their own mental health.
Over what will be nearly 5 years at Islay Dog rescue, there have been so many dogs that have left a paw print in my heart that it is impossible for me to single out any one dog.