Being a rescue worker at Dogs Trust
What’s it like to work at Dogs Trust? Kevin Johnson, media coordinator at Dogs Trust Leeds, tells us what a regular day looks like for him.
Your Dog: Tell us what a typical day for a charity/rescue worker and the dogs looks like…
Kevin: My day usually starts with preparing a few social media posts to engage our followers. This will always be a mixture of showing day to day life at the rehoming centre, but also showcasing the dogs who are looking for their forever homes. I would join some of the canine carers on the sessions with the dogs so I can capture great content showing the dogs at their best. This really helps the potential adopters to get a better idea of the dog’s personality and can ultimately speed up the time taken for the dogs to find their forever homes.
There are always a few website profiles to write up for new dogs becoming available for adoption and little photoshoots to accompany these. I spend a lot of time working hands on with some of our underdogs (pups who have been in our care for 6 months or more), so I can continue to promote them to the public and hopefully find that hero adopter who has the right home set up to help one of our long termers.
Your Dog: How long does it take to train/become a rescue worker?
Kevin: It varies from role to role, but for me, I had been working as a self-employed photographer for a while when I realised I wanted to find something to fill in some of the down time. I have always loved dogs, so decided to apply to become a volunteer kennel cleaner at my local Dogs Trust rehoming centre in Leeds.
Within a few weeks, I was bringing in my camera to photograph the dogs for their website profiles. We saw a quick spike in applications for dogs that had quality photos on their profiles, so after around 18 months of volunteering the role of media coordinator was created to ensure there was someone within the centre who was responsible for all things comms and creative. I jumped at the chance to join the charity as an employee and have never looked back.
Your Dog: What made you want to become part of Dogs Trust?
Kevin: I LOVE dogs! Always have and always will. I simply wanted to do something to help them find their homes a little quicker. Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, and normally cares for around 14,000 dogs across our network of 21 rehoming centres in the UK and one in Dublin.
Your Dog: What is the most rewarding part of your job at Dogs Trust?
Kevin: Watching each and every dog leave the rehoming centre with their new family.
Your Dog: Do you find that you form a special bond with the dogs?
Kevin: Absolutely! Our underdogs are the ones who tend to spend longer with us, and these are the dogs who may have more specific behaviour plans or homing requirements. I get very attached to these guys! In my role I can really help keep a focus on them while they wait for their special someone to find them, but it can mean spending a lot of time to learn their little quirks and personality traits. This naturally means I get very attached. My current BFF is a nine-year-old Lurcher called Jake who has been patiently waiting for the right humans to come along for over four years! We have a very strong bond and I often spend my breaks in his kennel to give him a little extra love! I’ve even taken him for a few weekends away with me to the Yorkshire Dales to give him a break from kennels!