DOGS FOR GOOD – CORONAVIRUS
As at 20 April 2020
Click here to go to our dedicated Coronavirus pages for the latest information.
The health and wellbeing of both people and dogs is at the heart of all we do at Dogs for Good.
As the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to impact on all our lives, we want to let you know how we are supporting our staff, volunteers, assistance dog teams, Family Dog members and of course, all the amazing puppies and dogs that we work with.
If you have a dog in your life, you’ll know the joy and simple pleasures they can bring to us, especially during these difficult times. Many of our clients have lower immunity because of their disabilities and are therefore exceptionally vulnerable during this crisis – right now, the support and companionship of their dogs is as important as ever. We are doing all we can to support and reassure them. Our staff have responded quickly to the new ways of working, ensuring we can continue to support our clients during the lockdown, offering help and advice via telephone, email and video calls.
We used to say ‘imagine if you had not been out of your home for several years’, which is the reality for many of the people we support before our wonderful dogs come into their lives … social isolation is something that many of us are now experiencing first hand. It hits home even harder how the work we do makes life-changing difference when it enables people to confidently and safely go out, live more independently and with far greater social interactions than they had before.
Sadly, for the time being, we are not able to place any new assistance dogs with clients. We have also suspended our Community Dog intervention visits and will not restart face to face sessions with clients until it is safe to do so. We have also postponed our Family Dog workshops for the foreseeable future.
While our offices are currently closed, our puppies and dogs-in-training are now safely in the homes of our staff and experienced volunteers, and their training continues to prepare them for their future roles. We had a new influx of gorgeous puppies just before the coronavirus shut down. These puppies are out with their puppy socialisers beginning their journeys to become life-changing dogs. Our volunteers are doing an amazing job looking after all our dogs, with lots of activities to help continue to support their training and give them lots of enrichment both mentally and physically. Our training staff are also giving lots of support remotely with training videos, fun challenges and behavioural advice and support to help our pups as they grow. While this is far from ideal environment in which to be socialising our puppies, we will do everything we can to help our dogs to thrive.
We are very grateful to the many people who are supporting us in terms of fundraising and raising awareness and we will continue in our mission to help as many people through the power of dogs as soon as we are able. While many of our events and activities that raise vital funds for us have had to be postponed, there are lots of ways you can still get involved to help us, from taking a part in one of our Social Paws virtual events, making a donation online or simply by sharing our stories on social media. Your support is more vital to us than ever as we face a loss of fundraising income over the forthcoming months.
Further details:
Assistance Dog Partnerships and Teams
Puppy Socialisers
Temporary Boarders
Assistance Dog Partnerships and Teams information
With the potential impact of the spread of coronavirus (COVID19) increasing it is recognised that there are no guarantees that Dogs for Good will be able to visit you or look after your dog should you be in a situation of self-isolation.
As you will appreciate this is a pandemic virus and the facilities at Dogs for Good will be under an increased and unprecedented strain. To this end we may not be able to support you in our normal way or provide our existing services, including our normal home visits. Support is available, but it will be done through the most appropriate medium, for example, two way conversation i.e. telephone, video call etc.
If you are in self-isolation due to your age or because you are exhibiting symptoms, having your dog with you may well be beneficial to your wellbeing. For these reasons, and for the reasons explained in relation to the potential impact of reduced ability to provide services we would encourage you where possible to keep your dog with you.
We would strongly encourage you to be well prepared for a situation that may occur where you cannot leave your home for any reason in relation to the coronavirus outbreak.
We would again, strongly encourage you to have a well prepared and thought through plan. Here are some suggestions to begin the planning process:
- What do you have in place if you are taken into hospital? i.e. do you have a poster on the fridge or on the back of your front door with contact information of your support network or the Dogs for Good phone number. Click here to download a poster for our assistance dog partnerships and teams to use.
- In Case of Emergency (ICE) phone number in place on your mobile or landline phone.
- Contact your support network to ensure they are still able to help if needed? Do they have contact details for Dogs for Good?
- Have you considered the dogs’ welfare and wellbeing need?
- Food, water, relief area, exercise, toys and activities in the home etc.
If you do not have a support network at all and you live alone – Please let your Instructor know.
Puppy Socialisers Information
With the potential impact of the spread of coronavirus (COVID19) increasing it is recognised that there are no guarantees that Dogs for Good will be able to visit you or look after your puppy should you be in a situation of self-isolation.
As you will appreciate this is a pandemic virus and the facilities at Dogs for Good will be under an increased and unprecedented strain. To this end we may not be able to support you in our normal way or provide our existing services, including our normal home visits. Support is available, but it will be done through the most appropriate medium, for example, two way conversation i.e. telephone, video call etc.
We are aware that the level of socialisation your puppy will receive will be limited. Our Puppy Coordinators will be in contact with you to talk about other areas of socialisation you could follow with your pup from home. We want you all to be aware that it is more important to keep you and your puppy safe.
If you are reducing social contact by a process of isolation due to your age or in self-isolation because you are exhibiting symptoms, having your dog with you may well be beneficial to you and your dog. For these reasons, and for the reasons explained in relation to the potential impact of reduced ability to provide services, Dogs for Good would encourage you where possible to keep your dog with you.
So you are prepared for a situation that may occur where you cannot leave your home in relation to the coronavirus outbreak we would ask that you start to think about the following areas –
- What do you have in place if you are taken into hospital?
- Do you and your family have our Dogs for Good Emergency Number to keep us informed? 07766255948
- Before moving a puppy to a new home please contact your Coordinator.
- Have you considered the dog’s welfare and wellbeing needs? Food, water, relief area, exercise, toys and activities in the home etc
Additional
notes for those of you living alone.
- What do you have in place if you are taken into hospital? i.e. do you have a poster on the fridge or on the back of your front door with contact information of your support network or the Dogs for Good phone number. Click here to download a poster for our puppy volunteers
- In case of emergency (ICE) phone number stored on your mobile or landline phone.
- Contact your support network to ensure they are still able to help if needed? Do they have contact details for Dogs for Good?
- If your dog does need to be moved to one of your primary supports, don’t forget to notify Dogs for Good of that movement, via the emergency phone.
Temporary Boarders information
With the potential impact of the spread of coronavirus (COVID19) increasing it is recognised that there are no guarantees that Dogs for Good will be able to visit you or look after your dog or puppy should you be in a situation of self-isolation. As you will appreciate this is a pandemic virus and the facilities at Dogs for Good will be under an increased and unprecedented strain. To this end we may not be able to support you in our normal way or provide our existing services, including our normal home visits. Support is available, but it will be done through the most appropriate medium, for example, two way conversation i.e. telephone, video call etc.
If you are reducing social contact by a process of isolation due to your age or in self-isolation because you are exhibiting symptoms, having your dog with you may well be beneficial to your wellbeing. Research suggest that having your dog with you at times when you are under stress or unwell could provide you with additional benefits in relation to your health and wellbeing. For this reason, and for the reasons explained in relation to the potential impact of reduced ability to provide services, Dogs for Good would encourage you where possible to keep your dog with you.
So you are prepared for a situation that may occurs where you cannot leave your home, for any reason in relation to the corona virus outbreak we would ask that you start to think about the following areas –
- What do you have in place if you are taken into hospital?
- Do you and your family have Dogs for Good Emergency Number to keep us informed? 07766255948
- Have you considered the dog’s welfare and wellbeing need? Food, water, relief area, exercise, toys and activities in the home etc
For those of you living alone:
- What do you have in place if you are taken into hospital? i.e. do you have a poster on the fridge or on the back of your front door with contact information of your support network or Dogs for Good phone number. Click here to download a link to a poster for our boarder volunteers.
- ICE phone number in place on your mobile or landline phone.
- Contact your support network to ensure they are still able to help if needed? Do they have contact details for Dogs for Good? 07766 255948
- Have you considered the dogs’ welfare and wellbeing need?Food, water, relief area, exercise, toys and activities in the home etc