Staff from the Plymouth office at TH March spent their day volunteering at Woodside Animal Welfare Trust in Elfordleigh, Plymouth. The team helped with daily tasks, such as walking the dogs, animal enrichment and helping to clean the facilities. The animal centre was established after 1981 as a spaying and neutering program, then after being funded by the RSPCA, started housing animals.
Today they house cats and dogs, and other animals such as rats, tortoises, guinea pigs, and even Dartmoor ponies! As well as rehoming animals, they also have permanent resident animals who are too old or physically or mentally unable to be rehomed, such cats who are allowed to come and go as they please, pigs, ponies and a goat called Jean Paul Gaultier!
As you can imagine, this facility’s upkeep is dependent on willing volunteers, fundraisers and other charitable assistance, which is why TH March Plymouth have organised for volunteering staff to go out in waves to help at Woodside over the next few months – this current group being the first to go out and test the waters.
“We had an excellent day volunteering at Woodside. We were given a timetable of activities which ranged from dog walking, cat and dog enrichment, cage/ cattery cleaning and yard work. I enjoyed interacting with the animals and staff at Woodside and was surprised to see not just cats and dogs but goats, cockerels, Dartmoor ponies, tortoises, rats and guinea pigs. The staff and volunteers do an outstanding job. I enjoyed looking around the ‘resident’ cat pens, which are older cats who reside at Woodside and can come and go as they wish during the day with their pens open, then kept safe indoors at nighttime. I also saw a rat being re-homed whilst cleaning some cages which was lovely to see. The grounds are well kept with lots of fields to walk the dogs and the local woods are also used. I would most definitely volunteer here again if given the opportunity.”
Lisa Elliot
“My volunteering day at Woodside was both eye opening and extremely rewarding. I have such respect for the full time Woodside staff, who daily undertake a shattering job both physically and mentally”
Kirsty Davies
“I really enjoyed the experience of helping our local animal charity and seeing how hard they work on a day-to-day basis. Our day with the charity was very varied – from cleaning dog kennels to cuddles with the animals. My favourite part of the day was walking some lovely dogs, two of which were called Magic and Jet. Both were very happy lovely boys, who you could tell are very well cared for whilst staying with the charity. “
Issy
“It was a lovely day. The Staff were very friendly and made us feel welcome. The animals are well looked after. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. There were a lot of staff and volunteers working. I really enjoyed walking the dogs, that was my favourite part of the day.”
Chris
Thanks, everyone who volunteered, for donating your precious time to this worthy cause, and doing TH March proud!