Volunteer for us
Join our team of volunteers and make a difference for our animals, whether you can give a little or a lot
If you’re looking for volunteering in Bath, we’d love you to join our team at Bath Cats & Dogs Home.
Giving your time is a wonderful gift to us. Our volunteers are the heart of what we do – assisting staff at our rehoming centre, supporting our charity shops and representing us in our community. Whether it's getting stuck into our laundry or being in charge of a collection at an event, every hour you can give helps our cats and dogs in need.
Together, we can do the best for our animals and the charity.
Why volunteer for Bath Cats & Dogs Home?
For an idea of what it's like to volunteer for us, check out our Volunteer Spotlight blog posts.
Current volunteering vacancies
PLEASE NOTE We cannot offer year 10 work experience, Duke of Edinburgh placements or volunteering roles for under 18s.
The Together Project
Established in 2018, the Together Project is a community outreach project delivered by a team of volunteer vets and non-clinical volunteers to provide non-judgmental veterinary advice, treatment and care to the pets of vulnerably housed and homeless people in Bath. Working in partnership with local homeless charities Julian House and Genesis Trust, the team understands the strong bond between an owner and a pet, and that for many, a pet can be a lifeline, so they aim to do whatever they can to keep these beloved pets together with their owners.
We are seeking kind, empathetic and understanding volunteers to join our award-winning Together Project team and would love to hear from vets and vet nurses (RVN) interested in joining the project.
About the Role
Currently the Together Project team runs one clinic per month at Genesis on the Canal in Widcombe on a Friday morning. As our clinic has steadily become busier in recent months, we aim to help more pets by offering a second clinic at the Julian House day centre drop in session on Tuesdays at the Salvation Army in Bath. However, we need more volunteers to make this happen! We are particularly interested to hear from vets and nurses available on Tuesdays 11am-1pm.
During a clinic, volunteers will:
- Earn trust from people in marginalised communities by demonstrating true care for their pets
- Register new service users and encourage their attendance at monthly clinics, promoting responsible pet ownership regardless of living situation
- Catch up with service users and their pets, building relationships and ensuring consistency of treatment where possible
- Provide preventative treatment such as vaccinations and parasite treatment
- Provide treatment for illness and injury, as well as emergency intervention when necessary
- Act as ambassadors for the project and Bath Cats & Dogs Home
About You
We would love to hear from vets and vet nurses who can give 2 hours every other month to support the Together Project. You will need to be outgoing, approachable and have an understanding nature as trust from Together Project service users is hard-won and not guaranteed.
This is an exciting opportunity for vets and vet nurses interested in applying their knowledge and experience to an outreach programme aiming to improve the lives of marginalised people and empowering them to best care for their beloved pets. Taking your clinical knowledge out of the practice and into the community, you will be reaching out to people who love their pets wholeheartedly but may not feel able to ask for help.
How to Apply
All staff and volunteers are required to complete online Health & Safety training prior to their start date. Vets and nurses will need to have clinical insurance provided by their employer. Due to insurance restrictions, we can only take on volunteers over the age of 18.
Click the link below to complete an application form. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Hayley Crymble, Education & Outreach Manager, at hayleycrymble@bcdh.org.uk
Fostering provides respite to dogs struggling with kennel life, as well as enabling puppies to spend important developmental stages in a home environment. In line with our ongoing work to deliver gold-standard welfare to the animals in our care, we are currently in need of dog fosterers who match the below criteria:
- Pet free home
- A secure garden
- Adult home only (or Children above 14 years old)
Please note, we have plenty of dog foster homes who have children and other pets – we appreciate your enthusiasm but we cannot process any applications outside of this criteria at the moment.
Role Profile
The purpose of a fosterer is to provide safe and loving care in their own home to their foster animals adhering to Bath Cats & Dogs Home’s guidance and processes. You will be an important factor in your foster dog or puppy’s rehabilitation, socialisation, and rehoming journey. All costs are covered by Bath Cats & Dogs Home, foster animals will be provided with food, bedding, toys and any medication required.
As a volunteer fosterer, you will:
- Provide a safe and loving home for your foster dog or puppy for an agreed time period.
- Take care of their daily needs including feeding them, cleaning their living area, spending time with them to improve their socialisation and for those who need it, grooming.
- For dogs or puppies with ongoing medical conditions, administer their medication or provide any extra care they may need.
- Bring them to our on-site vet suite for vet appointments.
- Keep in regular contact with our Foster Coordinator to provide updates on their progress, submit behavioural assessments and send us photos to support the Rehoming Team to find your foster dog or puppy’s forever home.
- Bring them to the Home for scheduled rehoming appointments.
About You
Previous experience of owning or fostering a large breed dog or a dog with challenging behaviour is desirable. A large and secure private garden is essential. We are interested in speaking to potential fosterers who either own their own home or have permission from their landlord to keep pets. It is essential that you have a valid driver’s licence and access to a car to foster a dog or puppy. As you will need to visit us on a regular basis for appointments, and we are unfortunately unable to reimburse travel costs, potential fosterers should live within a 30-minute drive to Bath Cats & Dogs Home.
If you are an animal lover who has the time to give a dog that is struggling with kennel life, a nursing mum and her puppies, or a dog with medical issues who is waiting for their forever home, then we would love to hear from you!
We want to set you up for success and introduce you to fellow volunteer fosterers who can share their knowledge and experience with you. Therefore, we will host monthly training inductions for new dog fosterers.
How to Apply
All staff and volunteers are required to complete online Health & Safety training prior to their start date. Due to insurance restrictions, we can only take on volunteers over the age of 18.
Click on the link below complete the application form. If we feel that you are suitable for this role, you will then be contacted by our Foster Coordinator for a more detailed discussion of the role responsibilities.