Assisting Cumbria's Children's Fostering Service

18th November 2019

Recently Oak Tree was contacted by the local adoption service enquiring about any assistance we could provide to help them advise dog owners looking to adopt a child. We were more than happy to help! Our Canine Behaviour and Training Advisor, Gemma, collated all of their current materials and looked at their systems to see how we could combine our two practices. A meeting between the adoption team and Gemma and Community Engagement Supervisor Becky gave an opportunity for Oak Tree to present how our adoption practices and protocols for children and dogs could be incorporated into the adoption team's current procedures.

The discussion proved insightful for both teams, highlighting considerations for assessing dogs, training the dog has or may need and advising dog owners on where best to seek advice.

Rehoming children and dogs together can be one of the most rewarding placements, but there are many aspects to consider. We hope that by creating a better system for both children and dogs, many more will be placed in happy homes. We look forward to the development of this collaboration.