Meet the Volunteer: Barbara and Clive
1st to 7th June Volunteer Appreciation Week!
2nd June 2023
Who?
Barbara and Clive have two married daughters, one lives in Glasgow and the other in Manchester for this reason they decided to move from Wigan to Carlisle in 2020, so they were located between the 2 areas.
Barbara is a retired Nurse and Bed Manager and Clive was a Detective with Greater Manchester Police; both important and stressful jobs so they agreed that it was time for a change. Barbara stuck a pin in the map and Carlisle won!
They both love animals and are also involved in Bassett Hound Rescue and Welfare. They currently have three Bassett Hounds and have had rescue dogs throughout their married lives. They have also fostered dogs, successfully re-homing them. However, when one of their foster dog’s adoption fell through, they had already fallen in love with him and he’d bonded with their other dogs so decided he should have his forever home with them.
What?
Barbara joined Oak Tree before Clive and was previously involved in walking dogs, being part of the donation-sorting team and is now an Events Volunteer, manning stalls in places such as Talkin Village near Brampton and Hammond’s Park in Carlisle. They were short of help on one occasion and Clive stepped forward and he’s been helping ever since!
In her Bassett Hound capacity, Barbara makes home visits advising families on behaviour management and care of their dogs as well as being involved in re-homing. Both Barbara and Clive are involved in Waddle – Walk with a Bassett Hound – in areas as diverse as Talkin Tarn and Burnley.
Their primary work with Oak Tree is manning the stalls, which is usually from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm. but flexible enough to allow them to show their dogs and get involved in other ways.
Why?
Both Barbara and Clive are devoted to the care and wellbeing of their Bassett Hounds and this extends to other dogs supported by Oak Tree. When they moved to Carlisle Barbara looked online to see what was available in the area and found Oak Tree. She was willing to help in any way she could and during lockdown Barbara painted the tea rooms in lovely contrasting pastel shades.
Both Barbara and Clive think the most rewarding aspect of volunteering is when a dog is successfully homed. “It’s very satisfying,” said Barbara, “if you can just help one person, one animal and make a difference, it’s very rewarding”. On a personal level, they were pleased and delighted when their lovely Bassett Hound, Beattie, won the ‘Golden Oldie’ competition at Hammond’s!
Their love of animals and wanting to help keeps them coming back to Oak Tree. They think it’s a good organisation which does wonderful work. They feel privileged to be part of it.
