Glossop volunteer celebrates a decade of helping rescue dogs find their happy place in their forever homes

A dog lover has topped ten years of volunteering at Dogs Trust Manchester having walked thousands of miles with four-legged friends, cleaned hundreds of kennels and washed thousands of towels and dog beds. 

Michelle Woolhead, who lives in Glossop, joined the team at the Denton rehoming centre within weeks of it opening and now, more than 2,350 hours of volunteering later, she says she can’t imagine life without it. 

Michelle says: “I can’t believe it’s been ten years. Being part of the team is fantastic. I still remember the day I saw the advert. My cats had come from the RSPCA via My Pet Stop, which was on the site before Dogs Trust redeveloped it, and I had adopted one of my dogs from Dogs Trust so I just decided to apply. 

“I’ve never looked back! I go in every Saturday and do whatever needs doing. I’ve had fantastic training which means I can work with dogs that might need that bit of extra help or benefit from having a great day out. It is particularly special helping the long-term dogs and giving them lots of love and attention. When they finally find a new home, it’s wonderful.” 

Dogs Trust Manchester, on Parkway, looks after around 80 dogs every day of the year, and a team of more than 30 volunteers works alongside staff to make sure the dogs have everything they need whilst they are waiting to find their special someone. 

Kerry Gormley, Volunteer Co-ordinator, says: “Our volunteers mean the world to us. Every hour they spend with us means the dogs are getting an extra hour of time either from the volunteer, or because it’s freeing up a member of staff.  

“Michelle is brilliant and it’s lovely to be able to celebrate her volunteering with us for ten years. Here’s to the next ten!” 

Michelle, who has two rescue dogs of her own, Border Collie Crosses Barney and Ozzie, who she adopted from Dogs Trust, says she would encourage anyone who loves dogs to become a volunteer. 

She added: “It’s so rewarding and the support you get so that you can do as much as possible to help the dogs, is brilliant. I understand dogs so much more now, and that means I can support them even more at what can be a really difficult time for them. 

“The love and care the dogs are shown by all the team is incredible and to be part of that is lovely. I really can’t imagine life without it.” 

To find out more about volunteering at Dogs Trust Manchester, please visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/manchester