Duke of Edinburgh Scheme
26. February 2012 von matthew
Alex, Andreas, Martha, Katerina & Evenguina
This group of extraordinary young adults are to be admired in every way. They have been volunteering at the shelter for the past 4 months as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme. They have joined in with all aspects of shelter life. Cleaning bed, bowls, walking dogs, grooming dogs, socialising puppies, cleaning the pens in the main enclosure, photographing our dogs for the website, medical health checks, essential administration, assisting with medications and many many other things.
They have each chosen a dog to treat as their own while at the shelter, they spend time with this dog, they have been training their dog basic commands, walking it, grooming it and doing medical health checks on it. Katerina & Eugenia have been very lucky as 3 dogs they have chosen between them have been re-homed: Aris, Selena and Chester. Bravo Girls!
Katerina & Eugenia also made a leaflet promoting the sanctuary as part of an English project. This leaflet was so well done that we are planning to have 15,000 printed and distributed throughout Limassol. Watch out for these in your post box!
Alex has completed his time with required voluntary time but he continues to come every week. His chosen dog is Guiness. Alex’s family come and walk 3 dogs every Sunday, Wanda, Moesha and Chappy who they take to the beach, these dogs run off lead, re-call and have learnt basic commands. Alex is confident handling big dogs and has a very gentle, patient approach to nervous and shy dogs. He is an asset.
Martha & Andreas are 2 of our quieter young adults but they do know how to graft! They are not afraid of getting dirty and are happy to do any job you set them. Andrea’s dog Hugo has managed to find a home. Martha’s dog Trip is still at the shelter and he loves to see her as she brings him treats. Martha’s mum hold’s events in order to raise money for Sirius and Martha is always there to help. Andreas is our oldest Duke of Edinburgh Volunteer and takes instruction well, he knows how to ask for help, he shows initiative and always has a friendly positive attitude.
Skevi, Andreana, Panyotas, Andreas, Savvas, Gorja are Sirius dog sanctuary budding photographers, every week spending time bringing dogs out from the shelter, walking them grooming them and then getting amazing and comical photos of our dogs, they have learn this is a job role that takes time, patience and team work. This job can never be achieved sole, but working as a team the guys have been able to get some of the best photos Sirius have produced, to keep our website up to date and current.
They document all dogs they photograph and also make a note of the dogs description and id details, so this can be added to the website when the photos are uploaded at a later date.
They have to be very organized and give the job their full concentration, using their imagination to come up with interesting poses, it’s difficult to get a trained dog to pose never mind a shelter dog, but these duke of Edinburgh kids get great photos week after week.
Dogs are re-homed on the basis of these photos and they have had a number of success stories so far they should all be very proud of
These young adults give their free time while still going to school 5 days a week to spend time with our Sirius dogs. They all have their different skills and qualities which complement each other well as part of a team as that’s what Sirius is – A Team.
We are all very proud to say that Alex, Martha, Katerina, Andreas, Eugenia, Skevi, Andreana, Panyotas, Andreas, Savvas, Gorja are Sirius volunteers, they are also our future to which we should be thankful.
Egor
Egor is a 9 year old Russian boy who has been coming to Sirius for around 3 months now. He has chosen Tash as ‘his’ dog who he send time every weekend, sometimes twice a weekend. He comes with his Mum and spends hours walking with Tash. Tash walks off the lead for him, they lie in the sun, Tash get special food cooked by Egor’s mum and you have never seen such an amazing connection between a boy and a dog before. Egor’s dad is highly allergic to dogs and this is why he cannot have one at home so he has chosen to spend his time and his pocket money on and with Tash. Egor’s love and dedication to his dog is a tribute for all to see. Egor has changed Tash’s life and she has changed his – taking a dog home isn’t the be all and end all, Egor has shown us that. We thank you Egor from all at Sirius and from Tash. Xx
Sophie previously earned her Duke of Edinburgh hours at Sirius, after completing her Duke of Edinburgh, Sophie continues to dedicate her free time to the shelter, learning animal welfare, aging of dogs, and basic dog health checks, Sophie is a trusted member of the Sirius weekend team , Sophie recently completed a walk of Kilimanjaro and the money raised Sophie donated to Sirius
Emily is another one of our younger volunteers, who came to visit the shelter one Saturday and now regular helps out on Saturdays and Sundays, a dab hand at resetting the rooms, setting up lunch for our pups and young dogs, socializing our puppies and often translating from English to Greek to help with adoptions, Emily family used to drive Emily every weekend, until she recently passed her driving test, well done Emily!
We would be lost at a weekend without our young volunteers to them and their parents who drive them each week we say Thank You.
If anyone else would like to get in touch about volunteering at Sirius feel free to visit us and find out all about us