Oxfordshire couple foster 60th dog
Rob Acreman and his wife Bev from Burford are sharing their story on Blue Cross Volunteers’ Week.
Last updated 4th Jun 2024
An Oxfordshire couple has just fostered their 60th dog as the Blue Cross issues a thanks to it's volunteer pet foster carers on volunteer week.
Rob Acreman and his wife Bev, have adopted 60 dogs since 2017 including one dog for seven months during lockdown.
The couple have had Bailey the 3 year old Cavalier King Charles spaniel for the last couple of weeks and he was officially listed for adoption yesterday.
This Volunteers’ Week (3 – 9 June), National pet charity Blue Cross is thanking it's dedicated volunteer pet foster carers across the UK who go the extra mile to care for homeless pets.
Speaking about the fostering process Rob said: "Once their assessed you get a call asking if you'd be wiling to come in and look after the dogs, and the time really varies sometimes you have them for a few days and sometimes it's a couple of weeks.
"What you need with this is love, patience and routine, that's what the dog needs.
"It does a great deal of good for the dog and it puts them in the best possible light when they come back to meet potential new owners.
"The real joy comes, knowing that once you've fostered that dog it's moving on to a permanent home, a forever home."
With increasing demand for pet welfare services, the charity is calling on animal lovers to come forward and foster care for their furry and non-furry friends as the charity aims to rehome 10,000 pets per year by 2026.
The urge also comes as numbers of volunteers have dropped in recent years, with around 5000 pre-covid on the books and now down to 2700.
It's not just dogs either, fostering ranges from small animals like degus and chinchillas to dogs, cats and even horses, with people giving up their time for free to care for pets until permanent owners are found for them.