DogLost simply wouldn’t be able to provide its unchallenged service to owners without the undying commitment of its volunteer network across the country.

From putting up posters and sharing across social networks to providing valuable advice, amassing intelligence and working with the police and other agencies, our volunteers are committed to helping dogs.

We have a network of volunteer co-ordinators supported by additional volunteers in each area. They are the people who support owners by offering advice, organising searches and where necessary, providing a shoulder to cry on.

DogLost also has a dedicated social media team whose role is to run our 40 or so Facebook groups in conjunction with local teams.

At head office level we have a wide range of volunteers working on anything from administration to fundraising and keeping the vast DogLost operation running smoothly.

Our volunteers receive training and support and will provide you with essential skills to help you get into work or provide a satisfying volunteering experience during retirement.

Current DogLost volunteering opportunities:

Area Volunteers

If you have a love of animals and the desire to help dogs be reunited with their owners then volunteering, as an Area volunteer will be a rewarding challenge. You will probably be the first point of contact for an owner.

Our Area Volunteers have good local knowledge and will be trained in the procedures of finding missing dogs. You will build up a network of contacts such as police stations, kennels, dog wardens, dog walkers etc. It is likely that you are already a DogLost helper.

Reporting to an Area Co-ordinator, you may also need to update dog registration details. You will be party to confidential information and must remember confidentiality at all times.

If you think you have what it takes, please contact volunteer@doglost.co.uk

Volunteer co-ordinator

If you have recently retired from a job where you were managing volunteers, then your experience could benefit DogLost.

We have grown to a position where we have more than 120 badged volunteers working in the field and in a variety of functions across administration, fundraising and PR.

If you are someone who can manage the volunteering function, ensure that our volunteers are supported and be responsible for recruiting more people then we would love to hear from you.

Whilst a love of animals would be terrific, organisational and people skills are far more important.

Please send your CV to volunteer@doglost.co.uk

PR/press intern

If you are in your last year at university – or have recently left – and want to gain a raft of experience working in a fast moving environment then a three month stint with DogLost will be rewarding and benefit your CV.

You should be able to identify good stories and write them up succinctly for a variety of channels and liaise with the media where necessary.

Working remotely, you will be in daily contact with other members of the DogLost team and there will be opportunities to get involved with fundraising, event planning and product launches.

Knowing a Poodle from a Pomeranian will be a bonus !

Please send your CV to volunteer@doglost.co.uk

Social Media Team members

You will live locally and work alongside the Area Co-ordinator and Volunteers in running one of our forty plus Facebook groups.

Ideally you will have been a member of Facebook for a while, but that is not as important as keeping the group up to date and acting as an important link between the website and our membership.

You will be expected to add new members, spot a spammer at 50 paces and get out important DogLost messages from the PR team.

This is an ideal volunteering opportunity for people who may be tied to the house, but enjoy communicating online.

We are also looking for one or two people to join our Twitter team.

If you think you have what it takes, please contact volunteer@doglost.co.uk

Now in its fourth year, Pet Theft Awareness Week will be promoting the use of technology in helping to prevent pet theft and to find stolen pets.

In particular, dog theft is increasing 14% year on year, and the authorities continue to defy public opinion to introduce stiffer penalties, so prevention awareness is becoming more and more important.

Pet Theft Awareness and DogLost are members of SAMPA, the Stolen and Missing Pet Alliance, and in June 2014 the Alliance submitted a recommendation to the Sentencing Council that a pet be categorised as ‘theft of a pet’ and that there be a difference between an inanimate object and a valued living possession. SAMPA also requested that working within the existing framework, a custodial sentence of a minimum of six weeks could be introduced.

The new Sentencing Council guidelines were introduced on 1^stFebruary this year and SAMPA is very disappointed that its recommendations were not accepted and the status quo remains.

Nik Oakley, spokesperson for SAMPA and DogLost said, “In spite of much lobbying, and intervention by Neil Parish MP, past Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, we were unable to persuade the Justices to accept our point of view. We will continue our fight and were delighted that the matter was brought to the House of Commons last week by Gareth Johnson MP”

Using social media and a series of graphics this week, Pet Theft Awareness will be highlighting the need for pet owners to be vigilant and install some inexpensive but efficient equipment to help keep an eye on their animals.

“While we wait for tougher penalties,”says Richard Jordan of VioVet and co founder of Pet Theft Awareness, “we are urging pet owners to use all the technology that is available to them as the onus remains firmly with them to protect their pets”.