Volunteer for us image

Volunteer for us

Join our team of volunteers and make a difference for our animals, whether you can give a little or a lot

If you’re looking for volunteering in Bath, Trowbridge, Frome and surrounding areas, we’d love you to join our team at Bath Cats & Dogs Home.

Giving your time is a wonderful gift to us. Our volunteers are the heart of what we do – assisting staff at our rehoming centre, supporting our charity shops and representing us in our community. Whether it's getting stuck into our laundry or being in charge of a collection at an event, every hour you can give helps our cats and dogs in need.

Together, we can do the best for our animals and the charity.
 

Pictures of volunteers

 

Why volunteer for Bath Cats & Dogs Home?

For an idea of what it's like to volunteer for us, check out our Volunteer Spotlight blog posts.

» Read volunteering stories


Email alerts

Nothing suitable right now? You can sign up to our email newsletter, and in your preferences sign up for the extra volunteer bulletin emails when we have new vacancies. 

» Sign up to emails

 

Current volunteering vacancies

PLEASE NOTE We cannot offer year 10 work experience, Duke of Edinburgh placements or volunteering roles for under 18s.

Retail Assistant

Volunteer opportunities in our Charity Shops

Bath Cats & Dogs Home - George Street (Bath), Moorland Road (Bath), Trowbridge & Frome

We have fantastic volunteer opportunities across our charity shops, with flexible slots available on various days and times to suit everyone. Volunteering with us is a brilliant way to develop and expand your retail skills, gain valuable work experience for your CV, meet new people, and boost your confidence - all while making a meaningful difference to unwanted and abandoned animals in need.

Role Profile

Our shop volunteers play a vital part in the day to day running of our charity shops and help maximise sales to support Bath Cats & Dogs Home. Whether you enjoy being on the shop floor in a customer facing role or prefer helping behind the scenes, there are plenty of tasks to get involved with.

Your activities may include:

  • Assisting and serving customers at the till
  • Providing excellent customer service on the shop floor
  • Creating attractive displays and supporting visual merchandising
  • Receiving donations and promoting our Gift Aid scheme
  • General shop tasks such as tidying, cleaning, dusting, and hoovering

About You

You’ll be an enthusiastic individual who enjoys meeting new people and has a passion for animals and charity retail. We ask that you are friendly, well presented, reliable, trustworthy, and able to commit to regular hours each week.

Previous retail experience is welcome but not essential. Please note that some manual handling may be required as part of the role.

We provide full inperson training covering donation sorting, retail guidelines, and our waste management and recycling processes.


How to Apply

All volunteers must complete online Health & Safety training before starting. Due to insurance restrictions, volunteers must be 18 or over.

To apply, simply click the link below and complete the application form. If your application is suitable, we will invite you for a taster session in your preferred shop.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Angela Chapman, Head of People & Facilities:
angelachapman@bcdh.org.uk

Cat Fosterer

Could you be a cat foster volunteer?

Some cats find cattery life really tough - and a home environment can make all the difference, especially for kittens or nursing mums. That's where our foster volunteers come in.

We're looking for cat lovers within 30 minutes of Bath who have a spare room and time to give. No experience needed - we'll provide full training and support. We cover all costs: food, litter, bedding, toys and any medical care.

We welcome applications from all households - families, pet owners and adults-only homes alike.

 

Want to know more?

Read all about fostering on our dedicated fostering page »  Fostering with Bath Cats and Dogs Home

 

Ready to apply?

Complete the application form below and our Foster Coordinator Emma will be in touch.

Any questions? Our fostering page (link above) covers a lot of FAQS, or drop Emma a line at emmalangton@bcdh.org.uk

Dog or puppy fosterer

Why foster a dog or puppy?

Animal fostering is one of the most rewarding ways to help rescue pets in need.

Some of our rescue cats and dogs need a home environment for their best welfare at this time. As a fosterer, you'll be an amazing part of these animals' journey to a new home, fully supported by our experienced foster team.

 

Could you be a puppy or dog foster volunteer?

We're looking for dog lovers within 45 minutes of Bath who have time to give. No experience needed - we'll provide full training and support. We cover all costs: food, bedding, toys and any medical care.

We welcome applications from all households - families, pet owners - although we are particularly in need of adult-only pet-free homes.

It's a flexible commitment (from 6 weeks +). You can still go on holiday, and you can bring them back at any time if it just isn’t working out.

 

Want to know more?

Read all about fostering on our dedicated fostering page » Fostering with Bath Cats and Dogs Home

 

Ready to apply?

Complete the application form below and our Foster Coordinator Emma will be in touch.

Any questions? Our fostering page (link above) covers a lot of FAQS, or drop Emma a line at emmalangton@bcdh.org.uk

Adoption follow-up volunteer *NEW*

Bath Cats and Dogs Home transforms the lives of some of the most vulnerable animals from across the southwest, many of whom have been found abandoned, or rescued by the RSPCA. 

Once here, we carefully rehabilitate them until they’re strong enough to be rehomed.

But their journey doesn’t end when they leave here. Thanks to our amazing network of adopters, these cats and dogs get a second chance of a life full of love and adventure.
 

About the Role:

We contact each and every adopter three months into their time with their adopted cat or dog, to find out whether they need any support, and record their story.

This is a wonderful role that helps us gather some of our happiest stories – stories that bring a lot of joy to the team here and all our supporters and help to give prospective adopters a clear idea of what life is like with an adopted pet.

It also provides a helpful service to the adopter, giving them the chance to share any concerns – veterinary or behavioural – and put them in touch with the relevant experts.

As adoption follow up volunteer, you will liaise with adopters who are sharing updates of their cats and dogs. You’ll also pass on questions about any behaviour or health issues to our expert team and pass back their responses. And you’ll write up and share the whole update with the wider Bath Cats and Dogs team on our internal communications channels.

  • Reply to adopters when they submit their updates.
  • Forward queries to relevant teams (rehoming, behaviour or veterinary) and gather responses.
  • Write up the story, add photos, and update our internal team page.

The expected time commitment is around 2-3 hours per week working in the office with the communications and fundraising teams.

Skills requested:

  • Ability to write and edit clear, concise copy.
  • Confident in using email, social media and in handing digital image files.
  • Organised and methodical – to keep track of questions raises and ensure they receive timely responses.

How to Apply:

All Bath Cats and Dogs Home volunteers are required to complete online Health & Safety training prior to their start date. Due to insurance restrictions, all volunteers must be over the age of 18.

Click the link below to complete an application form. If you have any questions, feel free to contact janinekay@bcdh.org.uk 

 


Work for us

Foster an animal

Corporate volunteer days

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