Visiting Wag Team Carol, David and Poppy Twiby visit Mr & Mrs M in Middlesbrough

Carol and David joined Wag in early 2018 with Friendship Dog Harvey, closely followed by Friendship Dog Oakley. Throughout their time volunteering with Wag, they’ve visited three care homes, and Carol also visited a lady in her own home who became a very special friend.

When Carol and David sadly lost their Harvey and then Oakley, they weren’t sure they would be getting another dog – that was until they met Poppy! They were introduced to beautiful Sprocker Spaniel Poppy through their volunteering for another charity; this time, their volunteering involves walking dogs waiting to be rehomed. As soon as they met Poppy, it was love at first sight, and she quickly became a Twiby. Then, once Poppy had been with them for six months, following in the footsteps of Harvey and Oakley before her, Carol and David took her along to be assessed for Wag, and of course, Poppy passed with flying colours!

We chatted to Carol and David about where they would like to visit and found what they would later describe as their perfect match.

Mrs Jean M was referred to Wag because, along with her husband Ian, she always loved dogs. They also used to volunteer to walk dogs at their local dog kennels. We were told that Jean loves talking about dogs; she misses them terribly, and everyone noticed that talking about them made her smile. Jean kept asking for a dog to visit her, and she said it would make her day.

Enter Poppy Twiby! The first visit was a roaring success, with Poppy staying close to Jean throughout, enjoying belly rubs and making herself at home straight away. Everyone immediately hit it off, and they planned in their regular visits.

Carol told us they couldn’t be happier and have made lovely friends in Jean and Ian. They already feel like family; they’re always made so welcome, and the visits are really special for all of them.

Jean’s daughter, Elspeth, told us: “The visits are absolutely amazing, so amazing. Poppy is so lovely, and her humans are lovely too; the joy they bring to Mum, Dad (and me) is really great. They’re all friends now, and I can’t thank Wag enough for all the effort. Mum really looks forward to the visits, and we’re all so pleased with everything”.

It’s always so wonderful to hear how much of a difference our Visiting Wag Teams make and how great an experience it is for them, too.