Enjoy the latest Wag newsletter
Our Summer Wag newsletter is here, and it’s full of lovely stories from across our fantastic community. Inside, you can read about Kaz and Finn visiting Mrs B near Morpeth, meet volunteer Ria with Friendship Dog Oskar, and watch the moving short film of our friend Mrs Sheila W in Newcastle, who explains just how…
Wag awarded Mayor’s Opportunity Fund Grant
We are very grateful to have been awarded a grant of £9,620 by the Mayor’s Opportunity Fund. This will enable us to recruit and support 20 befriending Wag Teams matched to regularly visit 20 older dog lovers (65+) feeling isolated or alone in their own homes in rural and deprived areas of Northumberland and Tyne…
WATCH: You’re never alone when you’ve got a dog
In May, film-maker Morgan Stephenson volunteered to interview our dear friend Mrs Sheila W in her own home in Newcastle. Sheila wanted to tell everyone how important Wag’s special befrienders are for people like her who miss their pets and can’t have them anymore. As Sheila says: “You can be lonely in a crowded room,…
Volunteer profile: Ria and Friendship Dog Oskar
After losing her beloved dog Jasper in 2021, Ria welcomed Oskar into the family and soon realised his affectionate nature was too special not to share.
Ria and Oskar have been volunteering with Wag & Company since April, visiting two older ladies in their homes each week. Over tea and treats, they share stories, enjoy company and, of course, the warmth and happiness a dog can bring to their homes.
Older dog lovers in our region who need Wag friends!
Our volunteers are the beating heart of Wag, and by sharing their lovely dogs, they transform the lives of older dog lovers. All it takes is an hour or two most weeks.
We’re looking for new volunteers and their cuddly dogs in the following areas. Can you help?
10-Year Awards
We’re 10! It’s amazing how fast the years have gone! For the first few years, we were consumed with how Wag could work, how we would keep everyone safe, whether we could recruit enough new volunteers, what staff and technological skills we absolutely need and what could we afford and how we would raise the…
Recruiting a Visiting Services Advisor/Administrator
Could you be our new Visiting Services Advisor/Administrator in Hexham? Find out more and apply.
Older dog lovers in our region who need Wag friends!
Our volunteers are the beating heart of Wag, and by sharing their lovely dogs, they transform the lives of older dog lovers. All it takes is an hour or two most weeks.
We’re looking for new volunteers and their cuddly dogs in the following areas. Can you help?
Daisy Dog the Paediatric Rheumatology Therapy Dog!
Great North Children’s Hospital patients love Daisy, she makes them happy and so much more!
Older dog lovers in our region who need Wag friends!
Our volunteers are the beating heart of Wag, and by sharing their lovely dogs, they transform the lives of older dog lovers. All it takes is an hour or two most weeks.
We’re looking for new volunteers and their cuddly dogs in the following areas. Can you help?
Another great year for Wag & Company!
With your help we’re celebrating another great year 2025/26, supporting more older people than ever before. We’re reflecting on another big year for us all in Wag, ending on 31st March 2026 with 474 volunteer Wag Teams, ✨ 536 in total were supported during the year, you’ve all made 51,973 individual visits to older dog lovers, a staggering 220,649 since we started…
New Trustee and IT Director, Keira Hall
Keira Hall joins Wag & Company as its new IT Director and Trustee, bringing with her eight years of experience as a Solutions Architect at Waterstons, where she has worked extensively across mergers and acquisitions and built trusted relationships with organisations across the globe. Her work has taken her across different time zones, cultures, and…
Older dog lovers in our region who need Wag friends!
Our volunteers are the beating heart of Wag, and by sharing their lovely dogs, they transform the lives of older dog lovers. All it takes is an hour or two most weeks.
We’re looking for new volunteers and their cuddly dogs in the following areas. Can you help?
Volunteer profile: Louise and Friendship Dog Bronte
After a lifesaving heart transplant 10 years ago at the Freeman Hospital, Louise made a promise to herself that she would give something back.
“After being given a second chance at life, being able to use it to bring comfort, companionship and connection to others feels like the most meaningful way I could possibly say thank you.”
Now Lou not only visits with her lovely Friendship Dog Bronte, but she also uses her dog training skills to assess new Friendship Dogs for others.
Older dog lovers in our region who need Wag friends!
Our volunteers are the beating heart of Wag, and by sharing their lovely dogs, they transform the lives of older dog lovers. All it takes is an hour or two most weeks.
We’re looking for new volunteers and their cuddly dogs in the following areas. Can you help?
Hazel and Friendship Dog Lukah visit Mrs L in Middlesborough
Mrs L is 97 and lives alone. She lost her husband some years ago, and their son lives in Australia. Mrs L can’t get on her own now, so she spends a great deal of time on her own, and she can feel quite isolated. Mrs L absolutely loves dogs and misses them terribly. Up until…
Kathryn and Friendship Dog Sprocket visit Mrs H in Newcastle
Mrs H is 79 and lives alone now in extra care housing since losing her beloved husband. They always had a dog in their lives – various breeds – but for health reasons, Mrs H can’t have a dog of her own now and she really misses them. She had also been spending a lot of time…
Kaz and Friendship Dog Finn visit Mrs B near Morpeth
Mrs B, 74, and her husband are old friends of Wag. They live in Morpeth, and they have both had significant health challenges over the last few years. This has resulted in them no longer being able to have a dog of their own any more, having always had one, and also spending more time inside…
Clare and Friendship Dog Leonard visit Miss C in Morpeth
Ms C, 86, lives alone after her own dear Bichon Frisé, Twinkle, passed away last year. She has really missed her and having someone to look after, as well as the general noise of having a dog sharing her home. Ms C was referred to Wag firstly of course because she loves dogs and she was…
Faye and Friendship Dog Benito visit Mrs E in County Durham
Mrs E is 89. She lost her husband some years ago and lived in her own home on her own near Consett originally when Benito the Kokoni and ‘mum’ Faye started visiting nearly a year ago. Mrs E and her husband always had dogs, but now Mrs E can’t have one of her own, the…
Anita and Friendship Dog Harry visit Mr P in Sunderland
Mr P is 86. He lives alone in Sunderland since he lost his wife just eighteen months ago. Friendship Dog Harry the Labrador and ‘mum’ Anita originally started visiting both Mr and Mrs P in 2023; they’d had Labradors throughout their lives, but could no longer have a dog of their own. They immediately loved their…
Elle and Friendship Dog Willow visit Miss B in Newcastle
Miss B is 82, and she lives in a residential home in Newcastle. She always had dogs, typically Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Yorkshire Terriers, but after she lost her last beloved Cavalier 8 years ago, for health reasons, it was no longer possible to have one of her own. Miss B used to do…
Chloe and Friendship Dog Evelyn visit Mrs A in Durham
Mrs A is 81, she lives alone after sadly losing her husband on Christmas Day last year. They’d always had dogs throughout their lives, Labradors, Spaniels, Collies and a Staffy, and although Mrs A would love to have another dog, she couldn’t have one now. She has photos all over her home of all her…
Terry and Friendship Dog Bruno visit Mr D in Newcastle
Mr D is 71, he lives alone in Assisted Living in North Tyneside with some difficult health issues. In fact, when we took these photos, he’d just been discharged from the hospital. He very sadly lost his partner of 17 years last year and his dog Poppy, a 17-year-old Patterdale Terrier, last Christmas Eve, so…
Sue and Friendship Dog Hector visit Mrs D in North Tyneside
Mrs D is 95, she lost her beloved husband 10 years ago, and she’s lived alone ever since. With no family close by and some difficult health problems to manage, she had become quite isolated and low. Mrs D and her husband always had dogs, always Corgis, and they were all girls and all called…
Jan and Friendship Dog Teddy visit Mrs W in Newcastle
Mrs W is 86 and lives alone after losing her husband some years ago. She has lots of family close by who visit regularly, and she has some significant health challenges, which she manages with lots of humour despite being attached to oxygen around the clock. She and her husband always loved dogs and had…
Janet and Friendship Dog Islay visit Mr & Mrs C in Stockton on Tees
Janet and lovely Border Terrier Islay started visiting Mr and Mrs C in their own home last year. They had had dogs all their lives, but for health reasons, it just wasn’t possible to have one of their own again. The original referral from Stockton Borough Council told us that Mr C absolutely loves dogs and…
Sharon and Friendship Dog Mabel visit Mrs B in Newcastle upon Tyne
Mrs B is 84 and was sadly widowed a few short years ago. She lives alone in her own home now, but due to her health problems, she can’t leave the house without support, which leaves her feeling incredibly isolated, especially in the winter. Mrs B has had dogs all her life and really misses having…
Catherine and Friendship Dog Dotty visit Mrs D in Stockton on Tees
Mrs D, 78, is a widow and lives on her own in Stockton-on-Tees. She has had dogs all her life, but because of her difficult mobility issues, she can’t have a dog of her own. After her husband died, she found herself feeling increasingly lonely and isolated in her flat. Those feelings are thankfully now very much…
Helen and Friendship Dog Shelby visit Mrs A in Whitley Bay
Mrs A is a widow and lives alone in her own home on the Northumberland coast. She lost her beloved Westie “Barney”, less than a year ago, and she really misses him – in fact, she’s never lived in a house without a dog, so it’s very hard not having the patter of furry feet…