Thomas is a 15-year old from Kirkwall who has recently been awarded a 100 hour Saltire Awards for volunteering.
Thomas has been volunteering at The Loving Homes Dog Rescue animal shelter in Holm since November 2020 for two or three afternoons a week. Each visit consists of an hour and a half with one of the dogs, taking them for walks and grooming them.
Thomas said that he feels that his confidence has grown over the time that he has been volunteering and he has really enjoyed it. He likes all of the dogs, but his favourite is a labrador/staffy cross called April, and they have grown to love him as much as he loves them – they sit and wait for him to arrive each day!
Chris Dannan, a trustee at Loving Homes Dog Rescue said “Thomas has been fantastic in his time volunteering here at Loving Homes Dog Rescue, rain or shine, he took his allocated dogs out and was very keen to learn about the dogs here. Really hope he will be able to come back at some point, we will miss him and April and Buddy certainly will, they struck up a real bond with him. Thank you Thomas, and congratulations on your award, brilliant achievement!”
If you are aged between 12 and 25 years old and are interested in volunteering, please get in touch with the Youth Development workers by emailing volunteering@vaorkney.org.uk
