Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
27 May 2025
Reply rate
89.1 %
Usually responds within 17 days
Feedback
55
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
PLEASE NOTE: WE ONLY TAKE VOLUNTEERS FOR MINIMUM 1 MONTH STAY — the work is pretty easy, but physical, and it takes a little while to get to know all 72 dogs, which is an essential part of the work 🤩 We have a strong sense of commitment to looking after our dogs and please ensure you read what volunteering with us entails and ask any questions that you might have. Please also be aware that as we have limited space for volunteers, it takes time and effort to get organised !
Our rescue journey started in 2019 in Turkey, when we set up and established our street dog rescue sanctuary on the south west coast of Turkey . Since then we have rescued and rehomed nearly 500 dogs and our time in Turkey came to an end in 2023 and we are now in Italy, where a small sanctuary has now been established to further continue our work with dogs 🐾
We have around 72 dogs in total and the focus is on their well-being and enrichment and of course to find them their own furever families across Europe and the U.K. 🤩
We are located in Lazio Province, close to the historic town of Cassino, an area rich in history and of course the famous Italian culture with its warmth and welcoming people 🤩
We are about an hour from both Rome and Naples and only 3 hours from the Adriatic coast. Surrounded by nature and beautiful mountains the sanctuary has the most amazing setting !
We have welcomed a huge international group of workaway volunteers in Turkey and this continues in Italy. 🤩
Our main language is English, but German is also spoken and we are more than happy to assist in helping improve anyone’s English language 😅
If you are crazy about dogs and love slobbery kisses and cuddles every day then please come to volunteer with us 🤩Our dogs are active and you will need to be prepared to be jumped on (with love of course !), you will get dirty and no fancy clothes needed, the dogs are really not bothered about fashion !!! As you can imagine with 72 dogs, its not a silent retreat !!, they can be noisy, and they are very good at singing at some random times of the day, so it may take a few days to acclimatize, but they also like their sleep and usually nights are quiet.
Some of the work is physical, in regards maintaining the cleanliness of the doggy enclosures (all our dogs live in packs ranging from 2 to 5 dogs, there are no kennels here !) and dealing with our compost system.
We will be very happy to host those with a broad skill set as there is also some decorating and diy needed, those handy in these areas will be more than welcome 🤩
We have ample space for van lifers
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Pets
Vegetarian or vegan
Charity work
Plant care
Gardening
Cooking & food
Animals
Nature
Hiking
Outdoor activities
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
This part of Italy is hugely historic and has the fabulous MonteCassino perched on the top of the hill … a working monestary well worth a visit ! Rome and Naples are just a hour away and there is a great train service from Cassino … it’s difficult to find any cultural chasms in Italy !! There is an amazing cafe street culture and of course amazing local produce to sample !!
Sara loves cooking and is always keen on making new dishes– if you like cooking, be sure to be able to explore that a lot! We often carry out some gardening and maintenance work as well, so it could be an opportunity to learn that for those who are interested.
Of course, most importantly, you'll learn a lot about dog language, behaviour and care!
Help
Caring for dogs is an essential part of your visit, so experience is good but a love of animals is more important. Though we can be flexible depending on circumstances, our daily routine (which is shared among everyone) is usually:
- letting them out early in the morning
- cleaning the areas and feeding the dogs in the morning;
- checking on them in the afternoon, making sure they have water;
- putting them inside the depots to sleep.
There are also some extra tasks, such as taking dogs to the vets, bathing them, giving treatment to those who need it, basic cleaning in the main house, a bit of gardening or maintenance. When dealing with so many dogs it's hard to set specific times for work — apart from the morning work, which is always basically the same, (starts around 0730) during the day we do the tasks in different times.
Please note that for this kind of work it's essential that you are fully *comfortable with dogs*, specially knowing it's a big group of them! The work also does require a bit of "weight lifting", such as picking up bags of food, dogs, helping maintain our compost system -- nothing too strenuous though! Our pups are early risers, meaning so are we — work starts when the sun is up, but then that also means we get the main tasks out of the way pretty early!
Our expected work schedule is 3 to 4 hours a day.
We're looking for people that are CRAZY about dogs, that will enjoy spending quality time with them and will be truly dedicated to the work.
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
We have 2 double bedrooms for our volunteers, occasionally you may need to share a bedroom, there is 1 big shared bathroom. Everyone is welcome in the kitchen and we provide all the food – mostly vegan/vegetarian. Sara cooks amazing food, specially vegan, but not every night — sometimes we have just DIY dinners too 🤩
What else ...
We are in a rural part of Lazio close to the border with Abruzzo, so plenty of opportunity to explore in your time off … the local villages are typically Italian with more major cities and towns easy to reach and explore ! The mountains are close by so if you like climbing or hiking then it’s perfect 😅
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
We have space outside and inside the Sanctuary to accommodate campervans
Can possibly accept pets
If you wish to bring a dog then please talk to us as we need to ensure the safety and security of your dog, as we do not have a separate or spare enclosure for volunteers dogs
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (31)
It was no problem having the van in the garden, and they were both made comfortable using the… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
It was no problem having the van in the garden, and they were both made comfortable using the… read more
You will be greeted by the kindest humans and a whole bunch of excited (and cute) dogs. While learning all the dogs names might seem… read more
Sara welcomed us into her house as part of her family, making us feel at home and give us an amazing place to stay. Our dog Lulù was also welcomed with great love and attention.
The dogs are adorable and very sweet, they welcomed us with… read more
They are both such beautiful people and settled so well at the sanctuary, helping out with everything and anything, nothing was any trouble and personally for me they came at such a great time with our planned move to Italy from Turkey, without them both in Turkey and… read more
I think I would only repeat the other feedbacks by saying that it was a 11/10 experience but its true.
The dogs (!!!), Mike's humour, the street feed, the sun, the late… read more
I was staying at the sanctuary for 5 weeks and it was just an amazing time. Sara is just the perfect host and always makes sure everyone is alright. I will miss all the people i met there and all… read more
He is… read more
Thanks for letting me be part of the sanctuary for a sort of time. Thanks for the dedication and unconditionality with the dogs (Sara, Sam, Joe, Mike) 👏
This experience inspired me to see how a normal family dedicates their lives to helping and rescuing dogs, without wait… read more
He was funny, sweet and super affectionate to the dogs. In his first days we could tell he wanted to help but didn't quite know how to — the important is he… read more
They are both really lovely, smart, kind people that were always willing to help and were amazing at finding out themselves how to do it. Our pooches loved them and were very happy to get all the extra cuddles! Paty & Sebas had… read more
What we will write in this review has a small summary: they love dogs.
When you go you will meet a group of people (almost permanent volunteers) that have quited other possibilities in their lifes in order to help and even serve dogs. After all it is a sanctuary. This amazing… read more
She was one of our most involved & hands on volunteers, with the huge plus of having training in dog behaviour. Agathe was always observing the dogs and trying to show us how to… read more
Sara and Mike are excellent hosts that made me feel welcome and part of the family straight… read more
He's a very calm and easy person to be around, who you can tell loves doing what he's doing. Tom was also very proactive in the moments we need him (weather we had 3 volunteers or 6, he was there to pick up whatever… read more
Besides giving them proper quality time, she was… read more
This was my first workaway and I think I picked the best place to start! I stayed for almost two months but it felt longer and not in a bad way. I almost forgot what my life was like before going. It's so amazing to be surrounded by dogs and by other people who love animals all day every day. It's quite nurturing to the… read more
La cercanía con el equipo fue increíble, el apoyo constante, la comunicación y el cariño me hizo sentir en casa durante el mes y medio que pasé junto a ellos😍
Me enamore de los perritos y me enoje con los humanos por las malas prácticas que los hicieron sufrir tanto, pero el lugar es un… read more
Conor is totally a hands on kind of guy, very skilled and proactive, genuinely helpful with any sort of task — from all sorts of DIY to heavy lifting to cooking! Tasks we had been procrastinating for ages, he promptly… read more
Since the beginning she wanted to fully understand the rhythm of the sanctuary, not only of what we asked her but… read more
She's genuinely super sweet, amazing with the dogs - they loved her -, not fussy about anything, cooks delicious vegan food (also pretty creative with what she has available in the kitchen), and very kind —… read more
first of all I’d like to thank you all for having me the past 5 weeks. It’s truly been the most amazing time. I knew I’d fall in love with every single dog, but I didn’t expect to also have such a good time with you guys. Thank you Sara for cooking the absolut best vegan meals, even when we had over 40 degrees outside.… read more
I planned to stay a month, but i ended up with fascinating six weeks!! the people were really nice with me and the other volunteers, Sara is a great woman who leads this sanctuary and of course she is an amazing cook, even though she is vegan but she cooks non-vegan food as well!!. Joe… read more
What really stood out was the generosity and kindness of Sara, Joe, Sam and Carol (Mike was gone most of the time I stayed there). Sara’s food is just as incredible as… read more
When he first arrived (to our surprise!) he was actually slightly scared of dogs and had never lived with one before... His choice to come to a dog sanctuary was based on his wish to leave his comfort zone and challenge himself while learning things. And gotta say, he adapted so… read more
Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into helping us… read more
Thank you for having us for… read more
the only bad moment of my 5 months stay was leaving. Taking care of the dogs and sharing that time with Sara, Mike and their son Joe was one of the best experiences I've had. Sara is an absolute super human who's been doing a flawless work running the shelter, caring… read more
Josh, Sara & Mike are truly kind, friendly and caring persons, it was a wonderful meet and we were sad to leave friends.
Their project is really beautiful and important because in Turkey the well-being of dogs isn't common, they turn street dogs into domesticated dogs by taking care of them and giving them a lot of love...… read more
