Help us at our street dog rescue sanctuary in Pignataro Interamna, Italy

Details

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  Description

  [PLEASE NOTE: WE ONLY TAKE VOLUNTEERS FOR MINIMUM 1 MONTH STAY — the work is pretty easy, but it takes a little while to get to know the dogs, which is an essential part of the work 🤩
  
  Our rescue journey started almost 5 years ago in Turkey, when we set up and established our street dog rescue sanctuary on the south west coast of Turkey . Over the past 5 years we have rescued and rehomed nearly 500 dogs but our time in Turkey has come to an end and we have now relocated to Italy, where a small sanctuary is being established to further continue our work with dogs 🐾
  We will have around 65 dogs in total and the focus will be 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 look forward to the same rich mix in Italy 🤩
  Our main language is English, but German and Italian 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 🤩
  We will be very happy to host those with a broad skill set but 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 and are of course happy to accept our volunteers dogs !

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  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
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  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!

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  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:
  
  - cleaning the areas and feeding the dogs in the morning;
  - checking on them in the afternoon, making sure they have water;
  - walking them in the beautiful area that surrounds the sanctuary;
  - 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, 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, water tanks -- 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. You can be sure our permanent staff will always be giving 150% of themselves too (:

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Italian: Beginner

  This 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.
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  Accommodation

  We have 2 double bedrooms for our volunteers, there is 1 big shared bathroom. Everyone is welcome in the kitchen and we provide all the food – mostly vegan/vegetarian, but other food can also be available occasionally and you are free to cook what you wish. Sara cooks amazing food, specially vegan, but not every night — sometimes we have just DIY dinners too 🤩

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  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 😅

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have space outside and inside the Sanctuary to accommodate campervans

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  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  About 3-4 hours a day, 5 days out of 7

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