Barks & Recreation

Aim

To aid the launch of our dog-assisted therapy and training programmes for adults who have a learning disability or autism.

Barks & Recreation is a professional dog walking and grooming service in Preston that provides support to people to benefit their physical health, mental wellbeing and social confidence - specialising in the support of adults who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. Our purpose is simply to improve the welfare of dogs in the local area and the lives of the people who use our service.

We have been operating a supported dog walking service in the community since March 2017 which has already helped to benefit the mental and physical health of the people we support. We soon hope to agree a lease on a property that would allow us to expand our services.

We have identified a suitable property in Preston that will allow us to provide the following services:

• Dog Grooming Salon - To allow us to provide affordable but quality dog grooming services to the community and to support adults using the service to perform the role of a dog groomers assistant, teaching new skills, providing experience and the possibility of employment in an area of work that they feel passionate about.
• Dog Boutique - A retail space selling a range of dog supplies that provides experience and possible job opportunties for the people using the service.
• Training Facilities - A training room to host a range of training courses. Facilities will be used to promote the welfare of dogs through courses such as dog ownership for beginners and dog first aid. It will also help people using the service to document their skills gained in our dog boutique, walking service and grooming salon to build a CV and help to find employment.
• Dog Assisted Therapy - A dedicated dog assisted therapy and sensory room will offer a range of structured and non-structured, formal and informal dog assisted therapy.

To help us achieve our goals, we have set up a Crowdfunding campaign. In eight weeks we hope to have reached our target of £1000 by pre-selling some of the items that will be available in our boutique such as greeting cards, calendars, dog goody bundles as well as offering naming rights of our training and dog-assisted therapy rooms. All money raised will be used to develop the dog assisted therapy and training programmes for the people who use the service.

This project successfully funded on 28th July 2017