Founded in 2015, Rosie’s Trust is the only charity in Northern Ireland caring for people by caring for their pets. Our mission is to keep people and their pets together in their own homes. We support people in Northern Ireland undergoing cancer treatment, receiving end of life care, and older people with mobility issues.  

Rosie’s Trust supports people living in Northern Ireland who are undergoing cancer treatment, receiving end-of-life care, or older people (65+ years) with mobility issues.  

Our volunteer and staff teams support our beneficiaries with the practical elements of pet care, including dog walking and play; cat care, clearing and cleaning litter trays; pet transport to vet/grooming appointments; and short-term temporary foster care for in-patient hospital or hospice care.

At the request of our beneficiary, we can arrange for pets to be adopted if the owner is no longer able to care for their pet, or sadly passes away. As we are a small charity, we are only able to foster/rehome the pets of our beneficiaries.  

We operate within the four Health Trust areas across Northern Ireland – Belfast Trust, South Eastern Trust, Northern Trust and Southern Trust. Please be aware that we can only offer support if we have available volunteers in the area.  

Unfortunately, no. We can offer practical support but, as a small charity, we are not able to offer financial support.  

As we are a small charity, we can only offer short-term emergency foster care for the pets of the beneficiaries we are currently supporting.  

We only have capacity to arrange adoption for the pets of our existing beneficiaries, if they request our support. We cannot help with any wider rehoming requests, and we recommend you contact your local animal rescue centre for more information.   

Pets available for adoption can be viewed, and applied for, by visiting petadoptionwebsite.com. Details will also be shared across our social media channels.  

Our services are provided free-of-charge to our beneficiaries, thanks to the generosity of our volunteers, supporters, funders, donors and partners. If you would like to make a donation to support Rosie’s Trust, please visit here.

We primarily accept third-party referrals from healthcare professionals and social workers. It is also possible to refer yourself, or a family member of friend, by completing our Referral Form on our website, or by contacting us directly on mail@rosiestrust.org

Visit the Volunteer page on our website, and complete the Expression of Interest form. We require all our volunteers to be aged 18+ years. The areas that are most in need of new volunteers will be signposted on our website and social media channels. 

We require all of our volunteers to be 18+ years, and able to volunteer independently. We have no upper age limit, and currently have volunteers ranging from 18 to 80 years old.  

We ask that our Canine Support volunteers commit to two visits to their beneficiary each week, which is around four hours per week on average. Other volunteering roles can be ad-hoc or seasonal. We are happy to discuss your availability as part of your volunteer induction.  

For our Canine and Feline Support volunteers, we aim to match you with a beneficiary within a five-mile radius. Any travel exceeding five miles will be reimbursed for all volunteers.  

When walking a beneficiary’s dog, we ask that our Canine Support volunteers do not bring their own pets. This is to ensure they are focussed on their own safety and well-being, and that of the beneficiary’s dog.  

Please complete our Expression of Interest form, and a member of the team will be in touch. Full training and support is provided to our Foster Carer volunteers, and all out-of-pocket expenses are reimbursed.  

We fully rely on donations, grants and community fundraising to continue to provide our services. If you would like to find out more about supporting our work, as an individual or a business, please visit our Support Us page. We also have volunteering opportunities at our fundraising events. If you’re interested in finding out more about becoming a Fundraising volunteer for Rosie’s Trust, complete our Expression of Interest form.  

We have lots of fundraising ideas to inspire you on our Support Us page. If you are planning your own fundraising event, please fill in the Fundraising Event form, and our Fundraising and Engagement Lead, Nuala Muldoon, will be in touch.

We will support you with your own fundraising events with advice, promotional materials and coverage on our channels. If you’re interested in getting involved in a fundraising event organised by Rosie’s Trust, complete our Expression of Interest form.  

If you are a journalist or broadcaster who would like to find out more about our charity, or are interested in setting-up a media opportunity with one of our staff, volunteers or beneficiaries, please contact Robyn McMurray, Communications and Marketing Lead for Rosie’s Trust, on robyn@rosiestrust.org