Welcome to Oak Tree Animals' Charity

Coronavirus Update

Coronavirus Update

With the developing coronavirus situation changing daily we want to reassure our visitors and service users that we are doing all we can to continue delivering our community animal support, and other services to a high standard whilst minimising potential health risks to our supporters, volunteers and staff. 

We are now able to process people looking for dogs and cats who have not already registered with us. However, due to on-going staff shortages, we will be asking everyone to follow these guidelines:

• Have a look on our website rehoming pages to see if there is an animal that you like and matches your rehoming needs; each profile will have a list of the animals rehoming requirements
• If there is an animal that you like and that meets your needs, email smallanimalteam@oaktreeanimals.org.uk with your contact details and the animal you are interested in or contact us on 01228 560082 between 1.00pm and 4.00pm, Wednesday to Sunday and our receptionist will add you to a call back list.
• One of the Small Animal Team will then call you back to discuss the animal, go through our adoption questionnaire and explain our current rehoming process.  The team will aim to call you back within 48 hours but please be aware this may be longer due to the current situation.
• If we have something potentially suitable, you will be invited on site to view the animal.  All viewings will be conducted according to current Government guidelines regarding social distancing and Covid-19 control measures.  
• We will ask you to email photos of your ID, proof of address and if needed, landlords permission that you are able to have pets
• With dogs and certain cats we will also ask for photos of the home and garden
• Adoption fees are still £60 for cats and £110 for dogs, and we are able to sell you equipment you need such as leads, harnesses, litter trays and litter to save you waiting for internet deliveries, or braving the shops
• For some dogs, home visits will still be necessary.  In these cases we aim to do socially distanced viewings in your garden and, if all goes well, go straight to adoption
• All adoptions still come with 4 weeks free Petplan insurance, vet histories, up to date vaccinations and flea and worm treatment.
• We will be unable to register people who have not mentioned a specific animal from the website

Thank you for your patience and understanding at these unprecedented times.

We currently have the following measures in place – these will be updated as and when the situation changes, so please refer back regularly: 

• Animals continue to be cared for on site and by a fantastic team of foster carers.
• We are of course still able to provide support and advice over the telephone or via email. Please call 01228 560082 Ext. 225 for any general enquires or email info@oaktreeanimals.org.uk . Please be patient - if you don't manage to get through on the telephone, please do email us at the address above and someone will get back to you as soon as possible. Don’t forget our website is packed full of information and more specific ways to contact different departments. Whatever your situation, please get in touch and explain your needs and we will do all we can to support you. 
  If you are currently self-isolating and your pet requires veterinary care, please telephone your veterinary practice for the latest advice. It may be that they suggest that a friend or family member brings your pet to the practice.
  According to the World Health Organisation, there is currently no evidence that companion animals can be infected with COVID-19, however regular hand washing is advisable, as always, when in contact with your pet. 

Reopening of Main Site (Wetheral)

• The main site in Wetheral will be open to the public from Wednesday, 17th June during the hours of 1.00pm – 4.00pm, Wednesday - Friday and 11.00am - 4.00pm at weekends. There will be safety measures in place to comply with the current regulations.
• The playground will be open from Saturday 4th July. We recommend if you plan to use our playground, that you bring your own sanitiser and cloth to wipe equipment down prior to and after use. Hand sanitiser will be stationed at the entrance to the playground too. 
• The Tearoom will be reopening on Wednesday 8th July. Opening times will be 10.00am - 4.00pm Wednesday to Sunday with a limited menu for the time being - don’t worry though, scones will be back!!  We will be putting a queuing system in place and will be asking customers to complete a small form with their contact details for the Track and Trace system. These details will only be used in conjunction with that unless you tick the box saying you want us to ‘keep in touch’. 
• We are asking the public who wish to enquire about rehoming animals, visiting the Tack Shack, hiring the paddock area/snuffle run or hiring the arena to call 01228 560082 during opening hours, in the first instance, to make an appointment.

Reopening of Keswick Shop

• Keswick Shop is reopening on Wednesday 17th  June. We have a one way system in place and kindly ask anyone entering the shop to sanitise their hands with the sanitiser provided whether wearing gloves or not. Due to guidelines around processing donations, as we don’t have enough space at the shop to store them for the recommended 72 hours, we can only receive them during specific times (see below) when we have our van there to load them straight into. Donations will be brought back to main site and stored in the barn until we can safely process them.  We ask that donors please adhere to this for the safety of our customers, volunteers and staff.

• Keswick Shop Opening times will be Wednesday to Sunday 11.00am – 4.00pm.  

Leaving donations at Keswick Shop:

• Our van will be at the Keswick shop on a Wednesday 11.00am - 1.00pm and a Friday 2.00pm - 4.00pm to enable us to bring donations straight back to main site.  The van will remain at the shop during these times or until the van is full. Please feel free to call the shop to discuss the drop off of donations on 017687 72634.  Donations can also be brought to main site but we ask that they ring the doorbell or speak to reception before bringing anything in so that donations can be dropped at the correct place for the same reasons as above. 

** Please note that Carlisle Shop will remain closed for now as it’s too small to put social distance measures in place.  

DUE TO YOUR OVERWHELMING SUPPORT, WE ARE UNABLE TO TAKE ANY MORE DONATIONS OF ANY BEDDING OR TOWELS AT THIS TIME. Our storage spaces are totally full and we thank you for thinking of our Charity during this difficult period. Please keep checking our website where we will let you know when we will be able to receive your kind donations once more.

We are incredibly grateful for all of the offers we have received over the last month to adopt or foster our dogs and cats. The generosity of the local community has been overwhelming. 

The welfare of the animals in our care remains our top priority. Some of our services, such as training classes and school visits, have been forced to transfer to an online format, but we are confident we can continue providing a high level of care and support to the community. For the foreseeable future we are also cancelling all our onsite events.  We will, of course, monitor the situation and plan to provide frequent updates with regards to how we are adapting to this unprecedented situation. Please keep an eye on our website home and events pages and Facebook for the latest information from the Charity. 

We need to keep generating income in order to help animals in need. With this in mind, we continue to discuss online alternatives to some of our events and services. We have an incredibly imaginative and determined team here at Oak Tree, so please watch this space for more innovative ways to keep supporting us and being involved with us in these uncertain times. 

Thank you to you all for your loyal support and custom and we look forward to seeing you again soon!

Please do contact us if you have any concerns. We will continue to help local animals and their owners in need, wherever possible. Please bear with us – this is unprecedented territory for us all. We will update this information as the situation develops.