DAWGS was founded by a dedicated group of volunteers, Mike Gibb, Brenda Rae, Jill Inggall and Karen Sutherland.

Their determination and passion to care for the welfare of animals inspired them to try to find a way to help with the rehoming process of dogs. To this day, the defining principle of DAWGS, rehoming with love, remains intact.

As we’ve grown, expanding to include a group of DAWGS foster homes, our charity’s reach has widened across the country. 

We opened our first charity shop in Alford in 2013, which relocated in 2020 to our new premises across the road. This became our new home and operational hub. On an almost annual basis, we have opened a week-long pop-up shop in George Street, Aberdeen.

Our volunteers will always remain at the heart of what we do. Mike Gibb, our founding member, has written the book ‘It’s a DAWGS Life’ detailing our early days as a charity, our supporters and some of the dogs we have rehomed.