Support Service

Barks & Recreation is a Preston (Lancashire) based social enterprise that supports people who have a learning disability to walk dogs.

The organisation is run by Stephen Brown - a dog enthusiast with almost 20 years of experience in social care. Stephen prides himself and the organisation on providing a personable, reliable and consistent service that offers a range of benefits, unique to the people it supports.

Get fit, lose weight, meet dogs or make new friends… there are lots of great reasons to walk dogs with us. We don’t mind as long as you’re having fun!

Our supported dog walking service provides one-to-one support to people who have a learning disability to walk dogs. The people who use our service are supported to walk the dogs we visit as part of our dog walking service.

Interested?

If you’d like to register your interest in being supported by Barks & Recreation you can do so by clicking here. Alternatively if you would like to learn more, please read on.

the benefits

In addition to the natural therapeutic qualities of spending time with animals, walking dogs is a great form of gentle exercise that can help to benefit your physical health and mental wellbeing, as well as being an opportunity to meet new people.

We also share any profit generated from our dog walking service with the people that we support, at the end of each month.

THE dogs

We walk dogs on a schedule that match all levels of mobility and confidence. Before we start, we meet with everybody that we support to ask their preferences with regards to dogs and the type or behaviour of dog they feel most comfortable with.

our support

We are trained and experienced in a variety of social care settings, and with dogs. All team members are DBS police-checked and fully insured.

Our support can be funded through social care budgets, direct payments or personal finances. Transport is provided so support can start and end at the individuals home, with no additional travel expenses.

Areas covered: Preston, South Ribble, and surrounding areas (a small additional charge may apply for locations 5+ miles from Preston).

Interested?

Register your interest in our service by clicking here. Alternatively if you would still like more information, please get in touch.