Volunteer Review!

Lara shares a joyful story through her Happy Tails experience

Lara & Archie

Volunteering at Happy Tails was one of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life and I'd recommend it to anybody. Of all the volunteering opportunities out there, this is surely one that stands out as an absolute privilege to be part of and definitely one I'll never forget.

Mauritius is great for a relaxing holiday and I felt hugely fortunate to experience the island: delicious rotis and mangoes for breakfast on beautiful white sandy beaches, sea swims at sunset, a friendly, tolerant and culturally diverse population - all make for a pretty nice place to be. I was very aware of how fortunate I was to spend every day in the sea, snorkelling and swimming, but I was also craving something more to do to give my day some purpose. I could see there were lots of street dogs, but also realised those I could see were relatively well looked after; receiving care and food from tourists and residents. What about those that weren't so lucky? That's when a friend told me about Happy Tails and I got in contact to see if I could help.

Volunteer shifts are really well balanced. You start the day by helping with physical tasks - mostly preparing and serving food and cleaning the dogs' houses. Once all that's done your job is to give as many cuddles and belly rubs as you can fit into the remainder of your shift. Which sounds a little bit too good to be true, even if it is a volunteering job. The team is small and with so many dogs there's never enough time to give them all the TLC they need. You really feel that any love you give is massively appreciated, and it comes back to you 10-fold (generally in the form of excessive face licks). You leave your shift feeling like you've done something good, made a lot of dogs happy and your day has been worthwhile. The job is a little bit physical and you get a bit dirty (mostly with muddy pawprints), so when you head down to the beach for a drink at sunset, you know you've earned it and you can enjoy it with a smile on your face. What's even better is that the next day there are 130 excited dogs very happy you've come back; the feeling you get from seeing all those wagging tails, toothy grins and wiggling bums, is very hard to beat.

If you don't have your accommodation already sorted, there's a beautiful retreat place set in lush surroundings, with lovely accommodation that volunteers can stay in. It's a lot greener and a bit cooler up there and it was a nice quiet place to chill out after a few hours in the sunshine with the dogs. On the weekends I'd book an airbnb down at the beach and explore the coastline, which was a nice combo although I'd love to do more hiking in the area around the retreat when I go back to volunteer with friends.

Whether you're looking to make a luxury holiday unique and memorable, are remote working and want to do something purposeful, or live on the island and want to spend some time in the south caring for the most vulnerable dogs, this opportunity to 'give back' will bring you so much more in return. A massive thank you to Nathalie and her lovely team, looking forward to coming back soon!