I’m taking part in the Record Breaking Tandem Skydive for Dogs Trust because it is a charity In dire need of all the finances it can get. My own dog Rueben is a graduate from Dogs Trust when I collected him there were 129 dogs in residence and the staff were off to Ireland to collect another 120 and that is only one centre from 17 all over the UK, they never give up on finding the right home where a dog will be settled for life, even the more difficult ones. Can you imagine the cost and work involved caring for so many dogs?

Rueben spread his gap year starting in Leeds, presumably as a stray, then to Birmingham and finally Roden Dogs Trust centre taking in four goes at re-homing and picking up a few ASBOs along the way not because he was bad, dogs rarely are they just get messed up by people, but as a collie/lurcher cross he has the vey high IQ of the collie and high energy level of the lurcher so I guess he might have been a bit of a nightmare in his teenage time. All of this was between the age of 9 months and nearly 2 years the most vulnerable time in a dogs life so it says a lot for Dogs Trust perseverance and care. On paper Rueben, at nearly two years strong as an ox and bursting out of his skin with energy and myself 74 and in need of two new knees we were not a good match but Steve the manager at Roden not only knew his dogs he also knew people. Rueben and I have been together 5 years and he’s the best dog I’ve ever had, not only is he my personal trainer, he also has my neighbour on his books with a brisk pre work walk every morning at 6.30am and several other dogs throughout the day. Together we clock up 4 to 5 miles a day, he mentors young dogs and teaches them manners, does traffic control along our narrow country lanes, he has his own natural hi-viz white jacket and is our local ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ no one can do anything without him reporting on it.

I’m 79 now, fit, medication free, excellent blood pressure and cholesterol and about to skydive, personally I think that proves the health benefits to be gained for old people from giving a rescue dog a home, even a difficult dog. So please give as generously as you can for this very deserving charity and steer the elderly toward a Dogs Trust centre and away from the doctors waiting room. Thank you.

Friday 20th September I’ve just experienced the most terrifying moments of my entire life and wondered why I’d followed the links on the Dogs Trust email that eventually led me to this. Very firmly attached to George I perched 10,000 feet up at the open door of the little plane, feet back and under it, back arched against George, head back, thumbs tucked into shoulder straps and George just dived out free fall at 120 mph. It was only seconds but seemed like forever. So scary I felt like an autumn leaf in a gale force wind. It was a superb sunny day but we were above clouds and dived through them. Once George activated the parachute and I realized I was still alive all was suddenly serene and lovely with fantastic views over Wiltshire, we did swirly things and after checking I wasn’t feeling queasy we shot upwards again. Landing was perfect and the exhilaration I felt at still being able to stand up and function as normal was well worth the moments of extreme terror.

I still cannot believe I did it but so glad I did and if you can impress your children at my age well, what an achievement, I would recommend it to anyone. Adopt a dog and who knows you too could have the opportunity to skydive.

Ever since I got Rueben I’ve campaigned for older people to adopt homeless dogs because we are the people with time to spend with them and that’s what most rescue dogs need. It’s a two way benefit. Thank you to all you kind and lovely people whose contributions to the Dogs Trust have made this super day possible.

Margo and Rueben.