Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  You may think we're mad to walk 55km from Manchester to the top of the Pennine ridge in a day and I'll no doubt agree with you on June 22.....and for a while afterwards.  But we're up for the challenge and are preparing with ever-longer practice walks.  The early ones were through thick mud, and it got a lot better with a series of training walks in the North and South Downs, mostly in glorious weather. 

The curent forecast for Saturday is cool and wet, so the early walks may have been the best practice.  To our horror the overall distance has risen from 50km to virtually 55.  We are really looking forward to the extra hour.  Your kind sponsorship will doubtless help keep us going.

Where will the funds go?  Seven years ago the beautiful Greek island of Paxos, which has just 2000 human habitants, was plagued by sickly unwanted cats.  Most were feral, annoying residents and tourists alike.  There are no vets on the island so even pet owners had to take the ferry to Corfu to get their animals treated. 

This situation inspired the founders to set up the Paxos Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), to:

- take volunteer vets to the island and provide basic treatment and neutering of cats

- provide winter feeding to raise the health of feral cats

- deliver education on the treatment of animals.

Despite running on a shoe-string budget and using temporary accommodation, PAWS has gone from strength to strength.  The neutering and feeding programmes have ensured there are fewer and healthier cats.  Residents can get their pets treated during the 6 weeks or so of annual vet visits.  It is now 'part of the fabric of the island' (the Mayor). 

PAWS has now been given a permanent base for a surgery, and wishes to tackle the growing problem of dogs on the island, which will require more facilities and equipment.  Funding is always insecure, without any permanent sources.

A donation of £20-£40 will provide for the equipment to neuter a cat.  £50-£60 will cover the overheads too.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money to PAWS, having added Gift Aid on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. It’s a most efficient way to donate - I raise more, while saving time and cutting costs for PAWS.

So please dig deep and donate now.