Having raised over £5,000 on the first leg of our 75 mile walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal in July, we were able to make that donation to Guide Dogs for the Blind Association UK, to name a puppy 'Raymond' after my father-in-law, who passed away during the time of that event.

We then went on to complete the walk and raise a further £3,000, but we want to bring that up to another £5,000 in total to name another lifechanging puppy.

Guide Dogs really do utterly transform the lives of Visually Impaired people. They restore freedom, independence, confidence, social life, travel, work opportunities, relationships..... the list goes on! They also save lives - by stopping their owners walking into dangerous situations, such as oncoming traffic, hazards on the streets, etc etc. These dogs are astonishing!

None of this would be possible without donations as there is absolutely NO government or other funding for the charity - it is totally reliant on generous donations and fundraising.

At an estimated average cost of £55,000 per dog for his/her working lifetime, and over 4,700 dogs in active work (not counting the pups in training), that needs a lot of fundraising! Every penny counts!