I originally signed up for the 2020 London Marathon which was postponed due to Covid. In May 2020 we rescued two elderly Newfoundlands, Zena and Zelda, after their previous owner sadly passed away. I was able to run the virtual marathon in October 2020 around the streets of Telford with my family (including my wonderful late father), friends and Zena and Zelda cheering me on. We have loved and cared for Zena and Zelda and were in the position to be able to pay for the treatment needed for various health conditions they experienced as older dogs. Not everyone is in this position and that’s where PDSA come in.

I’m looking forward to getting the full marathon experience in London in October this year and have decided to run it in Zena’s memory. She was the gentlest, kindest, sweetest dog ever to have lived and we were lucky to have spent two years with her. We took her on our honeymoon, introduced her to swimming and the seaside, took her on several forest holidays and even took her on the train. I hope with your donations we can help other animals live their golden years to the max.

Every pet deserves to lead a happy and healthy life. As the UK's leading veterinary charity with 48 Pet Hospitals, we improve pets lives through prevention, education and treatment.Every year our dedicated veterinary teams carry out 2.7 million treatments on 470,000 pets in need - all made possible thanks to people like you.