Thanks to everyone for the recent flurry of donations, and a big thanks to the company I work for, Atlas Elektronik Uk, for a whopping contribution of £1000 to Dogs Trust. 

Although I have now reached the minimum funding target required, the page will stay open for a month after the trip for those who prefer to wait until they know I've actually done it :)

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Update! Follow my progress on http://dougggie.wordpress.com!

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Hello everyone, welcome to the madhouse!Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Last time I asked people to sponsor me, it was for the relatively tame abseil off the top of the WMC in Cardiff. This plea is a different sled of dogs completely.

In Feb 2010, I'll be taking part in the Arctic Challenge sponsored dog-sled in aid of Dog's Trust. As many of you may know, Dog's Trust is responsible for bringing Monty into my life - he spent many months in their rehoming centre at Bridgend before picking me out as his new landlady. I love to support them when I can. This has only been in small ways before, so now it's time for something bigger!

 Founded in 1891, Dogs Trust, formerly known as the NCDL, has always campaigned on dog-welfare related issues to ensure a safe and happy future for our four-legged friends. They want to solve the problem of why there are so many unwanted dogs in the UK and seek to achieve this through practical measures and awareness-raising initiatives to educate and inform dog-owners and prospective dog-owners

They maintain rescue/re-homing centres for the care, treatment and re-homing, where possible, of unwanted, homeless, stray, ill-treated, injured and sick dogs and aim to provide a permanent home for life for all those that cannot be re-homed.Dog's Trust believe in never having a healthy dog put to sleep.

The Arctic Challenge is a 7 day trip in Northern Sweden, 100s of miles north of the Arctic Circle. For 5 of the 7 days, it'll be just me and 9 other people with a team of huskies each, sledding from lodge to lodge through forests and over frozen lakes.  I need to be fit enough to run alongside the sled and uphill when it's too tough for the dogs to pull me and the sled. For a couch potato like me, that's no mean feat. I have a 12 week training programme, so just as well I have nearly 6 months to achieve the required fitness levels! I'm more daunted, however, at the thought of using outdoor toilets...

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 directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now. I appreciate any amount, no matter how small, towards the target.