At the end of Jan 2012 I spent a short time in Negombo, Sri Lanka.  I befriended two lovely beach dogs who used to come to the hotel I was staying at. They were very underweight and nervous of people but still trusting enough to come close in the hope of getting a small morsel to eat. I fed them but felt dreadful afterwards as I knew it wasn’t enough.

Now, I can’t really explain what happened next except to say that I just couldn’t stop thinking about the welfare of these dogs.  It was later explained to me that the reality was these beach dogs were probably the “lucky” ones as tourists like me would give them scraps of food and beach dogs rarely ventured on to the dangerous roads.  This however was little comfort to me.  I was genuinely astounded by the amount of stray dogs roaming the busy streets. There are literally hundreds of stray dogs/cats throughout Sri Lanka .  Many have been hit by vehicles and left to die slow painful deaths others have suffered the most terrible abuse. As a dog owner the thought of the horrendous suffering these innocent creatures endure made such an overwhelming impression on me that I vowed to do something about it when I got home however I didn’t know where to start except to do loads of research to find out who if anyone was helping these animals.

This is when I came across www.animalsos-sl.  Animalsos-sl are a UK registered charity founded by an English lady who is in my estimation is a truly  amazing person. The charity works to UK standards and has provided a refuge where injured, abused and abandoned dogs and cats can receive veterinary care and those who are not suitably re-homed can live out the rest of their lives without fear in their safe and secure sanctuary.  They also do outreach work, have vaccination/ sterilisation programmes for stray dogs as well as providing education on animal welfare and employment to local people. 

They are a dedicated and caring team of volunteers who plough every penny raised back into the charity.  They have helped so many animals who otherwise would have died miserable deaths.  They have also been known to travel hours to rescue animals in dire need.

I would urge you to look at their website as I really can’t say enough to do any real justice to the work they are doing.

In June 2012 I will be taking part in the 24hr National 3 Peaks challenge In order to raise funds to help animalsos-sl continue with their valuable work.

The 24hr National 3 Peaks challenge involves climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales all within a 24hr timescale. The total distance walked is approximately 26 miles with a total ascent of 9,800 feet!

I can’t even begin to tell you how far out of my comfort zone this will take me but every step will be worth it.

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.

Thank you so much for supporting me and taking time to visit my JustGiving page.