I'm fundraising for Springer Rescue Scotland (SRS) because they are an amazing organisation who invest in both dogs and people. 

I first became aware of SRS around 12/13 years ago when our friends rehomed 2 springer spaniels through this charity. We had previously had rescue dogs, a terrier cross and a labrador both of whom lived to a good old age and we were heartbroken when we lost them. We went a few years without dogs until we got to know our friends dogs and heard about SRS. 

We decided to register with SRS around 10 years ago and this involved a thorough home check and discussion around what we could offer and what we would manage  - we knew at that time we would not manage a puppy but were fit and active and would manage a young adult dog. 

SRS place all their dogs in foster care, not kennels, they assess their dogs and prospective owners and during the time the dogs are in foster care the foster carers work hard on any issues dogs have. They don't rehome dogs until the dog is ready and they feel confident a prospective owner can offer the right home for the dog. 

Tia joined our family in Spring 2012, she was 4 years old and at the time was going through a false pregnancy. We knew she had already had a litter and when we went to see her and spoke with her foster carer she was able to tell us lots more about Tia  and her needs. We had to offer Tia a lot of time and patience at the start until she slowly built trust and felt safe. She is a beautiful gentle soul - as well as being very cheeky - we treasure every moment we have with her - she brings such great joy and we feel very privileged - so this is my time to try and give something back. 

At present many folk will have bought puppies and dogs due to being at home more  and we know that sadly some of these dogs may well need to be rehomed. It is likely that SRS will find more dogs coming into their care in the near future especially dogs used to people being at home all day and then suddenly trying to adapt to being on their own, which in turn leads to behaviours hard to manage. So I felt this was a good time to raise funds for this wonderful charity.

In April I aim to complete 800 km (500 miles) on my bike! I cycled everywhere as a child and younger adult and working life then took over for around 40 years! I bought an ebike just after retiring in 2020 - (a virus left my muscles the worse for wear and afraid I need a bit of a boost up hills) and now try and cycle daily, generally without the aid of the battery, but just now only manage around 18 km a day so need to up my game to around 27 km a day! 

I would really appreciate your support - this is my first individual fundraiser and I hope perhaps the start of many more! 

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