I'm Pablo and I moved to London 13 years ago from Spain, making London my home during my adult years. I have endured many life changing moments during my time in London - met different people, discovered new hobbies and learned new things about myself.

One of the most life changing moments I have experienced in my life in London is adopting 2 beautiful, funny, loving dogs named Tara and Pepe. They came from an animal rescue in Harbin, China and luckily were saved from dog meat trucks as puppies. I cannot imagine my life without them, they are the best!

One new thing I learned about myself recently is that I have fallen in love with running. It gives me time to myself, to switch off from the hectic world that we live in and be alone with my own thoughts, as scary as that may sound!

This made me think that I would like to tick one of the boxes on the bucket list and run the London Marathon in 2024. After winning a spot through the ballot, I thought this is a fantastic opportunity to use the occasion to raise funds for Harbin Slaughterhouse Survivors (SHS) Animal Rescue, where Tara and Pepe came from. SHS are a rescue like no other, saving dogs from the illegal meat trade/trucks and providing them exceptional care. Unfortunately, the dogs are rescued in various health conditions, often life threatening, and SHS provide all the possible help they can to help the dogs survive and thrive, going 180 degree transformations. This sadly has resulted in a veterinary debt which needs help to cover. And this is why I’m raising funds for SHS Animal Rescue.

I haven’t been contacted by SHS and they didn’t ask me to raise funds for them. I decided to do this out of my own accord, because I will be forever grateful to them for rescuing Tara and Pepe, who are the biggest joys of my life. Both Tara and Pepe came from China healthy, happy and with the most beautiful behaviour, and it is all thanks to SHS Animal Rescue, so please help me help SHS by donating and watching me try not to lose my legs somewhere in the 42.2km I agreed to run!

I highly encourage you to check the SHS Instagram account (@slaughterhouse_survivors) to know more about the work they do and the things they have to encounter. It isn’t easy for them, because the love and care they put into every single animal is remarkable, having saved hundreds and hundreds of them. But this does come at a cost and they need our support and help.

I also encourage you to check their Adoptables account (@shs_adoptables) in case you want to get a furry friend for yourself - ADOPT! DON’T SHOP!