Woof Woof WOW!  thanks to our supporters for the generous cash and gift donations we have received in addition to online donations and Gift Aid; we have now raised over £1000.00 for NAWT! Read our story and see how YOU can help make a difference to animals in need...

On Monday 31st May we, Layla  and Chap with Margaret & Julie, set out to walk the Ridgeway Path starting at Overton Hill near Avebury Stone Circle.  A journey through amazing scenery and also through time - Bronze Age to 20th Century; we had a wonderful if challenging time! We were both found a Forever Home by the NAWT where  we'd been taken in as unwanted/stray dogs and are asking for donations/sponsorship for NAWT so they can continue to help animals in need of care. The toughest economic climate in years means the charity needs your support to continue it's vital work. On the first day, a perfect day for dog walking we walked to Ogbourne St George where we stayed at a Show Jumping Training Stables with 5 other Jack Russells!  2nd day to Sparsholt Firs was more of a challenge as it rained nearly all day and though we had our coats on there was no shelter along the track where we could stop for a rest and be warm & dry; we felt cold if we stopped moving for long. We were tired when we got to our B&B, Chap had rolled in his favourite Eau d' Fox so was rather stinky but after a clean up in the barn we chilled out for the evening in a lovely warm farm house with another 5 dogs and a cat. 3rd day we started the walk to Streatley in thick fog, perfect walking until the sun came out then it quickly turned very hot, too hot for us by the afternoon as there was no shade on the open track. We took it in turns to be carried some of the way, stopped for rests where there were trees and drank lots of water & doggy isotonic drinks. We saw Kites, rabbits, hares, lots of sheep, lambs and cows as we passed by flower filled hedgerows, beautiful fields and over the hills.  Doggie heaven really but the next morning after a great nights sleep in a super hotel on the Thames we were still tired when we set out for Aston Rowant and as it was so hot & sunny Margaret & Julie decided we'd walked far enough so, after walking 45 miles, we went home and left them to continue on our behalf.  Did you know NAWT cares for around 500 animals at a total cost of £8,000 per day (£16 per animal)? As we were not going to complete the walk this time we agreed that Margaret & Julie would finish it Friday evening instead of Saturday evening as previously planned. 42 miles in 2 days, not that far for humans but as Margaret had horrible heat rash and couldn't get her boots on, walking the last 12 miles wearing flip flops made it a bit more interesting for them!  By Friday evening when they got home we'd had lots of sleep and were raring to go again; we got the girls to take us out to walk the last section up to Ivinghoe Beacon on the Sunday morning and have planned to walk the section we missed over 2 separate day walks in the next few months (when it's neither raining or hot & sunny).  Please keep the donations coming by sharing our story with your friends, family and colleagues. Adopting a dog is another way to help; last year 100,000 dogs were abandoned in the UK and on average one an hour is put to sleep - could you or anyone you know give a dog a loving home?  Founded in 1971 the Animal Welfare Trust is now one of the top 10 animal resuce and re-homing charities in England and runs 5 rescue centres across the country. Apart from dogs like us the Trust is Home to a surprisingly wide variety of animals including cats various farm animals and other small domestic pets that people either couldn't look after or simply didn't want.  The Trust is a non-political and non-campainging organisation, it just concerns itself with looking after some of life's casualities. It receives no money from the government and relies entirely on voluntary contributions to carry out its work; see their website for more information.      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 - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks for your kind support, woofs & wags from Layla & Chap.                                                              

http://www.nawt.org.uk/headquarters/index.asp