I'm doing the Great South Run (10 miles) to raise money for Oldies Club Dog Rescue because those vet bills really mount up! OC is run by volunteers, including a network of foster carers throughout Britain. Every penny donated goes towards helping older dogs in need of new homes.

I've volunteered for OC for about 10 years but these days I just write the Old Dog of the Week features. I felt it was about time I did more for the oldies, possibly because my own dog, Molly, is about 14 and feeling it, bless her.

Many which we take in turn out to be too poorly to be rehomed and stay in foster care for life as OC Sponsor Dogs. Last month we spent over £12,000 on vet bills alone, which is typical. We don't just rescue older dogs ourselves though. We also advertise older dogs for other rescues on our website, helping as many as we can find happy homes.

P.S. We're always on the look out for new foster carers: https://www.oldies.org.uk/fostering-dogs as well as volunteers: https://www.oldies.org.uk/what-can-you-do.php

P.P.S. I'm not really built for running (as my knee keeps reminding me) but the nice physiotherapist said that I can do it, it will just hurt a bit and I won't be able to do much for a couple of days, so that's fine. The old dogs are worth it!