Pets As Therapy is a national charity founded in 1983 by Lesley Scott-Ordish. Now like then, Pets As Therapy helps those in our communities most in need of animal companion therapy. Visiting volunteer teams and their behaviourally assessed PAT Dogs or Cats share the love of their own animal with people in hospitals, care homes, schools, prisons, day care centres and so many more establishments. The clients they visit benefit from the wonderful effect a companion animal brings, namely non-judgemental listening, tactile comfort & affection.

We, as a family, benefitted from this kind of therapy when our dog Sid entered our lives just over 8 years ago. He was first and foremost bought into our family for my daughter, Emily, who was suffering from mental health issues. Since then, Sid has been a constant comfort, as like all pets, for us all. This is the reason I have chosen PAT as my charity for this cycling challenge.