Going the extra mile for homeless hounds

News Desk
Authored by News Desk
Posted Saturday, March 18, 2017 - 11:24am

A dog-loving nine-year-old has raised hundreds of pounds for homeless hounds after challenging herself to a 20-mile sponsored walk around the Devon countryside.

Faith Boxer, from Honiton, walked 20 miles over several weeks after splitting the mileage into four, five-mile stints with the support of her Gran, who helped her organise the whole thing and plan her route.

With the support of family and friends, she managed to beat her initial £50 target and raise £410, all of which will go towards helping Dogs Trust make sure the dogs who are yet to find homes, have everything they need whilst they wait for their forever families to adopt them.

Faith said: “We don’t own a dog but we look after our friends’ dogs sometimes and I help with the walking, feeding and training. Previously, I never really thought about dogs being abandoned, but after I learned about this, I thought it was really important to support them. I saw in a magazine how someone had raised money by walking, and as my grandma likes walking and I don’t do much of it, I thought it would be a real challenge if I could do something similar with her support.

“I set myself a target of £50 but raised £410. I never expected it and so I was really excited that I was able to raise this amount and I’m happy that all of it is going to Dogs Trust.”

To say thank you for her efforts, Supporter Relations Officer at Dogs Trust Ilfracombe, Amy Bingham, invited her and her family to the rehoming centre for a VIP behind the scenes tour and a meet and greet with a former four-legged Dogs Trust resident.

Amy said: “When we heard about what Faith had done, we were amazed, especially as she had done this on her own initiative and had smashed her initial fundraising goal by so much! It is such a great achievement and she should be really proud of herself.

“At any one time we can be looking after around 40 to 60 dogs and so every penny really is needed. We want to say a huge thank you to Faith, her family and everyone who supported her and gave so generously."

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