Young animal lover sacrifices presents

She raised an impressive £250.50p and presented the money to the team at the rehoming centre last Monday, along with her mum Angela and dad Kevin.

Mr Hannaford said: “This is the first time Cora has done this. She got it in her head that she wanted to do it and that was that.”

Mrs Hannaford added: “This is a lovely thing she has done. She is animal crazy; she is trying to convince us to get a dog but we already have two cats.

“Cora has said she would like to be a vet when she is older and I can definitely imagine her on safari or something similar.”

Lara Murphy from the Dogs Trust in Canterbury said: “We were absolutely delighted to receive the generous donation from Cora. We really enjoyed showing her around the rehoming centre and introducing her to our homeless hounds who her thoughtful gift will help care for.

“Her love of dogs was clearly evident and we hope she enjoyed receiving lots of licks and wags from our grateful four-legged residents. We work really hard to make the dogs’ stay here as nice as possible and kind donations such as Cora’s help us provide the best possible care for our dogs while they wait for loving new homes.”

Cora, who is in Year 4, said: “I would like to thank all my friends and classmates from Willesborough Junior School, who donated.”

Cora Hannaford presents the Dogs Trust with £250, which she raised by asking friends to donate cash for her birthday rather than presents