Deely and dog Fred’s excellent adventure
Duo part of nationwide effort which helps raise £60k
An Auchterarder woman and her dog played a part in raising more than £60,000 for charity with an epic walk last weekend.
Deely Cumming and her fiveyear-old Turkish Kangal, Fred, were selected as breed representatives in the Pedigree Paws Unite event – a series of sponsored walks totalling 160 miles.
Dogs and their owners from across the UK took part in the walk – the equivalent of six marathons – which aims to raise £70,000 for seven charities.
So far, the event has raised around £60,000 towards the total with donations still coming in.
Deely and Fred are hoping to raise around £ 150 from their walk and are almost halfway to achieving that goal.
The fundraiser involved all 216 Kennel Club recognised dog breeds completing a section of the walk over seven days across the UK.
Deely and Fred were sponsored for five miles of the Scottish leg which went along the Union Canal near Edinburgh to the Falkirk Wheel.
Deely told the Herald: “The walk was great, it was a good day and we had excellent company.
“We both enjoyed it and are happy to be raising funds for so many worthy causes. It was a great honour to be selected as the breed representative for this special event.
“It was also good to have the chance to raise awareness of wellbred pedigree dogs, especially large rare breeds such as Turkish Kangals, which are often forgotten about or negatively portrayed by the media.”
Deely, who runs Scottish Canine Massage Therapy, has two Kangals named Fred and Freya who were both victorious at Crufts this year.
The Pedigree Paws Unite event was the brainchild of Crufts 2013 Best in Show-winning owner Gavin Robertson and was held under the umbrella of The Peek-A- Boo Trust.
It aims to raise £70,000 for seven children’s and canine charities including the Search & Rescue Dog Association, Make A Wish Foundation and Dog AID.
Supporters can still donate to Deely and Fred’s online page via http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ fund/PedigreePawsUnite