Spean spaniels are on the ball

TWO FURRY volunteers have been helping to fundraise for a Lochaber golf club by collecting thousands of balls from the outskirts of the course.

Springer spaniels, Linnhe and Palla, spend their daily walks at the Spean Bridge green hunting for lost balls and bringing them to owners, Pat and Colin Davidson, who then clean them and return them to the golf club to be sold for club funds.

The two-year- old dogs collected more than 3,000 balls when they were puppies and Colin, who is president of the golf club, thinks they have found thousands more since.

He said: ‘I was keeping track of how many they found for the first year and then I lost count there were so many. My wife, Pat, took them a walk around the course recently and they came back with 40 from just one walk.

‘I have no idea how much money has been raised from recycling the balls because it all goes in with the kitchen fund, but I think it must be a reasonable amount.’

The spaniel sisters have been so eager in their bid to collect the golf balls, their owners have had to train them not to steal them from the course during games.

Colin said: ‘ We’re training them so they know only to take them from the rough and they’re getting good now.

‘They’re quite famous around the club and the village for running around collecting the balls.’