Dogs do their bit for charity

8:15am Thursday 8th May 2008

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DOGS in County Durham have been doing their bit for charity this week by taking part in a sponsored agility test.

The fundraising pooches, who all go to K9 Pursuits dog day care and training centre in Newton Aycliffe, had two minutes to negotiate as many obstacles as possible.

By the end of the week, more than 70 dogs will have taken part in the event, which has been organised by K9 Pursuits to raise money for The Dogs Trust as part of National Pet Month.

Some dogs were put through their paces by staff, while those that attend the training classes in the evenings completed the agility tests with the help of their owners, who were given sponsorship forms to collect money.

Gill Crawford, co-owner of K9 Pursuits, said: "We hope to raise about 200, but anything more than that will be a bonus.

"We thought it would be a good way of dogs raising money for dogs less fortunate than themselves.

"The dogs really enjoy it, and the others get excited watching it too.

"They will do it as part of their activities during the day anyway so we thought it would be good to turn it into an obstacle course."

Dogs ranging from a six-month old Jack Russell to a massive Saint Bernard all took part in the course, which featured jumps, ramps and tunnels.

"We gave the puppies a go too, but we didn't want to give them too much to do because they would get too tired," said Ms Crawford.

By today, the dog who had managed the most obstacles in two minutes was Coco the chocolate Labrador, with a score of 56.

K9 Pursuits are offering dog owners the chance to have a go at the agility course, in return for a donation to the Dogs' Trust. For more details call 01325-301177.

A video of the agility course is available via the audio and video link