This August, national pet charity, Blue Cross are asking pet owners to put their best foot forward and go the extra-mile to raise money for poorly and homeless pets.
The month-long ‘Steps for Pets’ event is challenging UK pet lovers and fitness fiends to take extra steps each day to hit their targets and use these additional miles to help pets in need.
Participants can choose to take ‘Steps for Pets’ on their own, with a friend or in a group, and it can be as easy as adding extra steps on the daily dog walk or scale up and organise a bigger sponsored group walk – with or without your four-legged friend.
The individual ‘steppers’ can set their own targets, or use a recommended daily target set by Blue Cross of as low as 5,000 or as high as 25,000 steps.
For anyone wishing to take part, there is a free fundraising pack, which includes everything needed to organise sponsored event and a letter from Blue Cross Rehoming Ambassador, Pam Ferris as a ‘thank you’ for signing up to help pets.
Money raised by people taking part in this challenge helps pets like Jake, a six-year-old cat who’s been looking for a home at the Blue Cross rehoming centre in Thirsk for more than 60 days.
Tracy Genever, Head of Education at Blue Cross, said: “Steps for Pets is a great initiative, it’s a fabulous way to get people moving more and helping pets at the same time. The best part of this challenge is you can cater it to your own strengths; we do encourage participants to push themselves, if you think you can do 10,000 steps, try making your target 12,000 to push harder for the pets who desperately need your help.
“All money raised throughout Steps for Pets month will go to helping the smallest hamster to the biggest horse and lots of pets in between in the care of Blue Cross. We couldn’t do the work we do without the public taking up these challenges and raising money for the pets in our animal hospitals and rehoming centres across the country.”
Blue Cross are reminding all dog walkers taking part in the challenge to always be mindful of the heat and the effect on their four-legged friends.
For more information on Steps for Pets and to download a pack, visit www.bluecross.org.uk/stepsforpets
