Christmas may seem to be a long time ago, but a festive fundraiser created by a Dalton-in-Furness dog lover is set to bring joy to dogs for many months to come.
Laura Curtis’s Santa Paws grotto was a permanent fixture outside her Market Street home throughout December as she invited passers-by and their four-legged friends inside to take a festive photo in return for a donation to Dogs Trust, which has a centre in Penrith.
Plus, in the week running-up to Christmas and on Christmas Day itself, visiting furry friends were able to have some festive fun by sniffing out a special present for themselves.
Thanks to the generosity of dog owners, the grotto raised £1,254.70 which Laura has now handed over to the team at Dogs Trust Cumbria, and whilst there she had the chance to meet some of the dogs the money will support, including Lurcher puppy, Stormi.
Laura says: “I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along to the grotto and made a donation. It was a real privilege to go along to Dogs Trust and meet some of the dogs they are looking after. To know that every penny raised will go towards helping make sure that they will have everything they need until they find their forever homes was wonderful.
“I am already thinking about doing a beach themed summer event and I’ll definitely do the grotto again at Christmas as everyone really enjoyed it, including me and my dogs!”
Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, finds homes for thousands of dogs every year of all ages, shapes and sizes and Dogs Trust Cumbria, which opened in January 2022, has found forever homes for more than 400 dogs thanks to a network of foster carers who care for the dogs until they find their forever homes.
Lisa Spence, Manager at Dogs Trust Cumbria, says: “The effort that Laura put in and the support shown by dog lovers is incredible! We are thrilled that she has been able to come to the centre and the fact that she is already thinking of doing a summer fundraiser is fantastic. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with!”
