Dalton-in-Furness dog lover hopes to raise hundreds of pounds for homeless hounds with her Santa Paws grotto

A Dalton-in-Furness dog lover is hoping to help homeless hounds have a paw-sitively amazing Christmas by hosting a Santa Paws Grotto at her home throughout December.

Laura Curtis is setting up the cosy Christmas stop-off outside her Market Street home and from Friday (1 December) is inviting passers-by and their four-legged friends inside to take a festive photo in return for donating 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 will be able to have some festive fun by sniffing out a special present for themselves.

Laura, who is 35, says: “I absolutely adore dogs and have two, which I can’t imagine living without. To think that many dogs don’t have families of their own and won’t be spending Christmas in a loving home is really sad, so I wanted to do something fun for dogs and their owners whilst raising money to help Dogs Trust give their dogs everything they need throughout the year, not just at Christmas.

“I have bought around 100 presents so wrapping them has been a mammoth task, but it will be worth it to see lots of waggy tails and smiling faces and know that dogs without a home are benefiting too.”

Dogs Trust Cumbria opened in January last year and thanks to a network of foster carers has gone on to find forever homes for more than 400 dogs in need. Throughout the UK, Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, cares for around 14,000 dogs every year.

Lisa Spence, Manager at Dogs Trust Cumbria, says: “This is such a lovely idea. Laura will bring joy to local dogs whilst helping others that are less fortunate than them. The fact that she is fundraising on Christmas Day itself too is amazing.

“We always make sure our dogs have a very special Christmas, but we can only do what we do all year round because of incredible people like Laura. We want to say a huge thank you to her and all the Dalton-in-Furness dogs and owners that support her over the next few weeks.”

If you would like to support Laura, please go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/laura-curtis-1697289602718