A Darlington dog lover is taking to the hills and putting her best foot forward for homeless hounds.
Elizabeth Ashlee of Heighington has decided to tackle the Hadrian’s Wall Path in a bid to raise £1,000 to support rescue dogs waiting for their forever homes at Dogs Trust Darlington.
23-year-old Elizabeth, who works as a vet physiotherapist at Wear Referrals Small Animal Hospital in Teesside, says she has been inspired by the dogs she has fostered and adopted from Dogs Trust Darlington since getting involved with the charity in 2018.
She explains: “We fostered four dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages which was wonderful. Then we fell in love with a Greyhound called Pippa who we met at the rehoming centre and we became her forever family.
“Very sadly Pippa died at the end of last year which left us devastated, but we have since welcomed a one-year-old Lurcher puppy, Loki, into our lives who had been found as a stray. He is brilliant, bouncy and keeps us very busy! He has become such an integral part of our lives, bringing us joy and companionship every day.
“Having fostered and now adopted, we have a deep love and appreciation for what Dogs Trust does and we want to give something back. I enjoy walking but have never taken on anything like Hadrian’s Wall, so I decided to push myself and go for it.”
Hadrian’s Wall is a national trail stretching 84-miles coast-to-coast and passing through some of the most beautiful parts of England, taking in rugged moorland, rolling fields and stunning views. It starts in Wallsend, Newcastle, where Elizabeth will begin her trek on Monday 25 March, and ends in Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria.
Elizabeth will be joined on the challenge by her brother Stephen and her parents, Ruth and Phil, will also be tracking their progress and taking them to their overnight accommodation. They will also bring along Loki and nine-year-old Labrador, Rufus, who belongs to Elizabeth’s sister, Caroline, to join them for short stretches of the trek, to encourage them on their way.
Elizabeth has been dedicating her weekends to training, powering her way through 20 kilometres at a time to prepare for completing the walk in six days.
She says: “Loki joins me for parts of my training and it will be wonderful to have him and Rufus alongside us for some of the walk, but he is too young to do too much. He hasn’t finished growing yet so it’s important that he isn’t over-exercised, and Rufus wouldn’t want to do mile after mile either!
“We know there will be difficult times but we’re hoping the spring weather is kind to us. When we are struggling, we will just think of the dogs we are helping and that will definitely make us carry on.”
Alex Hennessey, Manager of Dogs Trust Darlington, says: “It is wonderful that as well as supporting our dogs by volunteering as foster carers and adopting the beautiful Pippa and Loki, Elizabeth is now taking on this incredible challenge with the support of her family. We wish them well and hopefully when they’ve had time to recover, we can welcome them to the rehoming centre so we, and our dogs, can say a massive thank you to them.”
If you would like to support Elizabeth and dogs in need at Dogs Trust Darlington, please go tohttps://www.justgiving.com/page/ashlee-hadrians-wall-2024
