A Nairn dog-lover has proved she is a cut above the rest after having a radical haircut and raising over £1,000 for rescue dogs.
Nine-year-old Danni Donaldson has been proudly growing her hair all her life but when she decided to take on a new look for charity, she chose to support Dogs Trust, the UK’s leading dog welfare charity.
With the help of TM Barbers in Inverness, Danni watched as her 16-inch long locks were snipped away, and her Mohawk haircut started to take shape. As her hair fell to the floor her fundraising went through the roof; Danni smashed her original £200 target and raised £1,292.
Danni says: “I was a little bit nervous at first but once they’d started cutting it, I was fine and even though it’s very different, I’m really pleased with it. I’m glad I’ve done it and I was so pleased with how much support I got. I hope it helps lots of dogs.”
Dogs Trust has rehoming centres in Glasgow and West Calder as well as a dog fostering scheme in Dundee, finding new homes for hundreds of dogs every year. Last year Dogs Trust received more than 50,000 enquiries from dog-owners facing the heart-breaking decision to hand over their dog, and they continue to receive a record number of enquiries, many as a result of the rise in the cost of living.
Emily Lock, Community Fundraising Assistant for Dogs Trust, said: “Every penny Danni has raised will go to helping our gorgeous dogs live their best lives at Dogs Trust until it’s time for them to head off to their forever homes.
“We look after dogs for as long as it takes for them to find their special someone, whether that’s a few weeks, a few months or years. We will never put a healthy dog to sleep.We have lots of dogs in Scotland ready and waiting to start new lives with new families, and we are caring for many more who will be ready for adoption soon.
“We don’t receive government funding so it is only thanks to supporters like Danni that we can give our dogs everything they need from toys and treats to enjoy or extra training if needed to help them find their forever homes. We are so grateful to Danni and we hope that in the near future she’ll be able to come and visit one of our Scottish centres and meet some of our lovely dogs.”
Danni and her family, dad Steve and mum, Lesley, have two dogs – Jack Russell-Chihuahua Cross brothers Buddy and Ralphie.
Steve says: “We are so proud of Danni. We can’t imagine life without our dogs and when Danni realised some dogs don’t have loving homes, it made her really sad. Having her hair cut off was all her idea and we just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported her. We don’t know what she’ll do next, but she definitely wants to continue to raise money for the dogs at Dogs Trust.”
As well as raising money for Dogs Trust, Danni donated her hair to The Little Princess Trust which provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment and other conditions.
To find out more about Dogs Trust and all of the dogs waiting for new homes, and how you can support the charity, please visit dogstrust.org.uk
