DOG owners in the York area are invited to meet en-masse to walk their pets in an eye catching fundraiser for the charity Guide Dogs.

Guide Dogs are calling on dog owners across the area to make their pet a hero for the day by taking part in Dogs Unite - a sponsored dog walk to fund more life-changing guide dogs for blind and partially sighted people.

The walk will start at Millennium Bridge and take a 40 minute route which will give owners the chance to meet and chat.

As way of thanking the dogs, each will receive its very own super hero cape, a Dogs Unite dog tag medal and a goody bag.

Peter Holdstock, a York Guide Dog owner and organiser of the event said: “I became a Guide dog owner 15 years ago and I can honestly say it changed my life. It gave me the confidence and motivation to get out there, find work and develop a great life and career. My current dog Molly is my third and we are just busy looking to find her a good retirement home as she is now nine-years-old.

“It will be a very sad day when she retires and already I’m thinking about the major difficulties not having a Guide Dog creates such as struggling to get around my office and to the shops. Not to mention how nice it is when complete strangers like to chat because having the dog has broken the ice.

“I recently became chairman of the York fundraising branch because I want to give something back to Guide Dogs as they truly earn and need every penny donated. I’m really hoping we can get plenty of volunteers to help the branch and myself make the next 12 months the most successful year yet.”

It costs £35,000 to create each new guide dog partnership and people can be partnered with as many as eight dogs over the course of their lifetime.

To find out more about Dogs Unite at Millennium Bridge please visit
www.guidedogs.org.uk/dogs-unite/find-events/millennium-bridge

This year’s event will be on Saturday, September 6, at Millennium Bridge, York, YO10 4ER with registration starting at 11am and the walk commencing at 11:30am. The registration fee will be £4.