The Wiggle Waggle Walk, which is being organised by the Bay Hospitals Charity, will raise funds for the charity’s Bayb’s Maternity Appeal and dogs the length and breadth of Morecambe Bay are straining at the leash to take part.
Skye, a seven year old black Labrador from Lancaster said: “As soon as I heard about the walk I just KNEW I had to be there. It’s literally all anyone can bark about in the park and everyone who’s anyone is going. It’s clearly the event of the season and for a girl about town like me it’s my time to shine. And let’s face it what better cause could there be then lending a paw to help our local maternity services. I’m in!”
The walk, which sets out from Abbey Mill Café in Barrow at 10am on Sunday 27 August, will follow a three-mile route through the grounds of Furness Abbey.
Toby, an eight year old Jug from Barrow said: “When I heard that there was a chance for local Barrovians like me to help out the local maternity unit I was so excited I couldn’t stop chasing my tail. In fact, I was that excited I actually caught it! “The excitement didn’t stop there. The fact that the ladies of the Roose Towns Women’s Evening Guild have crafted lovely goody bags for every doggy set my tail wagging all over again, that and the news that Pet’s Paradise in Barrow Indoor Market has supplied delicious doggie treats for us all. I have to say the prospect of getting my paws on one of those goody bags has got me even more excited. I can’t wait for the walk! Woof!”
But it’s not just dogs who are urging their caregivers to take part. Casper the Cat, eighteen, from Grange-over-Sands said: “Don’t get me wrong, meow, what dogs do or don’t get up to is usually a matter of supreme indifference to me. But when you think about it the more of them that pop up to Barrow to take part in the walk the less of them there are in the rest of the Bay. And you know what they say…when the dogs away the cats will play. So, less dogs and a great cause, what’s not to like? Meow.”
Registration for the Walk is open until Wednesday 23 August and taking part costs just £8 per family, inclusive of the family dog or dogs. To sign up to event, which is being sponsored by Barrow’s Grove Veterinary Centre, contact Heidi Bowron on 01229 404473 / [email protected], pop in to the Bay Hospitals Charity office in the entrance foyer of Furness General Hospital, or visit Bay Hospitals Charity’s website at www.bayhospitalscharity.org
The Bayb’s Maternity Appeal is funding “extras” for the new maternity unit being built at Furness General Hospital. These ”extras” fall outside the remit of what the NHS is able to fund but have been added to a shopping list of items, all designed to make the unit second to none in the country while giving it a real home from home feel for local families and for new-borns, the best possible start in life.