Inspirational Disabled Dogs Finishing 26M Marathon To Raise Money

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Three inspirational disabled dogs from Dogs4Rescue have just completed a marathon raising over £70,000 for a new Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Retreat for the dogs no-one wants. Lollipop, SuperBran and Odin ran 1 mile a day for 26 days between them, inspiring dog lovers around the world to pop a pound in their bucket.

Affectionately known as ‘the handicans’ Lollipop and Bran ran the marathon on their wheels, whilst Odin is ‘boinged’ his way along with his unusual back legs motion.

Emma Billington of Dogs4Rescue said “The boys don’t know they are disabled, they just get on with living their best lives. They love their walks and inspire so many people with their determination and joy for life. The Handicans’ Marathon has been a team effort making sure none of the boys overdid it, especially little Odin, but he loved taking part. Our philosophy is to focus on the things the handicans can do, not the things they can’t.”

Dogs4Rescue crowdfunded £450k at the height of lockdown to purchase their idyllic 41 acre new site on the outskirts of Accrington. Phase 1 plans include a large, fenced dog park and adventure playground, a 40 metre long communal log cabin for the dogs’ accommodation with kitchen and washing facilities, a smaller log cabin for older and disabled dogs with staff quarters, and a donated static caravan for staff accommodation.

Emma Billington of Dogs4Rescue said “ With the current unprecedented crisis in rescue we wanted to start work on the new site before the end of the year. As a small independent we cannot solve the crisis but we can free up some rescue spaces by moving 20 of our sanctuary dogs to the new site. We recently lost Sherry, the queen and matriarch of our rescue pack who paved the way for all the disabled dogs in our care, and wanted to do something in her memory. What could be more fitting than her proteges following in her pawprints and running their marathon. We are blown away by how much support the boys have received.”

The rescue did not set a fundraising target for the marathon as they wanted to be sensitive of the cost of living crisis with their supporters. However it is estimated the works will cost in excess of £275,000. Emma said “We have some funds put by towards the works but anything the general public can spare will help us get phase 1 up and running sooner. £1, £5 or £10 really does make a big difference to a small rescue like ourselves”.

As for the rest of the site Emma says the subsequent phases will happen when funds are available. “Developing the site to its full potential (being able to help 80 rehab dogs at a time) will probably take us many years. The scale is both daunting and exciting, but the potential is as big as our imagination. In the absence of funding or a major donation we will keep striving to move onto the next phase, and then the next. I fought to save Sherry and give her a long, fulfilling life and every battle I have fought since I draw on the strength she has given me. But of course, with people’s help we will be able to complete the site sooner, and be able to save so many more dogs.”

You can donate to the Dogs4Rescue Handicans Marathon on the Dogs4Rescue website: https://dogs4rescue.co.uk/donate/