Meet Annie, a beautiful black Labrador / Golden Retriever. Annie was named by the Hillary Hikers, a group of friends from Northern Ireland, who took on a fundraising challenge together.
Puppy Annie was named by the Hillary Hikers, a group of friends who came together and set themselves the challenge of trekking to Everest Base Camp, while fundraising for Guide Dogs, a charity close to their hearts.
The Hillary Hikers set up an online fundraising page to raise sponsorship and to their surprise very quickly surpassed their initial £10,000 fundraising target. The group had a Mascot which they named Hillary, after Everest Explorer Sir Edmund Hillary. The mascot took form of a guide dog soft toy, and was used to promote their fundraising and even accompanied the group on their trek. Incredibly the group’s continued fundraising efforts has resulted in 7 named guide dog puppies!
Sadly, the group suffered the loss of some loved ones in the run up to their expedition. Annie’s name was chosen as a fitting tribute to a group member’s mother, who unfortunately passed away before their trek. Four of the groups seven puppies were named in memory of loved ones.
We have been overwhelmed by the public’s interest and support. We raised £36,000 in total for Guide Dogs and have enjoyed the Name a Puppy scheme so much that we have now named 7 puppies. It’s amazing to know that our fundraising has set 7 puppies off on their journeys to become incredible guide dogs for people living with sight loss.
We are ecstatic. We never would have dreamt at the start how successful our fundraising would be. A small group, just trying to raise awareness and funds for this wonderful charity, who dared to dream big.
Did you know that we have a wide range of different breeds and cross breeds? It’s a common misconception that all guide dogs are Labradors.
Here is a rough break down of our dogs;
Ready to start your Name a Puppy journey?