From Port Vale to Chelsea For Charity

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One woman and her dog walk 200 miles in aid of guide dogs for blind

When Nicola Cockburn was partnered with her new guide dog Chelsea, she wanted to say thanks for her as well as her previous guide dog Vale, by raising money for Guide Dogs - but how?

In honour of the guide dogs names she will walk the 200 miles from the ground of Port Vale FC to Chelsea FC’s stadium.

Nicola, 29, and Chelsea, a black Labrador, hope to meet some of the star players from the two football teams at the beginning and end of their marathon walk. They want to raise as much money as they can to donate to Guide Dogs, to help provide other visually impaired people with the life changing freedom and independence that a guide dog brings.

Nicola has been with her second guide dog Chelsea - who will accompany her for sections of the walk - for nine months. To train for the walk, Nicola is now a regular in the gym and can be seen on training walks around the local area. She will soon step up her training by walking in the local mountains to get used to the rough terrain.

One of the main reasons for this walk is Vale, Nicola’s previous guide dog, who was her loyal companion for over 9 years until she was retired last year due to old age, but now lives with Nicola and Chelsea. The Golden Retriever was extra special to Nicola as she was awarded the title of Exceptional Work Guide Dog of the Year 2005, after helping Nicola to lead a more independent and varied life. Vale helped Nicola to attend university as well as be able to tour the country with a theatre company. This meant a set of new routes for Vale to learn but she took it in her stride and successfully guided Nicola everywhere they needed to go.

At the time, Nicola commented: “Vale is amazing; whenever we travel away from home she copes extremely well with any changes and is always willing to adapt to the new environment. Once we come home she remembers all of our old routes, including back to college when we haven’t been for many months – she’s amazing”.

Rod Arthern from Guide Dogs fundraising commented: ”We wish Nicola and Chelsea luck for their walk and hope that they reach their fundraising targets. They are certainly putting in lots of hard work with their training and are really looking forward to their two week trek!

“It costs £10 per day to breed, train and support each of the 4,600 guide dog partnerships in the UK and as we receive no Government funding, every penny that Nicola raises will help to make a big difference to the lives of visually impaired people in the UK”.

For more information about this amazing task, go to Nicola's website at www.valetochelsea.co.uk

September 10, 2007