ONE woman’s mission to raise thousands for Guide Dogs UK took her on a walking tour of the entire country – wearing a dog suit.
Penketh resident, Karin Snape, kick started her retirement off with an unforgettable adventure.
The 66-year-old has managed to raise more than £24,000 for the charity she so dearly loves while also walking a phenomenal 920 miles over two months.
Her journey began on April 15 with a long drive from her home in Penketh to John O’Groats, a small, picturesque village in Scotland.
Donation bucket in hand, Karin plotted a route that would eventually get her to her end goal destination at Lands End in Cornwall.
Speaking of the generosity of people who put her up along the way, she said: “People were so kind and stepped up to help.
“People would collect me from whichever location I was at, take me to their home, feed me, give me a bed to stay in for the night and then drop me back off at the location so I could begin walking again.
“I was put up all the way along apart from seven bed and breakfasts and in actual fact I only paid for one of those.”
The courageous guide dog trainer did the entire trek alone, receiving help from locals for directions and raising awareness wherever she could about the need for more funding for guide dogs.
In true Forrest Gump style, she kept the momentum going, even walking down the sides of motorways to get to her next destination, with plenty of supporters dropping a note in the bucket on passing.
“A scaffolder pulled over and told me the lane I was walking on was very dangerous. He offered to drop me at the start of the canal nearby which would be a safer route.
“There was a café nearby and he bought me a coffee and gave the owner of the shop a twenty-pound note and told her to make sure I was fed before I left.”
Karin left Scotland down the east coast making her way through Edinburgh and over to Carlisle before passing through her hometown and down towards Coventry, Lemington Spa and the Cotswolds.
During her trek, she was even picked up by police who had responded to reports of concern of her safety, as she was found walking alongside a dual carriageway on the A30.
Nearing the end of her adventure, Karin was joined by some of her friends from the WI who walked the last five miles to the finger post at Lands End with her.
She arrived at her final destination on June 12.
The fury dog suit stayed on the entire duration of the journey across the country.
“When it came to final destination, I wanted to keep going but I had ran out of country,” she laughed.
“I did not want to stop. It was a massive achievement. The weather was incredible too, I only drowned twice.”
The donation bucket she carried everywhere alone collected an outstanding £6,500, without the added help of the donation page and several market stalls they held on the run up to the event.
Each time the donation bucket became to heavy with change, Karin would find a business in whichever location she was in and swap all her change for the correct notes.
“In Carlisle I was carrying round £250 worth of change but luckily a garage needed £200 worth of change,” she said.
Karin’s love for Guide Dogs UK began 30 years ago when she first started training guid dog puppies- something she still does regularly now.
“You are given them at eight weeks old and you keep them for a year. You take them everywhere with you, it is not like having a normal pet. They have to see and experience everything so that nothing takes them by surprise.
“We teach them to go to the toilet on command, they have to come to me on command.
“It is great fun and it is so rewarding. I have trained every different type of breed over the years.”
Karin will receive a new guide dog in August. Summarising her unique and brilliant outlook on life, she said: “I do not turn down opportunities, you should grab it firmly by the throat and do it.”
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