Good boy! Dogs help raise £35,000 for hospice

Hundreds of dogs and their owners helped raise £35,000 for a charity which supports more than 4,000 patients with life-limiting illnesses every year.

The Suffolk Dog Day took place at Trinity Park, in Ipswich, and featured everything from dog classes and agility courses to competitions and countless stalls.

The event raised funds for St Elizabeth Hospice, which helps people and their families in east and mid-Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and the Waveney valley.

James Fox-Golding, events and challenges manager at the hospice, said the funday was "a paw-sitively perfect day" and "a joy to host".

"Every penny raised will help us continue providing vital support to people and families in our local community when compassionate care matters most," he said.

"A huge thank you to our headline sponsors, our wonderful volunteers and stallholders for helping to make the day possible."

The services provided by St Elizabeth Hospice, which was rated "outstanding" by the Care Quality Commission in 2023, cost around £12m to deliver every year.

The majority of those funds — about 70% — are generated by the community's support through donations and events, such as the Suffolk Dog Day.

At this year's event, history was made when a family of Northern Inuit dogs took home the Best In Show prize for the first time, as well as the Happiest Family award.

Owner Georgina Heap said she was "very shocked and just so happy to win", while fellow owner Tracey Fowler said she was "over the moon".

"We are proud of all the dogs and Suffolk Dog Day was so well run and a brilliant event to be a part of," added Heap.

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