A RHOOSE woman will be heading off on a 177 mile trek in aid of animal rescue organisations later this month,

Jo O'Sullivan will be walking the Offa's Dyke trail from Sedbury Cliffs to Prestatyn to raise money for the local branches of the RSPCA, Cats Protection League, Dogs Trust and the UK German Shepherd Rescue.

Jo explained that the inspiration for the fundraising effort came from reading the story of a German Shepherd named Gabbi on the UK German Shepherd Rescue

website.

"Although I haven’t meant him in person," she said, "His plight made me want to do something extraordinary, not only raising money but also to highlight the needs of these abused and neglected animals in our communities."

Jo will be taking on the challenge, but not alone. She said: "Having decided which charities I wanted to support I made sure I told them straight away as I couldn’t pull out and let them down.

"Luckily Lisa, my step-daughter and her daughter Ella agreed to join me and my three cocker spaniels.

"My poor husband is ferrying us between stops and putting up and taking down the tent.. It’s a real team adventure.

"The organisation of the walk is so much bigger than I anticipated, the training seems to be the easy bit and my dogs absolutely love the extra walking and hill climbing."

Explaining her choices of charities she added: "I have chosen animal charities, not only because of the fact I love animals but also these charities seem to be the ones that go to the bottom of the pile. My aim is to raise £10,000 to be divided between these four amazing charities.

"I would be grateful for absolutely anything you are able to donate to help me reach my target."

Donations can be made by visiting www.justgiving.com/teams/madadventurers