Lovable Knaresborough dog's epic charity walk

His little terrier legs are still going strong but one of Knaresborough's most popular dogs is still a long way from home.
Charity walk - Knaresborough Riverside Cafe's Leroy the Border Terrier and Ian Walker.Charity walk - Knaresborough Riverside Cafe's Leroy the Border Terrier and Ian Walker.
Charity walk - Knaresborough Riverside Cafe's Leroy the Border Terrier and Ian Walker.

Having set off from St Bees last Friday, Leroy the Border Terrier and his travelling companion Ian Walker still have more than half of the 192 miles of the Coast to Coast walk to go.But the cause is a good one - the man-and-dog duo are raising funds for The Robert Ogden Centre at Harrogate Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Care.Leroy actually belongs to Phil Smith, the co-owner of the Riverside Cafe down on the Waterside.Phil said: "Everyone loves Leroy at the cafe, especially our customers and visitors to the town."Ian looks after him when we're busy. He's like his adopted dad."Having dipped their toes - and paws - in the sea at the west coast last week, the traditional way of starting the Coast to Coast walk, Leroy and Ian are scheduled to reach the east coast at Robin Hood's bay a week on Saturday, September 16, if all goes well.The idea for their epic charity adventure came after Ian discovered he had bladder cancer.Fortunately, the diagnosis and subsequent operation were swift and successful but Ian wanted to do something in gratitude to help other cancer sufferers.The real star of the show is, obviously, Leroy. And should the little fellow get a bit tired, Ian has a solution.He just pops the terrier in the back of his rucksack!The Riverside Cafe is pushing hard to make sure the walk produces lots of funds for these two good local causes.Readers can donate via JustGiving at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/IANWALKER2 and the cafe's Facebook page will follow Leroy's progress.The cafe has also baked its own Leroy-shaped biscuits and every penny from every sale will go to charity.