Brave little dog boosts Harrogate charity with epic walk

One of Knaresborough's favourite little pet dogs has completed an epic walk from coast to coast for charity.
Finished! Leroy the terrier pictured at the end of his epic charity walk at Robn Hood's Bay with Ian Walker. (S)Finished! Leroy the terrier pictured at the end of his epic charity walk at Robn Hood's Bay with Ian Walker. (S)
Finished! Leroy the terrier pictured at the end of his epic charity walk at Robn Hood's Bay with Ian Walker. (S)

Border Terrier Leroy’s owner Phil Smith, the co-owner of the Riverside Cafe on the Waterside, said it had walked 184 of the 192 miles before arriving at Robin Hood's Bay.Phil said: “It was a long walk but he is like a pup, he is full of it. The only problems were poor visibility and fake force winds. It was a fantastic achievement.”As a result of completing the walk with Phil’s friend Ian Walker, which started in St Bees on the west coast more than two weeks ago, at least £2,235 has already been raised for The Robert Ogden Centre at Harrogate Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Care.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 for other cancer sufferers.Ian said: “My care throughout was first class from my doctor to the consultants who saw me and operated,the hospital staff and, finally the nurses at the Sir Robert Ogden Centre,not forgetting the MacMillan Nurse who I saw after the shock of my initial diagnosis.“My initial three-month check was clear and this gave me the impetus to do the walk and to say thank you to everyone involved in my treatment.”The Riverside Cafe is pushing hard to make sure the walk produces lots of funds for these two good causes.The cafe has also baked its own Leroy-shaped ginger biscuits and every penny for every sale will go to charity.Leroy and Ian were accompanied on the trip by friends Karl O’Connor and John Molloy.Readers can donate via JustGiving at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/IANWALKER29