Rescue dog in a wheelchair to climb Yr Wyddfa for charity

A paralysed dog is set to climb Wales' highest mountain to raise funds for the charity that helped to save her.

Hope was abused in Spain as a three-month-old puppy and rescued by Amanda's Scottish Rescue Dogs.

She had crushed vertebrae, a dislocated hip and cranial fissures. Vets feared she would never walk normally again.

Her owner said Hope - who now uses a dog wheelchair - was "quite good proof" that disabled dogs can lead a normal life.

"There are so many dogs out there that people just give up on," Kerry Rushton said.

Ms Rushton and Hope will start their climb up Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, at 05:00 BST on Saturday to escape the worst of the forecasted heat.

They hope to be back down by midday.

The pair have have already raised more than twice their £500 target.

"We were admiring how well she does and thought: let's try and use this and see if we can raise some money for the rescue that rescued her," Ms Rushton said.

Hope, who regularly walks for hours on hilly Dartmoor, has been doing extra hill work in preparation for the trek up Yr Wyddfa.

"The bigger the hill, the more she thinks: right, that's a challenge. And she just marches on ahead of me," Ms Rushford said.

"She's put on 3kg (6lbs) in muscle in the last couple of years," she said. "Her front end is incredibly strong."

Ms Rushford, from Okehampton, Devon, decided to adopt Hope in December 2020 despite already having two rescue dogs.

Hope's paralysis means she does not have full control over her bladder and bowels and her bladder needs to be expressed manually.

"I don't think anyone thinks: I'd love all that extra work," she said. "But I was in a position that I could help her and thought: nobody else will."

Hope suffered repeated urinary tract infections (UTI) and was on the verge of being immune to the antibiotics she had been repeatedly prescribed.

"It was stressful, it was worrying and it was hard work," Ms Rushford said.

"But it's just a way of life now.

"There is just something special about her, she's the life and soul of the party.

"She's very grateful, she's very positive. She's a really lovely dog," she added.