A Suffolk dog lover who started a specialist wheelchair charity as a legacy to her beloved pet Winston has shared how his legacy has helped some 400 dogs.
As we enter the final week of collecting tokens for our Cash for Charity initiative, readers will be able to read about the exploits of the causes seeking a share of the £16,000 available and what it will mean to them.
Rachel Wettner, the founder of Winston’s Wheels, created the charity following her own journey caring for her late Staffordshire bull terrier Winston.
In 2017, at the age of nine, Winston began showing signs of a more pronounced swagger, which led to the diagnosis of a tumour and the loss of use in his hind legs.
Determined to give him a fighting chance and through the kindness of a stranger, Ms Wettner was given a specialist wheelchair that Winston could use to go to his favourite places around Sudbury.
It inspired her to set up a charity providing wheelchairs for dogs with mobility or illness to continue being dogs.
The 46-year-old Great Cornard resident said: “He had three years in his wheelchair. Everybody that knew him knew he was so happy and he did everything he did before just in a wheelchair.
He was still the same dog but his legs did not work.”
Initially, Winston’s Wheels began as a fundraiser on Facebook to fund wheelchairs, which cost anything between £230 to £800 depending on the dog's size.
Ms Wettner said: “Just three months after Winston’s passing we got charity status, we have been able to make it his legacy."
The reach Miss Wettner has means hundreds of wheelchairs are now currently out across England and Northern Ireland, after being sent from her home in Great Cornard, near Sudbury.
The charity now sees vets recommending owners to come to Winston's Wheels which has allowed her to help in excess of 300 to 400 dogs.
The wheelchair that Winston was given has itself helped four dogs.
Winston’s Wheels is one of 10 charities across Suffolk and Norfolk that readers can collect tokens for to win a share of £16,0000 from the charitable arm of Newsquest Media Group’s parent company, the Gannett Foundation.
The full list includes Broomhill Trust, GoStart Community Transport, Footsteps Walking With You, Jetty Lane CIO, UK Norwich, Dereham Meeting Point, the 1st Attleborough (St Mary's) Scout Group and North Walsham Play vying for votes, as well as Topcats.
Tokens found in the Ipswich Star and East Anglian Daily Times can be taken to Cash for Charity collection boxes at local supermarkets, newsagents and other prominent locations in the area, or by sending to Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE.
The last tokens should arrive ahead of Sunday, November 20.
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