Virtual Dog Walk with Keep Your Pet

Make your dog a media star!

This is my idea of a virtual dog walk!

York-based ‘Keep your pet’ (KYP) is continuing to provide its valued service to pet owners, and will do so as long as sufficient of its amazing volunteers are available.

KYP volunteers and staff recognise how especially important the company and security of a pet can be at this time, not least in maintaining a routine and sense of normality. So far during the current crisis KYP, administered by Age UK York, has helped over 60 people.

However, having had to cancel its major fund-raising event of the year, the annual dog walk on the Knavesmire and other events, Keep Your Pet is instead asking people to join in a ‘virtual dog walk’.

Keep Your Pet clients, supporters and all other dog owners are invited to take part by submitting photographs of their dogs, with or without their owners, along with a minimum donation of £5 per entry.

Keep Your Pet will create a ‘dog walk gallery’ on its website, and photos will be submitted to the press.

Winning entrants will receive a virtual and (in time) a real rosette.

As with the traditional dog walk other activities are also on offer:

  • where entrants express an interest and supply an appropriate photo they can take part in the ‘owner and dog look-a-like’ competition
  • where a caption to the photo has been supplied there is entry into the caption competition
  • there is the opportunity to take part in a ‘guess the name of a puppy’ competition.

Whilst receiving a majority of its funds from Age UK York, Keep Your Pet cannot function at the current level without donations and fundraising events. Expenditure includes publicity & administration costs. Chair of KYP, Keith Martin said:

“We would love to see you at our virtual dog walk and we also welcome support for Keep Your Pet on a regular basis – details can be downloaded from the website here.   We are still hoping that the actual dog walk can be rearranged for September 2020.”

How to enter

Entries should be sent between 3rd and 10th May 2020 to kypfundraising@gmail.com. One photo of a dog with a suitable caption and/or one photo of owner and dog to enter the lookalike competition. Photos need to be in jpg format. In addition entrants can guess the name of the female puppy displayed on the Keep Your Pet website.

The details and conditions of the competition rules can be found at www.keepyourpet.co.uk

Entries will need to be accompanied by a minimum £5 donation. Donations can be made through PayPal on the website www.keepyourpet.co.uk or by cheque payable to Keep Your Pet and sent to: KYP Treasurer, 8 Cromwell Road, Bishophill, York, YO1 6DU. Name and address to be included so that receipt can be acknowledged.

The names of entrants need to be stated in the submission email. It will be assumed that there is approval for the picture to be posted online & published in the media unless otherwise stated. An address for the postage of rosettes should be included in the event of the entrant achieving one of the top three places.

Further information from: 07592547326 or kypfundraising@gmail.com and on the website www.keepyourpet.co.uk

Last year’s walk when we could all get together
Tommo looking smart
Oscar’s enjoying it

‘Keep your pet’ (KYP) helps older & vulnerable people in York and Selby by looking after their pets during times of medical or other emergency, so that they can return to caring for their pet when they have recovered.   KYP was launched in November 2012 by a partnership between RSPCA York & District, Age UK York, & Age UK Selby.   A team of local volunteers offers dog walking, pet fostering, feeding animals or transport to a vet.   A part-time organiser administers the scheme from the Age UK Priory Street office.

KYP works in three ways in that it benefits animals, their owners, & the volunteers, particularly those who are unable to keep an animal of their own but wish to have contact, or those whose own animals have recently died.

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