Message from Gemma Fairhurst - Founder of Scoff Paper
Hi there!
If you know me in any way or you know our crazy doggy card business, Scoff Paper then you'll probably know that we support Guide Dogs for the Blind.
I am a volunteer puppy raiser and have been for ten years after I suffered a massive heart attack. From that point on, guide dogs have given me a special purpose in my life and have changed me so much for the better.
But if it weren't for my first ever guide dog pup, I don't think I'd even be here to tell you this.
Ian came to me at seven weeks old and changed my life forever.
As I was recovering from having a pacemaker fitted, I lived solely through Ian and we flourished together.
When it was time for him to grow up and fly the nest, I was so sad to see him leave, but so proud of what he had become.
As a stroke of sheer good will, the forever dad who Ian was matched with, Mark, got in touch with me and told me that I could still stay in touch with Ian and I was so pleased.
We have kept in touch all the time, had hundreds of visits and I've even become good friends with Mark and his lovely wife Kerry.
So much so in fact that we hatched a plan that when Ian retired at around ten years old, he would actually come back to live with me and my family.
We have all looked forward to welcoming back our Ginger Prince for so many years and it was all going to be so perfect.
However, on Christmas Eve, we found out that Ian wasn't well. He had a mass growing in his chest and was finding it difficult to walk.
I headed over to be by Ian and Mark's side while the vets did tests and shortly after Ian was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just a couple of months to live.
He was only a few months from retirement and we're all completely devastated.
He has now been quickly retired from Guide Dog work and has returned to us to live out his days now, but as you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for us.
We so wanted for Ian to live a long and happy life and now he can't we feel like we should do something that he can be remembered by.
Therefore we're raising the money it takes to sponsor another guide dog and we're going to name him IAN!
His name has always put a smile on people's faces, so we thought it was the perfect way to make a tribute to him.
I'm therefore putting on a charity dog walk - open to everyone, not just dog walkers, to come and support.
Some can walk, if they don't want to, they can cheer us on, any support would be just perfect.
If you can't come, then please donate and/or share to your friends.
Visit our GofundMe page to donate and share.
You can read our full story there about Ian and the work he's done.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your support.
Gem x
Leave a comment