A VOLUNTEER at Dogs Trust Evesham is hoping to raise £500 for Dogs Trust by taking on the Prudential Ride London.

Jon Rose, 42, from Worcester rehomed his first dog, Scooby, a crossbreed, from the Wickhamford centre in 2006, but after losing him, Mr Rose and his brother Mark, a canine carer at Dogs Trust Evesham, rehomed Woody, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Mr Rose said that his past and present rescue dogs are his ‘inspiration’ for wanting to take on the challenge which will see him pedal 100-miles around London and Surrey on a similar route to that of the London 2012 Olympic road races.

He said: “Both Scooby and Woody have given us so much joy and both were cared for by the team at Dogs Trust Evesham until we gave them their forever home.

"They’re the reason I want to take on this challenge by giving something back to the charity which makes a real difference to the lives of the rescue dogs in their care.

“I absolutely love dogs and Woody is my best mate.

"I couldn’t imagine my life without him and I’m so grateful to Dogs Trust for allowing me and my brother Mark to be his owners. Dogs Trust does such amazing work in ensuring that every dog they care for has the best possible experience whilst they wait to be adopted and I just wanted to do my bit to help.

“I enjoy keeping fit and cycling and I’m really hoping to beat my previous Ride London time by finishing in six hours so I’m really looking forward to the challenge and raising money for a great cause at the same time so dogs like Scooby and Woody can find their happy forever homes too.”

He is already on track to hit his fundraising goal of £500 which will all go towards looking after dogs at Dogs Trust, including those being cared for at the rehoming centre in Wickhamford.

Tracey Spiers, rehoming centre assistant manager at Dogs Trust Evesham, said: “We are so grateful for people like Jon who not only give up their time to help our dogs but challenge themselves in order to raise money for them too.

"Not only will the money raised help us to continue looking after the dogs in our care, but the support and awareness they have generated to spread the word about Dogs Trust is invaluable.”

To donate to his fundraising page visit justgiving.com/fundraising/jonathan-rose8