Sky Blues fans enjoy doggy cuddles, as they raise more than £2,000 for charity Guide Dogs

Coventry City fans were treated to doggy cuddles before last month’s match against Preston North End.

Two-legged and four-legged volunteers from sight loss charity Guide Dogs ran a pre-match collection at the game on Saturday 22 February at the Coventry Building Society Arena, raising £2,237.

Charles Bloch, former guide dog owner and deputy group co-ordinator for the Guide Dogs Coventry fundraising group, said: “We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone at Coventry City Football Club for supporting us with this collection.

“Our volunteers and dogs had a fantastic time meeting football fans before the match and were overwhelmed by their generosity.

Volunteers and dogs from charity Guide Dogs outside the CBS Arena.placeholder image
Volunteers and dogs from charity Guide Dogs outside the CBS Arena.

“My first guide dog Carlo has recently retired, after supporting me for nine years, so I know first-hand how amazing guide dogs are and what a difference they make to people with sight loss.

“We hope we can work with Coventry City FC in the future and raise more awareness, and vital funds, for our charity.”

There are 2 million people living with sight loss in the UK and this number is set to double by 2050.

Guide Dogs has trained over 37,500 guide dogs. That’s more than one new guide dog every day since the charity’s first guide dog partnerships were created in 1931.

A dog from charity Guide Dogs at the Coventry City game.placeholder image
A dog from charity Guide Dogs at the Coventry City game.

It costs the charity £38,110 to train a guide dog, transforming them from a pup into a partnership.

Are you an organisation in Coventry who would like to fundraise for Guide Dogs? To find out more about supporting us and even naming your own guide dog pup, contact: [email protected]

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