Care Home Teams and Their Dogs Get Muddy at Charity Obstacle Course

Teams from care homes across Dorset and their dogs took part in a charity obstacle course in Poole in aid of a good cause.

Residents, staff and their families took on the Muddy Dog Dash alongside their four-legged friends in aid of Lewis-Manning Hospice Care on Sunday 17 March. Staff members got thoroughly muddy competing whilst the residents enjoyed staying warm and clean cheering them on from the side lines.

More than 20 residents from St Ives Country House Care and Dorset House, run by not-for-profit charity Care South, cheered on the event’s participants which featured dogs and their owners facing a host of fun obstacles at Upton Country Park. Afterwards, the residents got together to enjoy lunch in the tea rooms.

Pat, who lives at Dorset House care home in Hamworthy, said: “It was a wonderful day. I loved meeting the different dogs at the event, particularly the labradors as it reminded me of the labrador I used to have, and meeting the families of the staff who work in our care homes. Everyone did so well.”

Yvonne, who also lives at Dorset House care home, said: “It was such a lovely day. It was incredible to see so many dogs in one place.”

Over 400 people took part in this year’s Muddy Dog Dash alongside more than 200 dogs to raise money for Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, which supports people with life-limiting illnesses and their families across East Dorset.

Chris Golding, Head of Marketing and PR at Care South, said: “At Care South, we love enabling the residents to enjoy all sorts of activities, and this one is quite unique! The team, myself and my family thoroughly enjoyed being participating in the race – but most rewarding of all was seeing how much fun the residents had cheering us on and laughing at how muddy we were!”.

Tom Goodinge, Director of Fundraising at Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, said: “We were thrilled to see the Care South residents cheering from the sidelines of our Muddy Dog Dash, as well as members of the care home teams taking part in the obstacle course. We are so pleased to receive such fantastic support from Care South who help us to support more people with life-limiting illnesses during their time of need.”