Hundreds of pet lovers have raised over £55,000 by taking part in Battersea’s Muddy Dog Challenge - one of the UK’s biggest obstacle courses where members of the public can take part with their dog.
Over 480 participants and their dogs came together at the brand-new location for 2024 in London’s Crystal Palace Park on Saturday 04 May in a fun-packed day to raise a total of £56,350, helping Battersea care for thousands of dogs and cats every year across the charity’s three centres and through campaigning work and supporting other rescues around the world. This year’s Muddy Dog Challenge has been supported with the kind generosity of Pedigree and Mars Petcare.
After a starting line warm-up, participants took on the course with their dogs as they wriggled through the Canine Crawl, leapt over the Hurdling Hounds and finished the course with a relaxing stop at the Pedigree Pamper Pawlour. Friends, family and volunteers clapped participants across the finishing line, where they were each handed a well-earned Muddy Dog Challenge medal and a rosette for their dogs.
Getting stuck in on the day was Sammy and Luke with their two-year-old dog Voodoo, in memory of their previous dog, Alfie. After losing Alfie, Sammy and her family realised they couldn’t be without a dog and brought home their loveable German Shepherd, Voodoo, who enjoys nothing more than running in the forest, playing games with her family and even singing along to adverts at home.
Talking about the day, Sammy said: “We were completely heartbroken after losing our beloved Alfie, and Voodoo made our family feel whole again. We miss Alfie every day and our memories of him will forever be treasured, so it felt right to do something in his memory. Voodoo absolutely loves the outdoors and spending time around other dogs, so the Muddy Dog Challenge felt like the perfect way to remember Alfie whilst raising money for a cause that’s close to our hearts. Voodoo had so much fun, and she’ll now be going home for a well-earned rest!”
Also taking part on the day was Payal with her nine-year-old Jack Russell Cross, Cooper. Together, they have raised over £800 to support the dogs and cats in Battersea’s care. Payal said: “Myself and my friends wanted to take part in the Muddy Dog Challenge as we all grew up with dogs and couldn’t think of a better charity to raise money for. Battersea does so much to care for dogs and cats for as long as they need them – if we could adopt all the dogs and cats, we really would! Cooper is full of character and has a lot of attitude but is the most loving dog and we had such a fun day together on the course.”
Battersea’s Senior Challenge Events Officer, Jasmine Monk, said: “Thank you so much to everyone who came and took part in the Muddy Dog Challenge with us in London for the first time. We are grateful to everyone who came along – whether they were taking part, volunteering or cheering their loved ones on. All the money raised will allow Battersea’s dedicated staff to care for the thousands of dogs and cats that need our help, for as long as they need us. We wouldn’t be able to do it without everyone’s support. A big thank you to this year’s headline sponsor Pedigree and Mars Petcare, and Dettol for sponsoring the Dettol’s Home Playground obstacle.”
For more information on how to register interest for events taking place in 2024, please visit the Battersea website.
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For further information, images or interviews please contact press@battersea.org.uk.
Notes to editors
- At Battersea we offer our love and expert care to dogs and cats who need us by rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals at our centres, and by sharing our knowledge and resources with rescue organisations around the world. We do this because we want to help every dog and cat, everywhere.
- In 2022 Battersea directly cared for 2,278 dogs and 2,253 cats at our three centres. We also helped thousands more through our Communities programme, campaigning work, supporting other rescues and animal welfare advocates, and sharing knowledge and advice with pet owners.
- In addition to the site in South West London, Battersea also has two other centres based at Old Windsor, Berkshire and Brands Hatch, Kent.
- To find out more visit our website or follow Battersea on Twitter @battersea_ , Instagram @battersea or facebook.com/Battersea.