West Yorkshire woman raises over £10,000 in 'dog lottery' for UK charities after losing job to Covid

Lisette van Riel, from Ackworth in West Yorkshire, launched the 'DoggyLottery' with Lee Brown after the pair recognised how shelters were struggling during lockdown.

The lottery launched just over six months ago in July 2020 and so far has raised £10,000 for dog charities across the UK.

DoggyLottery operates like a regular lottery with tickets costing £1.50 and every month, members of the public nominate five different dog rescue centres for 60 per cent of the sales to be shared between.

A further 30 per cent goes to the prize fund which is shared between 20 winners a week.

Lisette, who lost her job during the pandemic, said: “The existence of dog rescue centres is so important and to hear many are having to close their doors is just heartbreaking.

"We hope that by raising funds for dog charities in need we can help them survive.

“We have been overwhelmed with the support from the public so far.

"Every week we are seeing our numbers increasing and we are committed to making the next 6 months even better.

"By working together we can change dogs’ lives forever!”

Since its launch, DoggyLottery has raised over £10,000 for 35 different rescue centres.

Border Collie Trust UK is one of the recent dog charities to have received over £1,500 from DoggyLottery.

Ben Wilkes from Border Collie Trust UK said: “Funding for the Animal Welfare Sector has been hit really hard and the money gifted from the DoggyLottery will help with all the outgoings that have remained the same.

"To put it into perspective, £5 provides flea and worm treatment for one dog, £10 provides vaccinations for one dog, £15 will feed a dog for a month and £100 will neuter a dog.”

Each week, the DoggyLottery site features 'stars of the week' which are connected to that week's five participating rescue centres.

A game on the site allows users to vote for the 'star' dogs to help their charity receive a bigger share of the raised funds.

More information about the DoggyLottery can be found here.