Pooches enjoy a pawfect day out in Leeds for great cause

They came, they barked and some of them conquered '“ but, most importantly, they all had a glorious day out in Leeds.
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Churwell Environmental Volunteers hosted a fun dog show for the Take My Paw animal charity on Saturday at their Field Centre home in Churwell Urban Woodland.

Categories included handsome male, prettiest female, golden oldie and cutest puppy.

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More than 80 dogs were brought along by their owners for an occasion that attracted around 250 people.

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And, however the various pooches fared in the competition, each and every one went home as a winner, as the day raised nearly £450 for Take My Paw.

Churwell Environmental Volunteers events organiser Joanna Coultous said: “It was excellent – I’ve never seen so many dogs.

“We had dogs from all over, every shape and size you can think of. I didn’t realise there were so many types!

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“The dogs, the people – everyone seemed to enjoy it. We were running out of refreshments by half past two because the crowds were so big.

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“The weather was brilliant as well, which was the icing on the cake.”

The dog show aside, one of the day’s main attractions was the Churwell Woodland Railway.

Managed by Churwell Environmental Volunteers, it is a 7 1/4” gauge miniature railway that has been operating in the woods since 2014.

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“The railway was paid for by the community – they paid for the track, they paid for the loco through sponsorship, so it’s lovely to see the community making the most of it,” said Joanna.

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She added: “The woodland is a bit of a well-kept secret and there are lots of people who don’t know we are here.

“At an event like the one on Saturday, you sometimes hear people saying things like, ‘I have lived in Morley for however many years and I didn’t know this existed’.”

Churwell Woodland Railway is open from 2pm to 4pm on the second and fourth Saturday of the month between May and October.

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The opening of the railway on May 26 will raise funds for the RSPCA.

Schools wanting to arrange their own visits to the attraction are asked to e-mail [email protected].

Other work carried out by Churwell Environmental Volunteers includes dry-stone wall repairs and footpath maintenance.

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