Could I please thank the good people of Trowbridge and beyond, for their support of the Guide Dog Association during our pop-up stall in Castle Place last week. We managed to raise over £2,000 during the week thanks to the generosity of local folk.
Not many people realise that just one guide dog costs approximately £56k from cradle to grave and we receive no government funding (with the exception of service personnel) so we volunteers have to raise every single penny! Our local group has members in Trowbridge, Westbury, Staverton, Westwood, Bratton and Warminster and relies entirely on local people to help us raise funds – and they never let us down.
We have our annual Guide Dogs coffee morning, from 10am-12 noon in Westbury on Saturday, October 14 at the Paragon Hall in Westbury, organised, as ever, by Hilary Reed who has puppy walked over 45 dogs so far, and has worked tirelessly for many years to raise funds for the association. 
We hope that lots of Wiltshire Times readers will come along and support us if they can. 
There will be plenty of homemade cakes to go with your coffee/tea, plus raffles, tombolas and lots of stalls. And of course, there will be an opportunity to meet our lovely puppies and, if you are interested, find out more about puppy walking or other ways in which you can become involved.
Sue Packer
Laverton Road
Westbury