IT has been best paw forward for a West Somerset Labrador this month as he helps his owner clock up 100 miles to raise vital funds for St Margaret’s Hospice.

Benji and Guide Dog puppy raiser and former Exmoor National Park ranger Alison Kent, of Fitzhead, near Wiveliscombe, are doing the hospice’s ‘Walk 100 Miles With Your Dog’ challenge and cruising along so far, taking daily walks on most days.

Ms Kent said: “My brother was in St Margaret’s for a spell and died of a brain tumour during Covid, and I will never forget how good the hospice was.

“I love walking and have done lots all my life, so when I saw the hospice was looking for people and their dogs to walk 100 miles cumulatively in their own time during January, it is a good way to start the new year, get fit, and walk with a purpose.”

Ms Kent has worked as a Guide Dog puppy raiser since 2010, and has also boarded or fostered them.

She was asked to take in Benji, who is two-and-a-half years old, after he became stressed during his training, and it became clear he did not have the right temperament for the work despite being intelligent.

At the time, Ms Kent already had a Guide Dog puppy she was training, as well as two older dogs, including a retired guide dog, but she took the plunge and Benji now has his paws firmly under the table.

Walking is a vital part of daily life for them, and he has even joined her for long distance walks, such as the 70-plus miles Cumbria Way last year.

Now, they are on target to finish the challenge by the end of January, and raise whatever they can.

Anybody who would like to donate can do so by visiting their JustGiving page.