Hardy animal lovers braved a chilly night in the dog house at the weekend, raising £800 for Perthshire Abandoned Dogs Society (PADS).
Five volunteers and their pooches bedded down at Perth Pet Care on Friday night, as temperatures dropped as low as 5C inside their kennels.
Despite the cold conditions, they set up camp for the night with only jumpers, sleeping bags and cuddles from the dogs for warmth.
Another dog and his owner were supposed to take part, before he found his way into a packet of mince pies and had to stay at home.
Organiser Elaine Macfarlane, head trainer at Perth Pet Care, said the volunteers dealt with the temperatures better than everyone had expected.
“It was grand, the cold was surprisingly manageable,” she said.
“It was very exciting for the dogs so they kept us awake more than the cold did.
“We got more sleep than we expected but it was very on and off. We would get an hour or so then one dog would bark then an hour later it was a different dog.
“At its coldest it was about five degrees inside the kennels, which was only a couple of degrees warmer than outside. We didn’t have heating on or anything so there wasn’t much difference.”
The group set a fundraising target of £250, with all proceeds going to the PADS kennels at Forteviot, but quickly clocked up £600 in online sponsors.
Offline donations are still coming in but the team expects a final total of around £800.
Elaine said: “It well surpassed our target so we’re all really happy.
“PADS is the main rescue centre in Tayside and a long-standing charity. Quite a few of the dogs we get coming into the centre came from PADS so it’s very important to us.”
The event was so successful that plans are already afoot to repeat it.
“There is already interest in doing it again next year,” Elaine said.
“I don’t know if the same volunteers will be up for it again but I know other people definitely want to take part. There are already plans to go ahead with it again and hopefully it will be bigger next year.”
All volunteers were thanked by PADS vice chairwoman Alison Kennedy.
“It was quite an unusual way to raise money and we are chuffed to bits they decided to do it,” she said.
“The weather was terrible so we were thinking about them on the night and we are very grateful to all of them.”
Online donations can still be made at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/james-todd-1?utm_term=jAQZ4263J.
