A charity walk in memory of the beloved Max the Miracle Dog has raised more than £51,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
Max, who died in April last year, would have celebrated his 16th birthday on August 12.
To honour his memory, Max’s owner Kerry Irving, of Keswick, invited hundreds of people to join him on a walk to Tewet Tarn which was one of Max’s favourite places.
Among those taking part in the walk, called Brew for Moo, was Grace Gardiner, 16, whose life was saved by the service’s critical care team when she was four months old.
In February 2007, Grace had a blockage in her bowel. Her mother Helen had driven Grace from their home in Penrith to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
However after arriving at the hospital, Grace’s health became progressively worse, and she needed to go to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for treatment.
Unfortunately, there were no viable options available to transfer Grace due to how critically ill she was, but by chance the Great North Air Ambulance team were at the same hospital, so they offered to airlift her.
Grace has since made a full recovery and 16 years later the mother and daughter shared their story with Mr Irving, a charity ambassador for the air ambulance service on his Facebook page called Max Out in the Lake District.
Mr Irving broadcasts his daily walks with his springer spaniels live on Facebook and has used his platform to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.
They joined Mr Irving on his most recent charity walk and Grace donated the tips she earned from her job to support the Great North Air Ambulance, which was £300.
Mrs Gardiner said: “Grace has obviously been aware of the air ambulance all her life but her decision to donate her tips, from the Clickham Inn, was a very personal one.
“If it hadn’t had been for the air ambulance, she just wouldn’t be here.”
Despite the rain, there was a large turnout at Brew for Moo, and the air ambulance’s critical care team landed their aircraft at the event to greet the walkers, including paramedic Lee Salmon who treated Grace when she was just a baby.
Mr Irving said: “We had a fantastic day and the funds we’ve all raised together in memory of Max is incredible and far exceeded what I was expecting.
“The weather didn’t detract from our dog walk, and it was great to see so many happy smiling faces and happy dogs enjoying the outdoors and making new friends.
“Thank you so much to everyone who supported the event through ticket sales and donations, in total we’ve raised more than £51,000.”
