EASTCOTT vets staff pledged to raise £10,000 for Guide Dogs back in September 2011 in return for the chance to name their own guide dog puppy.

After a number of fundraising events, the team has presented the cheque to Alan Fletcher from Swindon Guide Dogs and met guide dog puppy, Edison, named after their newest hospital in Edison Park on Dorcan Way.

One of the fundraising events was the Coniston Challenge, a 17km mountain bike ride, a 3km paddle and a 10km hike to the summit of the famous ‘Old Man of Coniston’, 803 metres above sea level.

This event alone raised almost £7,000, with the rest of the funds raised through a cocktail party, charity ball and an open day.

Edison is an eight-month-old black Labrador and will soon begin his training to become a guide dog to the blind.

Training a guide dog costs around £34,000 and takes about 24 months to complete. The guide dog service receives no government funding and relies solely on donations from the public and business.

Alan said: “I want to thank all of the staff at Eastcott Vets for all of the hard work they put into raising the amount they did – we were thrilled and want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts.“ Richard Gowshall, one of the vets and director at Eastcott Vets said: “We were pleased to be able to help and we look forward to monitoring Edison’s progress over the next few years.”

Eastcott Vets will post updates on Edison’s progress over the coming months when its new website is launched at www.eastcottvets.co.uk