A colourful Swindog sculpture designed by young children looked after by a Wiltshire hospice has returned home.
The Patches hound appeared as part of the Big Dog Art Trail event held around town in the summer and was hand-painted by seriously ill young people, their siblings, and care staff at Julia’s House with help from artist Hannah Dosanjh.
The large balloon dog sculpture featuring handprints, messages and beautiful pictures was one of 72 Swindogs and Swinpups that appeared on the trail and was then sold off at auction in September.
Overall, the sales at the Steam Museum raised more than £165,000 for the hospice, which supports the families of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
Jo and Del Hall from Chippenham submitted their winning £8,000 bid for Patches online, which was then topped up by a £1,000 donation from a generous supporter.
Jo and Del, who own and manage Survival Equipment Services (SES) in Tetbury, loved all the Swindogs so much that they bought four sculptures on the night- Patches, Puppy Love, Spike and Rainbow Warrior - donating a whopping £23,000 in total to Julia’s House.
The pair said they had always planned to donate Patches back to the hospice so that he could bring joy to the children there for years to come.
Jo said: “The Julia’s House children’s hospice building is a wonderful facility where the charity can provide their much-needed care in such an amazing space.
“It’s great that Patches has been getting lots of attention and is now back in his rightful place!”
Lead nurse Ken Hull said: “We’re so grateful to Jo and Del for their incredible support for Julia’s House.
“It was a pleasure to welcome them to the hospice for a tour of the facilities when they brought Patches over and share more about the work we do in the hospice and wider Wiltshire community.
“Their donation will make a vital difference. We’re all thrilled that Patches will now have his forever home at the hospice.
“The children and staff had so much fun creating his colourful design and exploring the trail, it’s lovely to keep the sculpture here as a special memento of that experience.
“We’ve placed Patches just by the front door to greet all the families and it’s been brilliant to see everyone’s reactions as they arrive.”
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