Great North Dog Walk to support Liam and Chloe Together Forever Trust

Tony Carlisle with the Great North Dog Walk topiary dog.

The hugely popular annual event in South Shields is just weeks away and organiser Tony Carlisle says it aims to be bigger and better than ever - and raise cash for the Together Forever Trust.

The Trust - set up in memory of South Shields couple Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry who died in the Manchester bombings last year - is one of 20 organisations which will benefit from what will be the 28th year of the event.

Great North Dog Walk competitors taking part in the annual event held on The Leas, South Shields.

The dog walk will take place on Sunday, June 3, on The Leas in South Shields.

Tony hopes, 61, says he hopes this year will see another record-breaking turn out of hounds and their owners.

The dad-of-three said: “We are hoping to see 31,000 dogs taking part and between 40,000 to 45,000 people over the course of the day.

“It is free to enter and there will be lots of stalls.

“Our main sponsor is the Dogs Trust and we are looking to raise funds for 20 charities including Newcastle Dog and Cat Sanctuary and Cash for Kids.

“This year we also want to make the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust an official beneficiary of the Great North Dog Walk. I was involved in teaching Liam’s brother and what happened has really affected me.

“It will be one of our main causes this year as it is something that has touched everyone’s hearts.”

The walk became a Guinness World Record Holder in June 2011 with 22,742 dogs, represented by 182 breed participating.

Last year 30,114 dogs were walked.

This year Tony’s one-year-old black Labrador Bella-Blu will be the lead dog in the walk.

Tony added: “There is so much love and passion for charity work and people want to turn up and show their support.

“We want to raise money for local charities and have everyone turn up to have a fun day.”

The walk will start at 10.30am on Sunday, June 3, from the Leas, opposite the Bamburgh pub.

It is free to enter and people can register on the day from 9am until last entry at 3pm.

There is a maximum of four dogs per person allowed.

Local businesses are invited to get in touch if they would like a stall at the event.

To register online and for more details visit http://www.greatnorthdogwalk.co.uk