Santa, Gingerbread and Woofability

Santa’s Gingerbread House is returning to the Furlong Centre in Ringwood this Christmas.

The popular house made of giant sweets (not real sadly!) will be open for three weekends on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December in the run up to Christmas. Entry is free, but it is hoped that visitors to see Santa in his yummy abode will donate to the Furlong’s chosen charity.

The Centre is supporting Woofability, a charity dedicated to buying and training dogs for the disabled.

The organiser, Jenny Clarke from Ferndown is herself in a wheelchair, and has a golden retriever called Honey. She trained her first dog twenty six years ago when she first became disabled.

Since April, Jenny has been energetically setting up and running this charity from her home and hopes to raise £45,000 in one year. Already several dogs have been sponsored.

Said Jenny. "Next year we will have ten dogs in training. It takes two years and costs about £5,000 to train each one. The response has been fantastic, we have already raised about £20,000, so we should be on target for that £45,000. Next year we want to make it £100,000.”

Jenny and her team of helpers and puppies will be in the Furlong on 14 November to explain what she is doing and inviting sponsorship and donations.