Lakes Collection partners with LDMRSDA

UK-based dog food brand Lakes Collection has announced a new long-term partnership with Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dogs Association (LDMRSDA), a volunteer-led charity that deploys specialist dog teams to help search for missing people across the fells.

As part of this five-year sponsorship, Lakes Collection will be fuelling the search dogs with its Lakes Collection range, alongside a 20% discount in-store for the operational members.

The company also pledged to support LDMRSDA’s fundraising activities through events and activities to raise awareness of its vital work.

The LDMRSDA is made up of eight teams of graded search dogs and their handlers, with four more dog teams currently in training. All handlers are members of Cumbrian mountain rescue teams and are deployed with their dogs when their specialist search skills are required.

The association is made up entirely of volunteers, and it costs around £60,000 per year to run.
Based in Keswick, it has around 80 members, including the dog teams, training assessors, and dogs bodies, who play a vital role in training exercises by lying out on the fells waiting to be discovered by the dogs.

Jade Earley, general manager of Lakes Collection, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside the Association to support the essential life-saving work they do in the Lake District and beyond. As a Cumbrian-based company, it’s really important to us that we actively support causes which are important to our customers and our team, who are all passionate about animals.

“The Lakes Collection range is inspired by our roots in Cumbria and the Lake District, so linking up with the Association is the perfect fit for us. The search dogs are true Cumbrian heroes, and we hope through our partnership we can give something back in recognition of the brilliant work they do.”

Rob Grange, chair of LDMRSDA, added: “The work we do is crucial in situations where someone is lost on the fells and needs to be found quickly. A search dog can cover the same area that it would take around 40 people to cover.

“The costs associated with training and deploying search dogs can be significant, and as a charity which relies entirely on donations, securing the partnership with WCF Pet & Equestrian is a huge boost for us in terms of their support and in raising the awareness of what we do. Working with a local company which shares our love of dogs, and the Lake District is the perfect combination for us.”