'˜Obsessed' Eva donates festive treats for dogs

Eva Gee, eight, of Church Avenue, Leighton Buzzard, encouraged her neighbours, family, school, and friends at the Leighton Buzzard Children’s Theatre to club together and donate dog food and toys for the canines at Appledown Rescue Centre in Eaton Bray.

Thankful for Eva’s kindness, the centre staff then visited Pulford’s to give a special assembly and invited Eva along to the centre to bring the treats.

Eva said: “I chose Appledown because it is nearby where we live and we found them on the internet. I like dogs because they are the first animal I saw after I was born.

“We have a dog called Dudley, a staffie-boxer crossbreed who is now 15, and we have also got Alfie, a labradoodle who is two.”

For the special assembly, Appledown staff brought two dogs into the school to help tell the children about the rescue centre. Eva was even invited on stage and allowed to stroke the guest dogs.

She said: “One was a Chihuahua and the other dog had been rescued from a field at Christmas when he was only 14 weeks old.

“I also went to visit the centre with my friend, Lorie, who thought the dogs were adorable. We saw one being put into the kennels which was sad and we learnt that more dogs are abandoned before Christmas because people want to make room for family who are coming to stay!”

Eva lives at home with her dad, Tony, 53, and mum, Marianne, 50, and has four sisters, Kayleigh, Leah, Paige, and Dayna, and one brother, Kieran.

Eva’s dad, Tony, said: “She is just obsessed with dogs. Anything with dogs in she just loves! Donating the treats was Eva’s Christmas wish. She watched a sad film called A Dog Named Christmas, which inspired her to donate.”

Eva spent Christmas with her family and thinks that Alfie and Dudley are spoilt, enjoying Christmas ‘a bit too much!’