Okehampton star dog Hope and her family achieved their goal on Saturday (September 9) and made it to the top of Mount Snowdon on a fundraising mission.

Alongside her mum, dad, two human brothers, and two canine sisters, wheelchair dog Hope reached Mount Snowdon’s summit over the weekend to raise money for the dog rescue charity Amanda’s Spanish Rescue Dogs, which took Hope in after she was severely injured and abandoned by former owners.

As a result of the former abuse, Hope is permanently paralysed from the middle of spine to her back legs after her former owners in Spain threw her over a fence when she was three months old.

After moving in with a loving family in Okehampton in December 2020, she was equipped with a cross-country wheelchair to manage the Dartmoor terrain and used these special wheels to climb to the top of the 1,085-metre mountain.

With only a little help from her brother who carried her over the most impassable section and, with a lot of attention from other climbers, Hope reached the summit in 4.5 hours.

Hope’s mum Kerry Rushton, said: “It took us longer than expected mainly because of the attention she received on both legs but there was a very very tough section near the top where the Llanberis path runs under the railway line.

“The terrain was incredibly tough going and along with it being incredibly steep, parts of this section were totally impassable by Hope. Luckily though, my eldest son, Harrison was a true super hero and carried Hope on these sections.

“Hope totally loved every minute of it and really enjoyed the attention she received.”

Before setting off, Kerry said that the family had organised the route with Hope’s welfare at the forefront of their mind, ensuring that they took the shallowest path to the summit at a genrle pace so that Hope could manage the slope and rest along the way.

In fact, Hope’s new family constantly ensure that she remains safe and well. The Rushtons have made adaptations to their home and ensured that her new home is safer and easier for her to get around: carpets have been removed and wooden flooring installed, while artificial grass has been used to cover gravel and slabs in the garden.

Described as a “funny, energetic and incredibly positive” dog, Hope has now become the first “wheelie” dog to reach the summit of the Welsh mountain, also known as Yr Wyddfa, and, at the time of writing, had raised a massive £2,577 for the charity, smashing the family’s £500 target.

Amanda’s Spanish Rescue Dogs was instrumental in caring for Hope when she was first injured and abandoned and continues to support her and her new family with the medical care needed to keep Hope healthy - Hope is unable to empty her bladder fully and needs to take supplements in order to ensure that her working front legs remain strong.

To donate to Hope’s cause visit: www.gofundme.com/f/hope-is-climbing-mount-snowdon. To follow Hope and find out more about her life, search for Hopesdisabledlife on Facebook.