A SPONSORED silence staged by Chagford Brownies recently has raised a splendid sum for the Guide Dogs For the Blind charity.

A cheque for £280 has been presented to the charity, which will help fund puppy training, was raised by the Brownies.

 The Brownie pack was inspired to raise the money after an earlier visit from a guide dog puppy, as part of their work to gain their disability awareness badge. 

 Two volunteer puppy walkers for the Guide Dog Association, Valerie Lurcock and Janet Peters, received the cheque on behalf of the charity.

Valerie, from Bovey Tracey, brought six month old labrador Cabot along to the presentation, while Janet attended with four month old Witney.

The Brownies were treated  to displays of obedience and social skills from the dogs before the cheque presentation and also had a chance to ask questions.

 Valerie said: 'We introduce the dogs to a range of sitautions when they are young, from going to the shops, riding on buses to meeting children. Social skills are important for these dogs before they go to our national training centre.'  

Valerie has puppy walked ten dogs over the past 12 years, but said that she did not get too upset when handing a dog over for formal training, as was not not like giving up your own dog.

Janet is puppy walking her first dog and initially got involved with Guide Dogs through fundraising work.

 After receiveing the cheque, Valerie said: 'I think it's great that a small place like Chagford has raised so much. The Brownies here have done so well and it all really helps, as Guide Dogs for the Blind relies on donations, not government money. Guide dogs really do change people's lives.'

 Kate Wilson, who runs the Chagford Brownie pack, said: 'The girls come to our sessions straight from school and are bursting with energy and chatting away, so staying absolutely silent for a session was a real challenge for them all. They did really well and raised an amazing amount of money.'