The average dog has put on half a stone during the course of the pandemic (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)The average dog has put on almost half a stone since the pandemic began with pets in London gaining the most weight, new research suggests.

STOCK IMAGE Dogs Trust have rescued 1,500 illegally imported puppies (Image: Getty Images ) STOCK IMAGE Dogs Trust is urging the Government to do more to end puppy smuggling (Image: Getty Images)The youngest puppies seized were just four weeks old.

With a fundraising minimum of just £300, the money you raise will help the charity invest in their dogs so they can continue their lifesaving work.

If you don’t fancy the marathon distance challenge, you can take your dog and children on the 10k walk (Picture: Getty)As someone who took part in last year’s fundraising trek, Janet Doyle says she highly recommends the experience.

There’s no doubt that MDD’s work does saves lives, so why not consider all your lockdown walking as training in progress and sign up (details above) to help raise money and be a part of the amazing difference they make.

Like any charity, Medical Detection Dogs rely on donations to keep doing their lifesaving work, which is why we’re raising much-needed money for them – but we need your help to do it!

As a dog lover it means so much to me that these amazing animals can do extraordinary things (Picture: Alexandra Burke)This campaign is also very close to my heart because as well as the diabetes connection, I have also lost people in my life to cancer.

This year, through two sponsored walks, we will raise vital funds for Medical Detection Dogs (MDD), a charity organisation that helps trains dogs to sniff out serious diseases such as cancer , Type 1 diabetes , Parkinson’s and coronavirus.

‘I didn’t even know such dogs existed’ (Picture: Yvonne Nicholson)It meant I wasn’t able to work either, but I was desperate to put my time to good use, so eventually decided to volunteer for a charity.

‘If you think of the bigger picture with the pandemic, these dogs could be a real game-changer.’ (Picture: MDD)As I watched them work, it just seemed like such an obvious thing to do.

Already signed up to join our 10k Woof and Walk for MDD are singer Alexandra Burke , TV’s Dr Christian Jessen , reality star Pete Wicks and presenter Debbie Flint.singer Alexandra Burke, TV’s Dr Christian Jessen, reality star Pete Wicks and presenter Debbie Flint will be joining our Woof and Walk for MDD.

Our idea was that if we could train dogs to sniff out diseases by learning how they smelt, they not only could help with early detection, but also support people who lived with certain illnesses, such as nut allergies and Type 1 diabetes, and let them know if their health was in danger.

Thirteen-year-old therapy dog Max, who is joined daily on his Lake District walks and swims by thousands via Facebook Live, has been awarded the PDSA order of merit, which recognises animals that “display outstanding devotion to their owner or wider society, above and beyond companionship.”.

Max’s owner, Kerry Irving, said the springer spaniel was his ‘reason to live’ (Picture: PA)A virtual therapy dog is being honoured with the animal equivalent of an OBE after comforting more than 10,000 people around the world.

How Benji was found in Romania (Picture: Caters News Agency)The mum-of-three said: ‘Benji is such a happy boy and he’s actually always smiling.

Boris was nursed back to good health before being fostered (Picture: Caters)‘He has some issues with his spine from being run over so the charity paid for physiotherapy in Romania before he came back.

New Year's Eve fireworks: Due to their sensitive hearing, dogs can find the loud noises fireworks make very distressing (Image: GETTY).New Year's Eve fireworks: Walking dogs before fireworks start can help to reduce stress for pets (Image: GETTY).

The charity said some councils failed to provide licensing information, so the numbers under-represent the true scale of wild animals for sale at pet shops.

Animal-welfare organisations, which have lobbied for a ban for years, say that as well as causing immense suffering, the trade threatens wild populations and risks spreading diseases to owners.

Reuben (left) has recovered from being in an awful condition in Romania (Picture: Caters News Agency)A pensioner who rescued a dying street dog from Romania credits her new pet with saving her from lockdown loneliness.