Last updated: 22 Jul, 2019
Published on: 5 May, 2014
Rocky gets mum and daughter in training for fundraising
Meet Emma and Sophie, a dynamic mother and daughter spurred on by rescue dog Rocky to make a difference for rescue pets. A dedicated pet foster parent for over two years, Emma Mills from Victoria is now a proud mum doing everything she can to support her nine-year-old daughter Sophie’s passion to fundraise for PetRescue.
On a mission to help rescue pets find furever homes, Emma and Sophie are pulling on their running shoes and taking part in this years Age Run Melbourne. By setting themselves a fundraising goal of $2000, the dynamic duo are hoping to make a difference for rescue pets across Australia.
Inspired by her own adopted blue heeler Rocky, Sophie hopes that the money will help lots of others pups find happy homes. “Well, I like rescuing dogs - we have one rescue dog. He’s called Rocky. He’s very happy. We fostered him, fell in love and kept him. He plays with all our dogs, like Mudgee, even though Mudgee is much older."
When asked what drives her interest in fundraising, Sophie says that her love of Rocky inspired her to help rescue pets. “We’re raising the money so PetRescue can save more dogs like Rocky. If you buy a dog from a shop, you’re not really saving them. But when they are in the pound, they’re unhappy and you have to save them”
“I love Rocky because he is a very, very, very sweet dog” Sophie grins. “He’s really friendly - he comes and sits on the bed and let’s us read to him as well," she adds. Rocky was adopted through PetRescue in early 2013, and has gone on to inspire Sophie to raise money for other rescue pets. Last July, Sophie and Emma had a lot of fun running three kilometres in the Age Run Melbourne, raising over $1300 for PetRescue in the process.
For this year, armed with a bigger target, Sophie has a trick up her sleeve; when quizzed about her training regime for the run, she said that her plan was “to eat lots”.
Emma, beaming with a mother’s pride, says that Sophie is “a fundraising machine”. “She’s really amazing - we’re using my Facebook page to attract donations from friends, as well as asking our family.” The duo are also taking donations for their run through an Everyday Hero page.
As well as being an avid fundraising family, Emma and Sophie have helped find loving homes for nine rescue dogs by fostering them in their own home, something that has been a very rewarding experience for them all. Emma says that she keeps in regular contact with all the new families her foster dogs find.“Two of our ex-foster dogs were playing at the park, and when the owners got talking they discovered they were both fostered by us!” says Emma. “It’s a very small world isn’t it?”
If you're feeling inspired, get some info and ideas here, or go straight to Shout and set up your own fundraiser to support PetRescue.