A CANINE fundraiser is beginning a well-deserved retirement after raising thousands for charity with her owner.

Poppy the dog and Gwen McEwan, from Arncott, near Bicester, have been a regular sight on sponsored walks since 2008 when Mrs McEwan started raising money for the Maggie’s Centre at the Churchill Hospital.

Mrs McEwan said: “Poppy has raised thousands over the years but she is just getting too old.

"On her last sponsored walk we did a circuit around Arncott which raised £1,600 but she was sick afterwards and I knew it was time for her to stop.”

“I think she’s looking forward to retirement but I’ll still take her on her normal walks.”

Poppy, a terrier cross, is 10-years-old – about 70 in dog years – and has been Mrs McEwan’s loyal companion since she was a puppy.

She said: "I have three other dogs but Poppy is special.

“She’s like me in that she’s loud and likes to be heard but is really quite gentle underneath.”

Mrs McEwan said she would now continue her charity work alone.

The 75-year-old began raising money for the Churchill Hospital after her husband Thomas died of lung cancer 22 years ago, aged 54.

Since then she has supported a number of other causes, including the Maggie's Centre at the hospital, which supports people with cancer.

The mother-of-one said: “Thomas deteriorated quite rapidly but the care provided by the hospital was fantastic.

“After he died, I asked them if they needed anything on the hospice ward and they said they needed sofa beds and group futons so we got those.”

Mrs McEwan has done everything over the years from sponsored swims and walks to manning charity stalls.

The Red Cross and Macmillan are among the many other charities she has supported.

She said: “When people see me coming they run the other way because I’m always after their money.

“Before my husband I’d give a couple of shillings and think that was enough but when cancer hits it really puts things into perspective.”

“In Arncott we have lost 10 people through cancer recently, which is a lot for a small village, including some good friends and neighbours.

“It really is a case of there but for the grace of God go I.”