CHARITY MILES FOR RUSS
A 90-strong group have walked, run and cycled more than 9,000 miles in tribute to a police dog handler who died of heart disease
Gavin White wanted to pay tribute to his brother, Russ, who died in April 2021 from hypertensive and ischaemic heart disease at the age of 48. Russ joined Hampshire Police in 1992
and worked in Southampton as a PC and a dog handler, before retiring in 2019.
win), Paris (1980/1981 win), Albufeira in Portugal’s southern Algarve – where Russ enjoyed regular holidays – to Madrid (2019 win), Rome (1976/1977 and 1983/1984 wins) and finally Istanbul (2005 win). Gavin added: “We stayed in touch with
“We wanted to raise money for his favourite charities, so we decided to aim for £1,678 – Russ’s police number”
Upon losing his brother, Gavin decided
to do something special in his memory. “I’d recently finished a virtual Land’s
End to John O’Groats so I had the walking bug,” he recalled. “Russ was a huge fan of Liverpool FC, so I decided to plan a route walking to all of the locations where Liverpool had won the European Cup – a journey of 4,887 miles starting at Anfield and finishing in Istanbul, where Liverpool won the Champion’s League in 2005 – as well as taking in some of his favourite places.” “We wanted to raise money for his
favourite charities, so we decided to aim for £1,678 – Russ’s police number – and chose three charities to support, including the Thin Blue Paw Foundation. “This journey was my way of
honouring a truly remarkable man who was taken far too young.” The group started the
challenge on 3 May 2021, with the aim of completing it the following year on Russ’s 50th birthday. Each participant clocked up miles through walking, running and cycling around their local areas, all contributing to the overall 4,887- mile target. The mileage would represent
the route from Liverpool to Southampton – where Russ had worked – to Wembley (1977/1978
everyone who was taking part to keep a tally of the miles. People walked their dogs, went running or walked – all the miles counted towards the target. “We couldn’t believe it when we
reached Istanbul in just 15 weeks, so we extended the trip and turned around to return to Liverpool – a total journey of more than 9,100 miles!” The group exceeded the £1,678 target,
raising more than £3,000, which was split equally between three charities: LFC Foundation, Two Saints Southampton and the Thin Blue Paw Foundation. The Thin Blue Paw Foundation is a dog
welfare charity that supports, celebrates and protects working and retired police
dogs across the UK. Trustee Kieran Stanbridge said: “Many people don’t realise that police dogs don’t retire with a pension or any financial support, so that responsibility falls to their new owner. As former working dogs who have led strenuous lives, these canine heroes can have long-running health problems and are often impossible to insure. “We are here to offer support to these dogs – and their owners – to ensure that they get the very best treatment and help to enable them to live long, happy lives and enjoy their retirements. “We have more than 300 retired police dogs registered with us and we need the support of the public so we can continue to help these dogs. That’s why we’re so grateful to Gavin and the rest of his fundraising group for taking on such a monumental challenge – it’s a really touching way to remember Russ and to leave a lasting legacy in his name.”
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