MORE than £5,000 was raised for the Guide Dogs UK charity after Carlisle City Council was given the opportunity to name a Guide Dog puppy.

Carlisle City Council staff, Councillors and local residents raised the money, following a public vote earlier last year. Lugo, was chosen as the preferred name for the puppy. Lugo is a shortened version of Luguvallium, the Roman name for Carlisle.

Lugo was born in October last year and will start her journey to becoming a fully qualified Guide Dog when she’s around 12 - 14 months old.

Former Mayor of Carlisle, Councillor Marilyn Bowman raised £5,000 for Guide Dogs as one of her Mayoral charities during her term in office. With the support of Councillor David Morton and other colleagues, even more money was raised earlier this year.

Cllr Marilyn Bowman said:

“I’m delighted that Lugo has arrived into the world. After being trained as a guide dog, she will change the life of her chosen companion. We were able to name her as we’d raised a substantial amount of funding for the amazing Guide Dog UK charity.

“I would like thank everyone that made a charitable donation. They are a brilliant charity and deserve our support.”

Lynne Whittaker, Community Fundraising Relationship Manager for Guide Dogs, added:

“We’re so grateful to Carlisle City Council and its staff for supporting Guide Dogs. They have raised an incredible amount of money, which will go a long way in helping us to support people living with sight loss. Thank you so much to the Cllr Bowman for choosing Guide Dogs as one of her Mayoral charities!’

A series of name options were drawn together by Carlisle City Council staff and Councillors. They were then shortlisted to three per category and Carlisle residents were asked which option they think is best for each category.

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