GUIDE dog puppy Star is touching hearts wherever she goes - and her fame is spreading far and wide.

GUIDE dog puppy Star is touching hearts wherever she goes - and her fame is spreading far and wide.

Cash for The Evening Star's Christmas appeal to pay for her training is rolling in with more and more people getting involved in fundraising and making donations.

It costs £10,000 to train a guide dog, which includes equipment, training courses, and breeding costs.

But it is worth every penny because it will mean Star can carry out the vital role for which she was born - to be the eyes of a visually-impaired or blind person.

So far more than £4,000 has been raised and pledged for the appeal.

Star's puppy walker Penny Parker is thrilled with the support.

“People are being amazing and so generous, but we need more still to ensure Star's training is paid for,” she said.

The ten-week-old trainee pup is getting recognised everywhere she goes.

“We went shopping in Ipswich so that Star could start to get used to crowds and busier places, and people in the shops kept stopping us and saying, 'Is this Star? We have seen her in the Evening Star.'

“They were very excited at having met her - everyone said she was adorable.”

The appeal has been boosted this week by donations from two Orders of Freemasons in Ipswich - £250 from the lodge of Edmund the Martyr, Red Cross of Constantine, and £100 from Cardinal Wolsey Tabernacle, Knight Templar Priests.

Treasurer of the orders, Richard Strutt, who is also organising a raffle for members only, said: “I felt so moved by the appeal and the need for these guide dogs that I felt we should try to do something.”

Has your family been helped by the Guide Dogs - tell us your stories about this amazing charity: write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk

HOW TO GET INVOLVED . . .

The aim is to raise £10,000 to help with the cost of Star's training - and we want the whole community to get involved with the appeal.

Every penny and pound will count and ensure that the little puppy gets the best care and training as she is prepared to guide someone who lives every day of their lives with the blight of blindness.

If you are organising a fundraising event for the appeal, then we want to hear so we can give it maximum publicity and help boost the amount raised.

So let us know what you are up to - get in touch with Richard Cornwell at the Felixstowe Newsdesk on 01394 284109 or the Ipswich Newsdesk on 01473 324788.

To donate to the appeal, please send cheques - made payable to the Guide Dogs - to Richard Cornwell, Evening Star, 172 Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7DU.