24/08/2026
☎️ This story begins with Julie phoning the wrong dog charity......
It could end with six life-changing assistance dogs—and yes, we will explain the Where’s Wally outfit. 😂
You may recognise Julie as our lovely schnauzer lady who visits Tails in the Trees with Bear and her gang.
What you may not know is that Julie is also a rather extraordinary runner.
Julie has completed 26 marathons in the UK and overseas, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Lisbon and Toronto. She has run the London Marathon nine times and even holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon run by a woman dressed as a book character.
She was Wenda from Where’s Wally, before anyone asks. 😂
Next year will be ten years since Julie’s last marathon, and she decided that 2027 was the year to attempt her tenth London Marathon.
She didn’t get a ballot place, so the next decision was which charity to run for.
For Julie, that part was easy. It had to be a dog charity.
She did her research, chose a large national charity and made the phone call…
Except she accidentally rang Support Dogs instead.
After a little initial confusion, they explained that Support Dogs is a smaller charity based in Sheffield which trains assistance dogs for autistic children and adults with epilepsy or physical disabilities.
They would usually receive only five London Marathon places, but for 2027 it will be their biggest event ever—and yes, they were looking for runners to support them!
Their dogs can be trained to warn someone before an epileptic seizure, help with practical everyday tasks and give children and adults greater safety, confidence and independence.
Julie came off the phone, properly researched their work and realised that perhaps she hadn’t contacted the wrong charity after all.
Some things are just meant to be…..
Their values, their dedication to improving people’s lives and the importance they place on the welfare of their dogs felt completely right for her.
So she filled in the application immediately.
Then, on Wednesday 5 August, Support Dogs called her back.
It was the first anniversary of the traumatic day Julie lost her beautiful two-year-old schnauzer, Yogi, so it was already an incredibly difficult day.
But.... the call brought some wonderful news.
Julie had been chosen to join the Support Dogs 2027 London Marathon fundraising team. ❤️
Together, the team’s fundraising will help Support Dogs train six more assistance dogs during 2027—and Julie is hoping to raise as much as she possibly can towards that work.
She will also be visiting the charity’s national training centre in Sheffield and hopes to meet one of those six dogs and the person they may eventually support.
Tails in the Trees and Helen at Guns n Noses and The Shire Veterinary Services are all very proud to be getting behind Julie. We’ll be sharing her training, helping with her fundraising and probably reminding her that completing 26 marathons doesn’t get her out of practising Bear’s recall. Apparently, Bear is the boss. 😂
And the difference an assistance dog can make is much closer to Tails in the Trees than you might realise.
Our Holly’s breeder, Emma, also bred Holly’s cousin Quill. Quill is being trained as an assistance dog for Emma’s 15-year-old son, Joel, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and now uses a wheelchair full-time.
Quill wasn’t trained by Support Dogs, but he has already become a huge source of help and support to Joel. The progress they have made together shows exactly why specially trained dogs like these can be completely life-changing.
With Joel and Emma’s permission, we’ll soon be sharing more about Quill, what he means to Joel and the difference he makes to his everyday life.
Julie has pledged to raise at least £1,500, although knowing her history of raising thousands of pounds for other charities, we don’t think she’ll be stopping there.
If you would like to help Julie raise as much as possible for Support Dogs, you can of course make a donation. I’ll pop the link in the comments.
Even a small donation will help—and sharing Julie’s story could help it reach someone else who would like to support her too.
Please give Julie a huge cheer in the comments and follow her journey with us.
Ten London Marathons is some achievement—but running this one to help give someone greater independence through a dog will make it particularly special. 🐾
