I became aware of this scheme through my cousin, who completed a challenge to raise funds for the charity a few months ago.  As a former art student she was very excited when she found that Battersea Dogs and Cats Home take crafted donations of toys or blankets for the animals staying with them, and encouraged me and several other family members to take part as well.

I rounded up several old jumpers that have holes or broken zips so cannot be donated, and found the online tutorials that Battersea provides to create the toys. 

I am not the craftiest person, but the tutorial seemed difficult to get wrong and as a dog owner and lover myself I was excited to be contributing to this charity.

Once the toys were complete, I tested them out with my own dog to check for sturdiness and the toys remained intact! I am now going to deliver them to my local dog walker, as she fosters dogs with the Battersea program and is always looking for new toys for them.

Overall, I enjoyed the process of making the toys and learning a new creative skill, with the added benefit of helping some dogs in need!