A FUNDRAISER to help plans for a National Military Working Dogs Memorial site in Flintshire become a reality is on the right track to hit its target, despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pet Funeral Services Ltd at Brynford near Holywell, has been running for a total of 31 years.

During that time it has helped hundreds of people lay to rest their beloved animals, including one flown 6,000 miles from Hong Kong back in 2015.

Now, it is hoped that a special memorial in honour of dogs who have bravely served in both World Wars and subsequent conflicts in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, can be erected there.

A fundraiser to collect money for the memorial, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, has already raised £75,000.

Site owners hope the target of £150,000 can be reached by early next year so they can officially unveil a memorial to commemorate the military dogs who lost their lives.

Run by John and Teresa Ward, the site also known as the 'Holywell Pet Cemetery', also features a tearoom on site for guests.

Talking about the memorial for military dogs, John said: "We have been raising money through our tubs which have been placed at many different locations, including local pubs. Covid-19 has gotten in the way slightly and brought the fundraising to a halt.

"But, we hope now that we are back up and running we can get the memorial erected early next year and honour four dogs - one each from the North, East, South and West of the UK. We want it to be a central link for people from across Britain to come and pay their respects to these dogs.

"As the memorial has already been put onto Google maps some time ago, we have already had people coming here to try and have a look at it. It's had an awful lot of interest and we hope that will continue once it's officially up and running."

One of the dogs set to be commemorated is Buster, known for being the dog 'who saved a thousand lives'.

The National Military Working Dogs Memorial charity, otherwise known as NMWDM (UK), was established in 2017 with the sole purpose to establish a memorial to commemorate the Military Working Dogs who bravely served their country in both World Wars and subsequent conflicts as in Bosnia Afghanistan and Iraq.

77-year-old John and his daughter, Emma Ward are trustees of the charity and work to raise both awareness and funds to enable the memorial to be constructed.