Lymington's Dave Moodie to adopt name of a cartoon dog for a year to raise cash for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

A LYMINGTON man has pledged to change his name by deed poll to that of a cartoon dog to raise funds for charity.

Dave Moodie has drawn up a list of eight famous furry characters for people who sponsor him to vote for.

The most popular name will be the one Dave will have to live with for a year. All money raised will go to the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity.

Dave said: “At the moment, it looks like I will end up being called Digby Gromit Moodie as they are the most picked names.

“But it could all change as there are a few months to go yet before the final choice will be known.

“I don’t mind having a daft name for a year as it is all for a good cause.”

The names sponsors can choose from are Scooby, Gromit, Snoopy, Lassie, Digby, Goofy, Snowy and Scrappy.

Dave, who works at Everton Nurseries, came up with the novel idea after joining the committee of the south Hampshire branch of the charity.

The organisation trains dogs to help deaf people by alerting them to important sounds such as the doorbell, fire alarms, text messages and road crossings.

They also help with the social isolation that deafness can bring to a person.

There are around 1,000 hearing dogs in the UK at present and Princess Anne is patron of the charity.

Dave added: “I also work as a support worker for people with learning difficulties who are also all deaf.

“One of the other helpers is also deaf and she brings her hearing dog into work with her. I saw how much it does for her and joined the charity.

“Most fundraising challenges involve things like bungee jumping, or abseiling – but I wanted to do something a bit more novel.”

He has already contacted his bank and GP to tell them of his forthcoming name change which he plans for his birthday on 6th September.

South Hampshire branch chair Kevin Moore described Dave’s challenge as “brilliant”, adding: “We were sat there coming up with the usual sponsored walks, garage sales – and he just came up with this amazing idea.”

To donate and vote for Dave’s new name, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mynameyourchoice