A Salford man has described how he felt “compelled” to begin training for an upcoming charity run on behalf of Dog’s Trust. 

Ben Slater, 24, will complete a 5k run in and around Salford to raise money for the national charity Dog’s Trust. Mr Slater, who lives in Langworthy, was inspired to run for charity by his 4-year-old pug Archie, who Mr. Slater has owned since Archie was a puppy. 

“When people say that dogs are a man’s best friend, it’s all true you know,” Ben said.

“It’s extraordinary how smart dogs are. They know when you’re feeling happy or sad, and they know what to do as a response to those feelings.” 

Ben with Archie as a puppy

Ben received Archie as a 20th birthday present from his mother, and he admits that it was definitely not love at first sight.

“To be quite honest, I didn’t really like the idea of having a puppy at all,” he laughed.

“I saw owning a dog as quite a big burden, but little did I know that Archie would become my best friend in the world.”  

When asked about the 5k run itself and what he was doing to prepare, Mr Slater said: “Training [for the run] has been hard. But when you remember exactly what you’re racing for, it makes it a whole lot easier.” 

Alongside Ben will be some of his friends that are running on behalf of different animal charities, and who also hail from Salford or surrounding areas. 

“One of my close friends passed away recently, and he and Archie loved playing together. So not only am I running for Archie and for dogs that aren’t as lucky as him, I guess I’m also running in memory of my mate.” 

Archie just loafing around!

Ben hopes that doing this run will inspire others to do similar things, regardless of the cause. “I’m running because I feel like Archie has compelled me in a way that means I have to. Whatever it is that motivates you to raise money for whatever charity, I think you should do it,” he said. 

Ben will be running on September 7, and can be contacted on 0775846952 via WhatsApp or text with information on how to support him. 

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