LUCY PAWS FOR THOUGHT

Sunday Mirror, May 20, 2007 by NIALL DONALD

PODGE and Rodge babe Lucy Kennedy swapped her sexy TV outfits yesterday for a T-shirt and bucket to help out the real loves of her life - dogs.

The sexy TV host turned out to help raise desperately needed cash for PAWS dog rescue shelter.

The charity - which has helped rescue and rehome 5,000 dogs - will have to close in weeks unless it gets a massive injection of cash.

The stunning presenter said she was delighted to shake a bucket for the charity on Dublin's Grafton St yesterday.

She said: "I am a massive, massive dog lover - I prefer them to people. And I definitely prefer them to Podge and Rodge.

"PAWS are an amazing charity - but sadly they are in real financial difficulty because they receive no Government funding.

"I have been working with them for over a year and I am bowled over with the amazing work they do."

The charity saved more than 5,000 unwanted dogs - but it is now running out of cash after funding cuts.

PAWS chief Gina Hetherington said they will be forced to close before the end of the year if they do not get donations.

She said: "We are in big financial trouble. I went into the bank recently and the clerk told me we had only EUR 15 left in the account.

"We are asking people to sponsor a kennel for EUR 20 a month"

Gina said the charity ran into financial difficulties after they moved to new premises last year.

She said: "We moved to Tipperary last year because we ran out of space in Kildare. There were too many unwanted dogs and not enough space for them.

"But we have hit a financial wall because of the cost of building the kennels and the fact we were paying to look after twice as many dogs.

"We need to generate a regular income - and the only way to do that is to sponsor a kennel by direct debit on a monthly basis."

If you would like to contact PAWS please call 1570 262 3622.