It’s Red Nose Day tomorrow and there will be lots of events planned to raise funds but Labradoodle, Hudson, has already done his bit for the appeal with a sponsored swim.

’He’s a bit of a couch potato,’ admits owner Sheila Maud who lives in Ballakillowey. So to keep Hudson in shape she has been taking him for regular swimming sessions in the pool at Hounds Hydro in Port St Mary since last July.

It’s done the trick: Hudson has toned his muscles and lost three kilos in weight.

As a long standing Hounds Hydro client, Hudson has built up his swim time to the maximum of 25 minutes and he paddled happily through his session in aid of Red Nose Day.

Sheila works for TK Maxx, the official sponsor of Red Nose Day. The company has an overall target of raising £4 million for the appeal through the sale of T-shirts and other merchandise and staff are encouraged to get involved and raise money too.

Now in their fifth week of fundraising, staff at TK Maxx’s Douglas store have raised more than £4,000 and Hudson has now become TK Maxx’s first fundraising dog.

His achievement is no surprise to Hounds Hydro owner, Pam Kelly, a qualified animal hydrotherapist. Pam works closely with local vets to treat dogs who are overweight or who have health and mobility problems such as arthritis, cruciate ligament damage and hip dysplasia. She’s even had a referral from TV’s Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick.

The dogs come in all shapes and sizes: Pam’s largest is a 59kg Great Dane and her smallest are two tiny Chinese Crested pups. They all start with very short sessions and gradually build up their time spent in the pool, which is heated to a pleasantly warm 29 degrees.

’It’s good to get them started while they’re still young. We just get them in for 30 seconds then get them straight out again until they get used to it,’ explained Pam.

She also runs ’Fitness and Fun’ sessions which are popular for dogs competing in agility and flyball competitions. One of Pam’s canine swimmers was in the agility classes at this year’s Crufts.

Since 1985, Comic Relief has raised money to help poor and vulnerable people in the UK and across Africa. Of the money raised for Red Nose Day, 40 per cent will go towards supporting Comic Relief projects here in the UK and 60 per cent towards projects in Africa. There are still some official Red Nose Day t-shirts in stock in the Douglas TK Maxx store.