Concerning update over homeless Mansfield man and dog after community rallied for them
After raising over £3,000 to help John Laughton and his dog, Blue, get off the streets and find work, an update on the fundraising page has raised concerns after the van that was purchased for them with donations had been left broken and abandoned – with John and Blue reportedly back on the streets.
In September, your Chad shared a story about Mansfield residents coming together to help homeless John and his dog find accommodation as temperatures dropped.
When we spoke with John, who claimed to be homeless, he shared that he had been sleeping on the streets for nearly a year.
He explained that he had nowhere to stay and slept on the streets alongside his dog, Blue.
The community quickly rallied around John by launching a fundraising page to help provide a van for him and Blue, allowing them to stay sheltered and secure work to get off the streets.
The fundraising page can be found at: www.gofundme.com/f/beautiful-blue-and-his-daddy.
In just two months, over £3,000 was raised to fund a van.
According to fundraising organiser, Paul Powell, John was participating in car boot sales, and things were looking up for him and his dog.
However, after not hearing from him for weeks, Paul grew concerned and has since posted an update on the fundraising page on Thursday, November 14.
He said: “Unfortunately things have not gone as planned regarding John.
“He started off doing a lot of car boots but after not hearing from him for almost two weeks, I found out that he had fallen back, he then managed somehow to break the van and instead of trying to get it fixed, he just abandoned it and it's now been three weeks since anyone has seen or heard from him.
“We think he's in Nottingham with Blue the dog.
“Blue is almost nine and does not deserve to be on the streets again this winter.
“I'm sorry this is not good news after all your donations.”
During an assessment by an animal charity, it was determined that Blue would not survive another winter due to his age, health, and breed.
In the update, Paul also encouraged residents to reach out to him with any information that may assist in finding John and Blue.