Every Time This Roving Pup Finds A Discarded Ball, Fans Worldwide Donate To Help Rescue Dogs

Waffle, a 5-year-old Lakeland terrier, has a curious pastime that's helping to rescue dogs all over Europe.

Waffle loves to sniff out lost or abandoned balls while on walks with her owner, Sarah Bennett, in Devon, England. She has a talent for finding all different kinds, from golf balls to beach balls, and she is so attached to her finds that Bennett now has a garage full of them, reported the Western Daily Express.

"She collects balls of all sizes -- from tiny bouncy balls to big space hoppers," Bennett told the outlet. "She must have collected almost 1,000 since we first got her."

Several weeks ago, Bennett decided to put her dog's odd habit to good use by donating 1 British pound for every ball that Waffle found in one week, to a dog rescue organization called Terrier SOS. She encouraged friends to do the same, and soon more and more people began to join in on the challenge. A friend of Bennett's created a YouCaring page for people to donate and track Waffle's progress.

Waffle continues to collect balls, but since the media got wind of the project the donations have come flooding in regardless of Waffle's finds. As of Wednesday evening, the total is more than 3,500 British pounds (about $6,000) surpassing the original goal of 600 British pounds by a wide margin.

"The event captured the imagination of the dog-loving world," Bennett told The Huffington Post in an email. "It has brought the worldwide terrier-loving community together, showing the good that social media can achieve!"

Bennett says that so far they have received donations from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and America, as well as all over the U.K. and Europe.

To donate to Waffle's ball hunt, and to track her progress, visit this page.

Clarification: Language has been amended for consistency throughout the article with regard to the dog's gender.

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