YOU can make a huge difference to the life of one Isle of Wight resident, by voting now for Ability Dogs 4 Young People Isle of Wight in our Cash for Charity scheme.

Ability Dogs 4 Young People Isle of Wight was founded in 2012 and Georgie was the charity's first ability dog puppy and so was the first specially trained canine to be placed.

Scroll through the gallery of pictures above to see more...

He was matched with Christina Loosemore, who has cerebral palsy, and Georgie moved into the family home when he was two years old.

There have been lots of laughs along the way, as Georgie can be very stubborn at times, but he is now ten years old and will be the charity's first ability dog to retire, with a successor dog following in his paw-prints.

Isle of Wight County Press: An ability dog such as Georgie can be trained to carry out many tasks - here he fetches Christina's boot for her.An ability dog such as Georgie can be trained to carry out many tasks - here he fetches Christina's boot for her. (Image: Contributed)

Ability Dogs 4 Young People Isle of Wight needs your vote to gain as much money as possible via the Cash for Charity scheme to help train Christina's new dog, Ricko.

The County Press's parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing £128,000 in cash to support local charities across the country and we are delighted to have a £16,000 share to give away in Hampshire, Dorset, the Isle of Wight and the south-west.

We asked you to decide where this money should be spent. You nominated in your thousands and our editorial team chose a shortlist of ten charities from these nominations that will share in the £16,000.

READ ABOUT LAST YEAR'S WINNERS, SWAY:

The ten charities are: Cancer Support Salisbury; Andover Food Bank; Friends of Vigo Primary School; Jane Scarth House Romsey Cancer Support Centre; Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum; The Sophie Barringer Trust; Weymouth Food Bank; Routes to Roots, The Winchester Beacon and of course, Ability Dogs 4 Young People Isle of Wight.

You are invited to collect tokens from our newspapers (see page 22 in today's County Press) which can be placed in voting boxes in selected places across the Isle of Wight, or posted.

All tokens must be received by November 20.

Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity — so if your favourite charity collects 50 per cent of all the tokens collected, it will receive 50 per cent of the £16,000.

Carol Court, founder and CEO of Sandown-based Ability Dogs 4 Young People Isle of Wight, said the first three years' costs for Ricko covers the purchase, equipment, consumables and healthcare, plus the trainer’s time and expenses. The total is about £6,000 per year, or around £34,000 from purchase to retirement.

She concluded: "The Cash for Charity we receive will help us purchase Ricko's special support harness and will go towards his ongoing food, healthcare and support."

Click here to visit the charity's website and read more about Ability Dogs 4 Young People Isle of Wight.