Save Energy UK, a long establish family run solar company, based in Poole, has announced it is donating £500 every month to charity. January supports a life-saving cancer treatment fundraiser for local animal welfare advocate Nicky, founder of Dog Friendly Dorset and Merlin’s Pet Food Banks.
In February 2025, after more than a year of persistent pain and multiple misdiagnoses, Nicky received devastating news: she has Stage 3 lung cancer. She is a non-smoker and her cancer is extremely rare; NSCLC squamous with an EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation.
An urgent £80,000 is being raised to fund first-line private oncology treatments that are not currently available through the NHS due to existing NICE guidelines and funding restrictions. While the NHS can offer palliative treatment, privately funded combinationtherapies, supported by recent LAURA and FLAURA2 clinical trials, could move Nicky from a palliative pathway to a potentially curative one. Time, however, is critical.
As of 1st February 50% of the target, through a combination of online fundraising, direct donations, and community-led efforts has been raised.
The cause is deeply personal to the Save Energy UK team. Nicky is a close friend of Harriet Sheppard, a Design Consultant at Save Energy UK. The two met when Nicky approached Harriet’s former workplace to encourage businesses to promote being dog-friendly. Since then, their friendship has grown into years of mutual support, including shared Dorset adventures such as moonlit dog walks to Dancing Ledge.
Through Dog Friendly Dorset, Nicky has helped countless dogs and pet owners, keeping animals out of rescue centres and supporting families through some of their most difficult moments. Her work has had a lasting impact across the county. Now, she needs that same community support in return.
A spokesperson for Save Energy UK said: “Nicky has always been there for others — for animals, for families, and for the Dorset community. When one of our team’s close friends needs urgent help, we don’t hesitate. Our monthly £500 donation is our way of standing with Nicky and helping give her the chance she deserves.”
Nicky and her dog Merlin have also shared their story nationally, appearing on BBC news, helping raise awareness of rare lung cancers affecting non-smokers and the gaps that currently exist in treatment access.
Donations are being held separately for Nicky by the non-profit Dog Friendly Dorset and will go directly towards her treatment and essential specialist supportive therapies needed to keep her stable throughout the three-stage treatment plan.
Merlin needs his mum. Dorset needs Nicky.
Those wishing to help can donate, share the appeal, organise fundraising events, or simply spread the word via the following links:
Fundraiser page: http://www.dorsetdogs.com/fundraiserCrowdfunder page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/xnZ9dMoW
Save Energy UK encourages other local businesses and residents to support this vital appeal and will continue its monthly £500 donations to different causes throughout 2026.