A KINGSEAT woman insists she isn't barking mad after taking a soft toy for walks and adventures.

Christine Barker adopted a guide dog puppy recently as an alternative to looking after a four-legged friend of her own.

After picking out Willow as the guide dog for her, she was then sent a small cuddly companion that has since become a family favourite.

Christine told the Press that Willow the plush toy has her own collar and lead and has been enjoying the outdoors since arriving in West Fife.

"My grand-daughters (Charlotte, nine, and Grace, 11,) have said that 'Nanny is going crazy' but they've loved it and it's made them smile," Christine commented.

"My friends here and in Canada have dogs but it's not practical for us to have one.

"Adopting a guide dog is the next best thing as they're so important to blind people and they make a huge difference to their lives."

Christine was inspired to take Willow out and about after a school project that her grand-daughters had to carry out.

She explained: "They had to look after the class dinosaur for a week before bringing it back into school to show the other kids what it got up to at their home.

"I started to think about what I could do with Willow to send the girls and that's where this all started."

Willow has since had a stroll on the beach, soaked up nature at Loch Fitty and chilled out in the back garden during lockdown.

Walking a soft toy has understandably grabbed the attention of people she's met on the move but everyone has "found the funny side".

"I put her in my bag and told someone that she was tired," she laughed.

"People have found it really funny and my son and daughter think I'm going to be locked up!

"They aren't surprised at all that I've started doing this but it's all been a good laugh and it's brought out a lot of smiles."