Ok, it’s time to do a little math. I know you were told there would be no math, but sometimes we have to endure a little pop quiz, or in this case, a poop quiz. So, here we go.
If you’re like most people, you walk your dog at least once a day and at least once a day you need to pick up dog poop. How many times a week do you walk your dog? And how many miles do you think you might cover? On a monthly basis, how much poop scooping do you think you’ve done? How far have you traveled in a month? In a year? Ok, I don’t really need an answer, but we all know that lots of us are covering lots of miles and that means there is a lot of poop scooping going on across the country.
Now imagine how much poop scooping you would be doing, if you and your dogs were on a 2,000 walk.
Luke Robinson is doing just that with his two Great Pyrenees, 4-year-old Hudson and 9-year-old Murphy.
Luke Robinson, on the road with Murphy and Hudson
Starting out in March 2008, from their home town of Austin, Texas, these three are heading for Boston, Massachusetts, 2,000 miles away. “I sold my truck, put my stuff into storage and Hudson and Murphy and I got on the road,” Robinson said. In the past two years, they have walked through 14 states. Their mission is to raise awareness and help combat canine cancer.
Robinson lost his beloved dog Malcolm to metastatic bone cancer, so he and Hudson and Murphy started 2 dogs, 2000 miles. He still carries Malcolm’s ashes in his cremation jewelry.
Biologically, the tumor cells in dogs is pretty much the same as cancer cells in humans,” Robinson said. It’s called Comparative Oncology, a relatively new field that he wants more funding for. Robinson says cancer research on dogs would help people as well.
Robinson created “Puppy Up”, where he sells merchandise to help fund his journey. He also wears a memorial shirt and for $25 you can add the name of your deceased pet.
Sponsors help pay for the dog food and veterinary care. Water is his main need, but he has drop-off points along the way where he gets supplies and volunteers who help him.
And how are the dogs doing? “They’re so happy, so excited every single day. They’re fired up when we wake up in the morning.” Robinson says.
They walk about 8 miles a day and at the end of their journey, he will begin fundraising for 2 Million Dogs, a non-profit he conceived of during their walk with the simple idea of getting two million dogs to walk two miles to eradicate cancer in pets and people.
“If two dogs can walk two thousand miles for cancer, surely we can get two-million dogs for cancer,” Robinson said.
So, how much poop got scooped along the way? Let’s try not to think about it. But let’s not forget to support Luke, Hudson and Murphy by pledging to become part of 2 Million Dogs when they roll out their cross-country campaign this year.
The ten-legged trio plan to end their journey when they arrive in Boston on June 19th.
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