2 Dogs, 2,000 Miles
Our new Daily Dog and Cat Tip writer, the author of the amazing books The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible, wanted to make sure we knew about the amazing 2,400 mile walk of Luke Robinson and his dogs Hudson and Murphy, known as 2 Dogs, 2,000 Miles. Luke is true salt of the earth, a real person simply and passionately dedicating years of his life to our canine companions. He’s not doing it for fame, notoriety or something to do. Heck, I dare you to find Luke’s first and last name in the same place on the site. It’s not about him at all. He’s doing it for dogs, and all of humanity.
After losing his beloved Malcom to canine cancer in 2004, Luke Robinson decided it’s time we stop trying simply to cure canine cancers, but to learn why they are happening.
There are many cancer foundations which work towards finding a cure, and while we applaud their efforts, we want to know what’s causing it. The funds raised from the walk will finance the first ever nationwide epidemiological canine cancer study.
They are currently in Little Rock, AR on their walk from Austin, TX to Boston, MA. On their blog you can follow along on the whole trip, which is much much more than a solitary walk. They are stopping at every pet, shelter and rescue event along the way to help raise awareness and both for canine cancer and the local organizations. And every step of the way they are sharing the stories of loss with other pet owners. Finally, after each day Luke and the dogs are sleeping under the roofs of starngers who every day come forward to help the pack in their great journey.
Here is an interactive map with all the way points to date.
[Click here if you do not see the map.]
Tracie has posted a great correspondence with Luke and his team.
If you can handle the tears, there’s a loving yet heart squeezing Memorials page on Luke’s site dedicated to every doggie who has been beaten by cancer. There’s also a flickr photo memorial group they made open to anyone.
Here’s a great video explaining what they are doing:
[Click here if you do not see the video.]
We’ll be following Luke and Pack from here on out!
[Photo copyright Mark Vogel, 2008]
I live in Austin, TX and have been following Big Dog and the Boys since they left in March. Its a wonderful thing that Luke is doing. I will continue to support their journey and spread the word from Texas!
Thanks for posting this . I have been following fronm the beginning. You can get daily blog updates by email. Please do check it out . Cancer has affected so many furs. They need hosts along the way,place to camp out etc. Please check it out and if you can help out. We have paws crossed for you Luke,Hudson and Murphy!!!.Thank you for raising awareness! Puppy Up!!!
I got into this only recently but as a dog owner and former classmate of Luke’s, I can not tell you how proud I am of his sacrifice for this inspirational journey. Luke is a honorable charismatic person with the strength and grit to see this thru to the end. I will be watching and spreading the word.
Puppy Up!
I just got involved in 2dogs2000miles, and like Scott M, I cannot tell you how proud I am of Luke’s sacrifice for this worthy cause. From everything I have seen and heard about Luke (in the last 2 weeks, or so), it is obvious that he is a true humanitarian in every sense of the word. I have joined Zootoo.com and am trying to build up a Group under the name “2dogs2000miles.org” by LuvYourPets and I’m having a hard time getting people to join from that website. I have to be fair, though, I have only been able to put in about 7 entries and several photos, but I need more people to comment on those entries. The idea is to get zootoo higher-ups to notice this activity (they already put my group on their Front Page for 3 whole days!), but still no comments. I’m not trying to take people away from Dogster! (which is a fabulous website), but a few minutes a day on Zootoo also helps the animals and that’s what these sites are all about!