Two Walks in One

Guest blog by Kerry Sneddon

We started our day with the intention of just attending the Poughkeepsie, NY Puppy Up! Walk and had pre-registered for it.  Michelle then put up a post on Facebook changing the starting time to ten AM.  I said to Robbin, Wow!  I’ll bet we could do both the Poughkeepsie and New Milford walks because registration was at 1:00 PM in New Milford.  Well, we loaded up the boys and hit the road from Central New Jersey shortly before eight AM and started our journey to Poughkeepsie, NY.  About 175 miles later, we rolled into the Poughkeepsie walk site and it was beautiful!  What a great group of people and dogs!  The last portion of the walk gave us the choice of a long road around the hillside or the route as the crow would fly.  We chose the latter and Chief negotiated the narrow footbridge over the

pond and then headed straight up the hill towards the pavilion.  Just using his front legs in the wheelchair, he went right up that steep grassy hill like a mountain goat!  We were in awe at his determination!  We rested a while after the walk and Michelle had some games and prizes for us and the pups.

I looked at my watch and it was almost noon at this point.  I said to Robbin, “Think we can make it to the New Milford Walk?”  The GPS said we could make the distance of a little over fifty miles through the mountains just in time to catch the registration time slot for the New Milford, CT Puppy Up! Walk.  We had met Dawn and her dog Sunny last spring in Newtown, CT when Luke and the boys were passing through.  We also had spent time together up in Boston for the final mile so we wanted to give old friends a big personal hug.  We loaded the boys up and off

we went!  Robbin wondered if we were going to be able to get there before the 2:00 PM Walk start time.  Well, utilizing the skills garnered from a career in Law Enforcement, we made it through all those mountain passes

and switchbacks and rolled into the New Milford, CT. Puppy Up!  Walk shortly after 1:00 PM with plenty of time to relax, meet and greet and photo shoot!  What an  amazing array of dogs had shown up in New Milford!  Dawn had laid out a beautiful walk through downtown, up and down some steep hills.  What a picturesque and quaint little New England town and the people were all outgoing, friendly and wonderful!  People, riding by in their cars, tooting the horn in approval!  Chief was having a ball in his wheelchair.  He would tuck his one hind leg up and coast down the hills….he looked like Fred Flintstone putting on the brakes when the speed started to get to great for him.  Everyone around him was

in hysterics laughing at his antics.  After everything he has been through, he sure can teach us humans what it’s all about to just deal with life’s happenings in stride and make the most out of each day!

After enjoying the company of so many supporters all day, walking uphill and down, nice brisk New England weather (quite windy!), we packed up the boys for the ride home.  Right around two hundred miles later we rolled back into the homestead with two pooped out Pyrs and two pooped but happy and proud humans!  We just hope we can put the SEARCH into cancer research.  So much for research……stop going over and over well trodden paths to find that key to eradicating cancer….look at all new ways through comparative oncology to unlock the door to putting the reins on raging cell division!

On behalf of my beloved Pyr girl, Nimbo, and Luke’s Malcolm, who were escorted over the Rainbow Bridge before their time, Robbin and I will always be front-runners in the battle against cancer.  The support staff are all people who are guided through life by their hearts, especially those who have been severely wounded in one way or another by cancer.  It peaks the emotion like none other.

Kerry ‘n Robbin Sneddon, the support staff for Chief and Ranger, the Pyr brothers, and our two Samoyeds, Mother Maddy and daughter, Luna!