Man And Dogs Vs Cancer: A 2,000-Mile Mission

By Nancy K. Crevier

With every step they take, Luke Robinson, Hudson, and Murphy are one step closer to their goal: raising awareness about the epidemic of companion pet cancer and the potential for elimination of cancer in pets and humans that may be found in comparative oncology research. On Thursday, February 25, Mr Robinson sat in the living room of his host family, Jody and Scott Bialik, in Newtown, and spoke about the walk that he has dedicated to the memory of his late dog, Malcolm, and to the eradication of cancer in pets and people.

Since March 2008, Mr Robinson and his two Great Pyrenees dogs, Hudson and Murphy, have been on the road, a trek that began in Austin, Texas, and which will end June 18, in Boston. The “Austin to Boston, Two Dogs, 2,000 Miles” adventure grew out of Mr Robinson’s frustrations when Malcolm was diagnosed with metastasizing bone cancer in 2004, and died in 2006 at age 8. “I realized how far companion pet medicine is behind human medicine — decades, really. Back then, clinical trials were very small, there were not very many canine oncologists. When I first got Malcolm, I was like a new father. I tried to do whatever was best for him. Malcolm opened me up to a different part of life I had never experienced before with a pet. After he died, I promised I would devote my life to finding out what took him from me,” said Mr Robinson.

“I knew that whatever I did had to address some fundamental issues, and be something that would give me a big audience to talk to. That’s when the idea of walking across the nation started. And I’ve been able to talk to tens of thousands of people through my website, Facebook, Twitter, and all of the people I meet along the way,” he said.

At 250 pounds, the desk-bound business consultant was not then “the poster child for this type of activity,” admitted Mr Robinson. He took a practical approach, doing a risk analysis — “It is dangerous walking in this country” — and trained with his two other Great Pyrenees, one a gift and the other a rescue dog, for six months.

“It was important that we developed our own communication. [Hudson, Murphy, and I] work together as a team when we’re on the road. There are little nuances to our relationship that do not require verbal communication that have developed over time. We were an unruly bunch before this began,” Mr Robinson said. The trio also worked on the physical aspect, gradually increasing activity as the start up date approached. Now, five pairs of hiking boots and a few sets of doggie boots later, Mr Robinson has trimmed down by 80 pounds, the dogs are conditioned, and hiking eight to ten miles a day is routine.

The Bialik family also owns a Great Pyrenees rescue dog, Morgan. Ms Bialik has been following the Two Dogs, 2,000 Miles hikers since they left Texas, she said, her interest in the cause keen, following the death of her 12-year-old Labrador, Cuspid, this past December from cancer. Cuspid was the third dog the Bialiks have lost to some type of cancer, and like Mr Robinson, she would like to know why this disease is epidemic in the canine community.

“I had offered, through Luke’s walk coordinator Ginger Morgan in Tennessee, a long time back that we would be willing to take them in if they were ever in the area and needed housing,” said Ms Bialik. It was coincidental that she was discussing possible mid-March speaking engagements with Ms Morgan when Mr Robinson put out a Facebook request for shelter from bad weather and Ms Morgan asked her if the family could do so.

“When I found out he was in Long Island, I drove down and picked them up on Wednesday [February 23], and here we are through serendipity,” Ms Bialik said. They have invited the threesome to remain until better weather allows them to continue on. The family, particularly their two daughters Ava, 8, and Yael, 6, have found having the dogs and Mr Robinson with them comforting, having recently experienced the loss of Cuspid, said Ms Bialik.

“You’ve got a man here who not only talks the talk, but literally walks the walk, and for a great cause,” said Dr Scott Bialik. “We’re happy to help him.”

Everything Mr Robinson, Hudson, and Murphy need as they walk is carried in a backpack. Seven days worth of dehydrated dog food and treats (shipped to them weekly from sponsors like Honest Food and Wagatha’s), emergency supplies, power bars and trail mix for Mr Robinson, their tent, and two to three gallons of water make up the nearly 100-pound pack. He plans his route and tenting sites — be they yards, churches, parks, or urban settings — based on access to water, especially in the warmer months.

Adversities have been fewer than the generosity they have experienced from strangers along the way, said Mr Robinson. The challenges have come mainly in the form of bad weather, physical challenges like the cancer scare with Murphy that put them out of commission while he was examined, and a few characters like “the mad cow man” who stalked them in Texas.

It has been through conversations with veterinarians and oncologists, as well as other dog owners, along the way that Mr Robinson has defined his objective. Comparative oncology research on dogs with naturally occurring cancers, he believes, could hold the key to a cancer cure. “I finally understood what I was doing and what I’ll devote the rest of my life to,” said Mr Robinson.

He emphasized that comparative oncology research is not animal testing. “It uses dogs with spontaneously occurring cancers, and actually makes us less reliant on animal testing,” he explained. (See sidebar on comparative oncology.)

The three walkers plan to arrive in Boston on June 18, where supporters have planned two days of celebrations, said Mr Robinson, including a memorial service dedicated to anyone touched by cancer. He hopes that supporters will join him, Hudson, and Murphy for the final mile of the walk from the Back Bay to Boston Common on the 18th of June.

The end of this walk is only the beginning, though, Mr Robinson said, for an ongoing effort to eliminate cancer, in pets and in humans. The next phase is the Two Million Dogs, Two Miles program, in which he will assist localities in setting up fundraising events for comparative oncology research. “If two dogs can walk 2,000 miles, I’m hoping we can get two million dogs and owners to pledge two miles for research,” he said.

“I would never have set out on this walk if I didn’t believe we would make it safely from Austin to Boston. We’ve been given safe passage and I believe we walk with angels, the dogs touched by cancer whose names are memorialized on one of the T-shirts I wear every day that I walk. We will not stop,” said Mr Robinson, “until we have eradicated cancer.”

To follow the trio’s final leg of the journey and to find out more about the cause, visit 2dogs2000miles.org or 2milliondogs.org.