2 Dogs, 2000 Miles, And 200 Supporters

By Nancy K. Crevier and Kendra Bobowick

Tails, tongues, and furry coats filled the Fairfield Hills grounds Sunday morning, March 21, where dogs and their owners from as far away as New York and New Jersey joined the “Two Dogs 2,000 Miles” walk led by Luke Robinson and his two Great Pyrenees dogs, Hudson and Murphy. Most of the more than 200 people and pets had been touched, somehow, by cancer. Mr Robinson was in Newtown to raise awareness about comparative oncology, which links human and pet cancers. (See “Man and Dogs vs Cancer” in the March 5 Newtown Bee.)

“We’re here to honor our pets we lost to cancer,” said Joni Spielberg, who had traveled from Long Island to join the hikers. Obedient on his leash was her Bernese Mountain dog, Mallo Mar. Looking at her pet, Ms Spielberg added, “They don’t last long enough, these big guys.”

Great Pyrenees, Bernese Mountain dogs, Chihuahuas, heavy black Newfoundlands, Leonbergers, labs, and other breeds all waited in the bright morning light for Mr Robinson to raise his walking stick and begin the day’s lap through the former state hospital’s system of trails. Recording the event was a two-man video crew from the television program Animal Planet, local news media, animal advocates from town, and dozens of residents recording the day’s event on camera prior to a discussion at the C.H. Booth Library at 2 pm. Both the walk and the afternoon meet and greet were organized by local resident, Jodi Bialik.

At the meet and greet Sunday afternoon, Mr Robinson, Hudson, and Murphy welcomed well-wishers, as Animal Planet personnel continued to tape the event.

Educating Americans about comparative oncology is the driving force behind Mr Robinson’s walk that began in Austin, Texas two years ago and that will end June 18 in Boston. (See March 5 story, “Man and Dogs vs Cancer” in The Newtown Bee.)

“It was what I call ‘trail magic,’” said Mr Robinson, referring to his serendipitous meeting with Jodi Bialik in February and the break-neck speed with which Ms Bialik organized the March 21 event. “That’s when everything just comes together,” he said.

A power-point presentation highlighted the adventures that the trio has encountered since Mr Robinson sold his material goods and set out on foot with Murphy and Hudson to honor the memory of his late dog, Malcolm, who succumbed to bone cancer in 2006. The walk, he said, is winding down at this point and moving on to the second phase, that of a “partnership between pets and people with a common goal of eradicating cancer,” in both humans and companion pets. That phase is known as “2 Million Dogs, 2 Miles,” and Mr Robinson is working with others to develop a business plan and setting up a board of directors to identify what they would like to accomplish in the short-term and the long-term. He encouraged all present at the March 21 presentation to visit 2milliondogs.org and pledge a dog to walk two miles for funding research into comparative oncology.

“This has been hugely inspirational to me,” said Ms Bialik after the meet, as she thanked those present for attending. The Bialik family has lost three dogs to cancer, most recently, a Labrador retriever in December of 2009.

“People send photos and stories to me all the time,” said Mr Robinson. “Cancer is epidemic and is no longer a disease of old age.”

Following the two day celebration in Boston marking the end of his 2,000 mile walk this June, and a well-needed break, Mr Robinson and his dogs will visit the cities with the most number of dogs pledged online to set up a local chapter of 2 Million Dogs, 2 Miles. Details of how each local chapter will operate to raise funds for comparative oncology research are yet to be determined, said Mr Robinson, but will involve creative means, as well as organized dog walks.

To find out more, visit 2dogs2000miles.org or 2milliondogs.org.