A Birthday Blog

It wasnt my intention with my blog about Michael Vick to foment hate but voice my scathing criticism of how little still we value the life of a dog. Malcolm was my son & my soulmate and not a mile passes that I wouldn't trade all of this just to have him with me again.

I've heard the arguments and listened to countless opinions but for me it comes to this. Why would valuing companion pets as members of our family conversely lessen that which we place on human life? I can have the same love, affection, and loyalty for my parents and siblings as I have for Hudson and Murphy. Love is not zero sum.

You know not so long ago children in this country were treated like chattel and afforded no more basic rights than that of a piece of farm equipment. We have evolved as a society and now have laws and agencies in place to protect them. Yes we've made progress and considerable strides in animal welfare over the last decade but I've also walked through states whose laws seemed medieval.

I try as best I can to keep the focus of my writings and reflections about the walk and all of the amazing things we see, experience, and learn. But it is a journey. Some of you have asked me to remove the blog and facebook postings about Vick because of the negative feelings it generates. They will remain but because I made a commitment to record and chronicle just about every aspect of this journey whether good or bad or right or wrong. I know that means some of you won't be with us all the way but from the bottom of my heart I thank you for traveling with us as long as you did.

One of the things I have learned throughout a year and a half on the road is that this walk is as much my own personal war on cancer as it is trying to do my part in changing societal perceptions of companion animals and their roles in our lives. The Vick travesty has set us back years but rest assured the fuzzybutts and I will get back on the road and keep walking... full of faith, hope, and belief....

puppy up!

Yer One-Year Older Big Dog

Christmas Day Video Chat with Ginger Morgan

We’ll be having a special holiday video chat this Christmas Day (December 25) starting at 5 PM EST, 4 PM CST. The chat should be about 2 hours, give or take.

Luke will be speaking with our very own Ginger Morgan, the woman who keeps it (and us) all together, makes things happen, and makes other people make things happen. The cat-o-nine tails she wields is pretty impressive too, and we would be lost without her.

Ginger has been with 2Dogs since Luke arrived in Memphis. For several years prior to that she was the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County, having begun her association with the Humane Society in 1990 as a volunteer. During her tenure there, they responded to the needs of the Katrina evacuees and their animals by helping to provide them with foster homes, medical care, food, and supplies. In addition, she has taken the American Humane Association’s and the EARS classes in disaster response.

She was also owner and manager of Pete’s Treats, a specialty pet gift shop named after her beloved dog Pete. (Pete is quite a handsome fellow and has a passion for pink toys.) In 2008, she was chosen as one of the “50 Women Who Make a Difference” in Memphis and also elected to join the Leadership Memphis Board of Directors.

Ginger lives with her 14 dogs (and you thought YOU had a houseful) and one cat in Memphis. She will be nominated for Sainthood after Luke reaches Boston.

So turn on, tune it, meet Ginger, and say puppy up! to Luke and The Boys this coming Christmas Day. Here are the instructions and link:

Topic: Christmas Chat with Ginger Morgan
Host: Luke Robinson
Date: Friday, December 25, 2009
Time: 5:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time
Session number: 806 585 910
Session password: ginger


To join:

1. Go to https://2dogs2000miles.webex.com/2dogs2000miles/k2/j.php?ED=131360782&UID=1089976597&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
2. Enter your name and email address.
3. Enter the session password: ginger
4. Click "Join Now."
5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Now, not only have we provided you with a little extra Holiday Cheer, but we have also given you a good excuse to escape from the chaos that is Christmas Day for a bit, settle down at the computer with some Christmas cookies or a turkey leg, and chill out with us for a while!

Hope to see you on the chat. Puppy up!

Video Chat a Success!

We’re still learning how to use WebEx, but considering we’re all novices at it, the video chat went off pretty well. Our guest speaker turned out to be Lydia Best, owner of Everything And The Dog . (Lorri Hare was experiencing technical difficulties and at the last minute Lydia graciously accepted Luke’s invitation to be our first guest.)

Lydia was terrific, and shared much useful information about finding the right pet-sitting service, giving pointers on how to interview the potential pet sitter, what they need to know, what YOU need to know, emergency back-up plans (for the pet sitter and yourself), if they’re licensed, bonded, and insured, if they know pet emergency medical procedures, and briefly discussed the two organizations that accredit professional pet sitters. Her business logged 76,000 visits to homes last year alone! That’s a lot of walkin’ and scoopin’! She also shared stories of some of the more unusual client requests, including one person who requested she stop by every day and change the TV channel at a certain time of day because some of the viewing might be inappropriate for the dog to watch! OoooooooKayyyyyyy ….

Probably the best general advice Lydia gave was that you wouldn’t leave your 2 legged child with just anybody. The same should go for your 4 legged friends. Check out your pet sitter just like you would a baby sitter. Don’t leave anything to chance. Let your neighbors know you’ll be having someone in to take care of your animals. And make sure someone within walking distance can visit and take care of your pets in a pinch in case the pet sitter can’t make it for some reason. Always have a backup plan!

It was a great hour with Lydia and Luke. Luke finished out the hour talking about the walk today, his plans for Christmas, and plans going forward. Despite some technical glitches that we’re working on (we’ve only had one official training session and WebEx is pretty sophisticated stuff), we did well and had almost our capacity of 30 people on the call. If you couldn’t get in this time, or had technical issues, please try next time. Yes, it even works on dial-up, for those of us locked into the age of two tin cans and a string, although it was noticeably slower. But it was still a lot of fun.

Because of the holiday there will be no video chat next week, but we’ve already scheduled the next chat for Tuesday, December 29th (the day after Luke’s birthday) for 9 PM EST. Here are the instructions and the link:

Topic: 2 Dogs 2000 Miles Videocast December 29th 2009
Host: Luke Robinson
Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Time: 9:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
Session number: 807 722 076
Session password: 2dogs

1. Go to https://2dogs2000miles.webex.com/2dogs2000miles/k2/j.php?ED=131289197&UID=1089810587&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
2. Enter your name and email address.
3. Enter the session password: 2dogs
4. Click "Join Now".
5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

BTW, calendars are still available at Click and Pledge and Memorial Shirts are too.

Live Videocast December 17 at 9 PM EST

You're invited to join our live videocast with special guest Lydia Best of EverythingAndTheDog.com.

Here's the link and directions:

Go to https://2dogs2000miles.webex.com/2dogs2000miles/k2/j.php?ED=131276567&UID=1089806197&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D

Enter your name and email address

Enter the session password: 2dogs

Click "Join Now".

Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Hope to see you there!

In The News - December 15, 2009

Thursday – December 17 -- Live Video Chat at 9 PM EST with special guest Lorri Hare -- Live Video Chat with Luke, and Lorri Hare from Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society . Luke, Hudson, and Murphy met Lorri, the Director of BGWCHS some time ago – way back when they were in Kentucky – and she will be our first guest on the video chat Thursday night. She’ll visit with people on-line and discuss what they do at her shelter, and give a general presentation on what all shelters could use/need this time of year. She’s a terrific person and we’re very happy she’s made time to be on our video cast. After Lorri speaks, Luke will take questions. The Chat will last 1 hour and can accommodate up to 30 participants. I will post the link here when I have it, so if you’re interested in getting in on the chat this week, please stand by. We’re using WebEx, a much more user-friendly system, so if you tried unsuccessfully to get in on another chat, please try again. You can even use it successfully on dial-up so even those still stuck in the 20th century can be a part of the fun!

By the way – WebEx has a nifty recording feature. So even if you can’t get in on the live Chat, you can access a recording of it and listen in. More on that later. (OK, OK, I have yet to figure out how it works. But it does, and it will, and we’ll post the link. Promise!)

Friday, December 18 – Crossing the George Washington Bridge and into Bryant Park Friday December 18 – The George Washington Bridge crossing is this Friday morning at 9 AM EST. Then The Boys will walk along the Hudson Esplanade to 110th Street, through Central Park and and up at Bryant Park – meeting at Annie’s Dog Bakery and Boutique (which, Luke tells me, is in the “B Section” of Bryant park – there are maps throughout the area to help you find your way) at around 6 PM EST. Folks and their dogs who are in the area and would like to meet The Boys and welcome them to NYC & celebrate their 13th state are invited to attend. And I’m sure Annie’s Dog Bakery will be happy for the business too! (I think Murphy, the Stomach on Paws, must have suggested the meeting spot to Luke. Check out their web page and see all the delicious goodies.) And there are lots of other shops at Bryant Park, so bring your Christmas list, check it twice, cross off the naughty and load up the nice. (Yeah, yeah. I won’t quit my day job.) (Wait – this IS my day job!)

Video Conference Tonight, December 10, at 9 PM EST

Come join Luke, Hudson, and Murphy for a special Video Conference tonight, Thursday evening, at 9 PM EST. The link and instructions are below. You might want to get there a few minutes early, although the video conference will not open until 9 PM. Follow the instructions and you should be able to get on. There is no limit tonight for participants, although going forward the conference will be limited to 30 people.

Luke plans to hold video conferences Tuesday and Thursday nights at 9 PM EST, giving more people the opportunity to join in. But tonight everyone can join in!

Here are the instructions:

Luke Robinson invites you to participate as an attendee in the following online training session:

Topic: 2 Dogs Videocast Nite
Host: Luke Robinson
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2009
Time: 8:00 pm, Central Time (GMT-06:00) [9 PM EST]
Session number: 926 188 786
Session password: This session does not require a password.


1. Go to https://eval.webex.com/eval/k2/j.php?ED=131879022&UID=1145110542&RT=MiM5
2. Enter your name and email address.
3. Click "Join Now".
4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Hope to see you tonight! puppy up!

Latest News -- December 10, 2009

Video Tonight – There will be a video cast tonight, Thursday December 10, 2009 at 9 PM EST. We’ll be using WebEx rather than Adobe. Luke will be giving it a dry run this afternoon, and when I have the actual URL I will send it out in a special announcement.

Tweeting Today and Tomorrow – Sheila has sent us our Tweeting Marching Orders for today and tomorrow. If you’re into tweeting and would like to participate, here are the instructions:

TWEET MESSAGE EXAMPLE:

@(insert the Twitter address) man walking across country with 2 dogs for cancer thru Princeton on Fri has walked 1900 miles www.2dogs2000miles.org pls rt

tweet to the following:

Nj.com (New Jersey local news): http://twitter.com/njdotcom

Star Ledger News: http://twitter.com/NJ_News

The Daily Princetonian: http://twitter.com/princetonian

New Jersey Monthly: http://twitter.com/njmonthly

WPRB Radio: http://twitter.com/wprb

WPST Radio http://twitter.com/wpst

In The News – The awesome folks at TPPC TV (The Pet Podcast Channel) came out and interviewed Luke and The Boys Saturday. Check it out

More Calendars Available – Ginger has ordered more calendars. Please order them through Click and Pledge at: https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=30140 She can’t make any promises about getting them to you by Christmas at this late date, but she said she’ll sure try!

Next Week’s Walk – Here are The Boys’ walking plans for next week: “We'll be crossing the George Washington Bridge at 9 AM EST, Friday the 18th. From GW we'll follow Riverside Parkway along the Hudson to W110th Street. We'll walk through Central Park to 5th Avenue to Bryant Park. People who'd like to welcome us to the city can do so at the park as we'll be there to talk about our mission, etc.” This will be the 13th State they’ve crossed into. Come see them and celebrate!

(Photo of the George Washington Bridge by Mike Tantillo.)

Sold Out!

We’re sold out of calendars! Yes, we are plumb out. Nada. Zip. Zilch. None. Zero. Gone.

The good news is we can order more if there’s enough interest. If you haven’t ordered your "Cancer Can't Keep A Good Dog Down" calendars yet, or if you want more (they are beautiful, aren’t they – great gifts, memorials, mementos, collector’s items), please email Ginger by this Thursday and let her know how many (dozen) you want. You can reach her at ginger@2dogs2000miles.org.

Seriously, they really are beautiful and make great gifts for your vet, your groomer, your office, your family, your friends, people you know on the bus, your Great Aunt Bessie in Duluth, total strangers. (OK, I exaggerated, but only about the total strangers.)

This is a calendar you’ll want to keep. It’s a calendar with a message – a message especially suited to vets, groomers, the local pet store, other friends with dogs (and cats), etc. Help get the word out, share the information, and start the revolution. People will look at the wonderful photos, get curious, read their stories, learn about Hudson, Murphy, and Luke, and spread the word. What better way to do it?!

So please drop Ginger an email and let her know.

And THANKS to ALL of you who have made this calendar such a terrific success – from all the folks who shared their beautiful dog’s stories and photos, to Ginger and Jorge who made it happen again this year, to Luke who was inspired to come up with the idea, to my wife, Lia, who helped me proof read, and to everyone who enthusiastically ordered so many we’ve run out! As you know, part of the proceeds from sales will go directly to the three universities we’ve chosen this year to receive funds. The rest will go to furthering the message about canine cancer and comparative oncology.

Thanks again and puppy up!