Today’s post will be a mash-up of three walkers with one purpose – all were striding and striving for one goal.
First, I’ll introduce you to fellow blogger Zena Cooper, who lives across the pond from me …
… in Ammanford, Wales. Zena, accompanied by her daughter, Korisha Williams, recently completed a 55-mile fundraising walking event. These women trained in advance of this endeavor so they could easily complete their target goal of 11 miles daily. Here is the dynamic duo: Zena (left) and Korisha (right).
After reading Zena’s post about the upcoming event, in solidarity, I decided to join Zena and Korisha virtually in this endeavor, however, at the risk of shin splints by overdoing it, I was a “slacker” and walked my usual five miles daily, with a target goal of 25 miles.
Due to the five-hour time difference, my UK pals may have already finished and recorded their daily mileage stats …
… while I was still walking, or even before I laced up my walking shoes and stepped out. Of note is our daily walks took place smack dab during those doggone Dog Days of Summer and here’s a factoid for you … climatologists recorded Monday, July 22nd as the hottest day on record WORLDWIDE and July 2024 was the hottest month on record WORLDWIDE. Whew!
On that hotter-than-hot Monday, they were joined by a friend …
Let me be clear up front in stating I deserve no accolades for only completing half of the pair’s daily steps, plus my morning meanders were on an asphalt pathway, or in residential neighborhoods, not on uneven trails nor pitted walkways. There were no scratchy bramble bushes to contend with. So, if you want to congratulate someone, the accolades should go to them, not me and, by the way, special kudos to Zena because she is blind. Also, Zena did not make this exhausting journey with her trusty guide dog Minster Munch, who is nicknamed “Munch” – instead, she relied on her white cane and/or at times a firm grasp on her daughter’s arm.
Life before and after Munch.
Zena’s blog is heaped with praise for her furry companion and she has written countless times of how her life before Munch was often fraught with accidents, like trips and falls, then after Munch became her “eyes” she had newfound freedom, the likes that she had never known. You see Zena was born with Marfan Syndrome, a disorder rendering her almost completely blind.
But, being the stoic soul that she has always been, Zena went to school, then entered the workplace as a school counselor. Amazingly, she was able to keep her medical condition under wraps for a very long time. Zena finally resorted to using her white cane, something recognized and associated with worldwide as an aid for the blind.
But, that was before 2016, when she paired up with Munch, her Labradoodle guide dog, whose mischievous personality, even while in harness, has endeared him to everyone Zena encountered and, it is those encounters and Munch and his mischievous ways that she regales us with in her blog “The Secret Blind”. Below are photos of Munch “in harness” working and also hamming it up in his Guide Dog hat.
Zena even collected those humorous excerpts to write a book entitled What You Can See When You Can’t See – How Blindness Helped One Woman Discover the True Beauty of Life. If you go onto Zena’s blog site, some of her Facebook pictures of Munch may be found in the sidebar, like this recent photo of her furry companion with his puppy-like exuberance over a stick.
Munch has been Zena’s trusty furry companion now for eight years, but since he is nine and one-half years old, he now soon faces mandatory retirement. Since friends and followers had questions about this, she addressed our concerns in a Q and A-type forum. Zena wrote about that sad fact in this post.
In her August 11th post which recapped how she and Korisha fared with their fundraising walk, Zena told us she now had only 19 weeks left with Munch, who will remain with her but in a new role, that of a beloved pet. She has requested another Labradoodle, not only because of their gentle, but sometimes mischievous temperament, but also because they don’t shed. Unfortunately there is only a two percent chance of Zena receiving another Labradoodle guide dog.
Even though Munch will enjoy retirement, Zena explained “by hanging up his harness and being paws up” unfortunately, due to the high cost of training a dog, the transition from one guide dog to the next will not be seamless, so Zena will return to using her white cane for about a year to guide her in her daily travels, just as she did before Munch.
Thus, the idea of a fundraising endeavor was borne.
No, Zena does not aim to buy an already-trained guide dog, but instead to raise money for the naming rights of a new guide dog puppy, one that will have the same moniker as her beloved Munch. All funds raised will be funneled toward training of guide dogs. The more money raised, the more guide dogs may be trained and waiting times for these dogs will be less. It costs £55,000 ($70,690.95 USD) to support a guide dog from birth through retirement. Thus “55” became the target number of miles for this fundraising walk-a-thon. Zena’s family hopes to raise £2,500 ($3,213.15) within two years, so to that end, there will be more fundraisers, like this first fundraising walk. I decided it could be just like another virtual charitable cause 5k for me, so I was “all in” to join them. The walking routes chosen were places that Munch enjoys for HIS walks, but, as mentioned above, Munch was given a reprieve during this 55-mile journey. Zena’s “eyes” were her daughter Korisha who walked alongside her leading them down not only the pothole-ridden roads, but also the woodsy pathways of beautiful Wales.
I initially decided to do our daily walks in a diary style.
For me, my plan to walk five miles daily (one mile exactly to/from Council Point Park, then three times around the perimeter path, that walking loop being one mile exactly) sounded good on paper and in my head.
But, things don’t always work out as planned when life takes its twists and turns. For example, the “original walk” was slated for July 21st through July 25th, but Zena’s son Jaidan was graduating with his Philosophy Degree on Thursday, July 25th, so Zena and Korisha began their walk a day earlier so they didn’t miss the graduation ceremony. I was in Sterling State Park that day, a sweltering hot morning where I took a wrong turn on a trail and was forced to walk several miles out of my way to get back on the man trail. More on that blunder in another post. That night, as I caught up on Facebook, I learned about the date change, so I just began my walk Sunday, as I originally planned – no sweat (about the date – the heat and humidity, well that was a whole ‘nother story.)
Monday, the second day of my walk also had a minor blip and did not go as planned because on Sunday a police officer was shot and fatally wounded in a nearby city and the shooter was on the run for 24 hours before he was caught. Although there was no lockdown in place, while police officers from multiple communities, canine officers, drones and helicopters canvassed the area looking for this criminal, I thought it better to drive to the Park rather than meandering through the neighborhoods. The rest of the week mercifully went as planned, so yes, my walking stats “got ‘er done” but pale in comparison to my UK pals as set forth below:
Day #1 – Saturday, July 20th: 16 miles (in two walks)
Day #2 – Sunday, July 21st: 11.42 miles
Day #3 – Monday, July 22nd: 11.82 miles
Day #4 – Tuesday, July 23rd: 11.2 miles
Day #5 – Wednesday, July 24th: 5 miles to reach the target of 55 miles in five (5) days.
On this day, a four-legged friend joined the journey. Here Minster Munch, off harness, joyfully races ahead of his mistress.
On Day #1, my first day, it was a gorgeous, albeit hot, day …
… and, since there was no construction on Sundays for the ongoing “project” I took a lot of photos, some which will appear in this post and the others in a later post where I will update you on the progress of the Creek-widening project.
But, for today’s post, remembering how Zena and her late mother enjoyed my nature posts, especially the ones about Parker and pals, I was happy to glean a few poses from my furry friends to sprinkle throughout my portion of the post. That splooting squirrel you see in the featured image up top is not Parker, who refused to “sploot on command” … it was so hot that day that I offered peanuts after I took the photo and he/she just stayed there, trying to cool off on the tree stump.
There can never be TOO many furry friends in this world, right?
Before and after.
Zena’s new world after her faithful companion’s retirement later this year will hearken back to before, a sightless world, where once again she will be forced to learn and memorize obstacles and trip hazards all over again. That pre-2016 world was a dangerous place before Munch and now after it will be a challenge once again. In praising Munch Zena says “this hairy soul mate has made my life with sight loss not only manageable, but also empowering in ways I would never have imagined.”
I wish her luck and I’m sure you will too.
I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s August 25th Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Before and After.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
This is most uplifting.
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Thank you Anne – I am inspired by Zena too.
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Nice you joined Walker with Zena and Korisha. Wonderful you sharing !
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Thank you Raj. I figured since I was a walker, it would be fun to do this the same time as Zena and Korisha. They walked 55 miles (88.5 kms) – wow!
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Nice, but, how much km you walk? Beautiful photos. Nice photography.
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I only walked 40 km compared to their 88 km. I am not used to walking more than 5 miles (8 kms) daily, sometimes a little more, but I had not trained for that many miles. I’m glad you liked the photos.
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What a beautiful story and I hope Zena gets her new guide dog soon!
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Thank you Pam. I do too! I was amazed to learn that the transition between guide dogs was not seamless and Zena would return to using her white cane once again.
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Somehow that doesn’t seem right, Linda.
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I agree Pam – I think it is unfair to make someone take a step back after eight years of total independence with a faithful guide dog.
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I enjoyed this post with you as the guide. Congratulations for reaching your goal and featuring guide dogs, Munch in particular.
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Thank you Anne – I am glad you enjoyed the post. Furry friends, no matter the size, are always a delight to write about.
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What an incredible story and journey about Zena and Munch! Their resolution to walk is really heartwarming to read. And kudos to you for your mileage especially under hot conditions, Linda! Great interpretations of the before and after theme!
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Zena has always inspired me Terri, since I first began following her blog. I saw that stat about the warmest day on record worldwide and thought it would be perfect for this post as we both were dealing with the heat, only they walked twice as much as me – whew! Funny you mention my interpretation of the theme because in this case, I almost used this post for “Reunited” as Zena would be reunited with her white cane again. I could have easily used my “Spain 50 years ago” post for “Before and After” and I had both of them already written … I ended up thinking today’s theme worked better for Zena’s story.
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What a lovely story! Squirrels are your walk companions!
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Thanks Kate – glad you liked it. The posts about Munch are funny, like your funny posts about your cats. Yes, the squirrels are my walk companions and happily, the youngsters born after the Creek-widening project began on May 8th have now left their nests and are curious and scoping me out: “peanuts – yay, but … is she an okay human, or will she try to grab me and take me away from my family?” I guess I have passed muster and have new hungry mouths to feed and run up behind me at my heels as I missed them. 🙂
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Awww…
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Applause to you all for your stamina and determination. Zena especially – she’s amazing! 👏👏👏 It must have been so uncomfortable in the heat. Too bad Munch has to retire and it will take so long to get a replacement! We have a guide dog training school right here in town and they primarily use full labradors, but, as you said, labradoodles have the advantage of being non-shedding (unless they inherit more lab than poodle genes). Love the squirrel close-ups! 😀
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Thank you Debbie! We are in another steamy hot week with high humidity, just like that week, plus storms today through Tuesday. I do like Summer, but there can be too much of a good thing sometimes.
It is unfortunate Munch has to retire but it is mandatory. I wish it had been a seamless transition. I’m glad Zena can keep him as a pet. Over the years, I have only seen German Shepherds used as seeing eye dogs, but maybe since you see so many other types of service dogs now, this has caused a shortage. I saw an Aussiedoodle at Council Point Park recently. I don’t know if it was already a service dog, or the couple was training it, but it had a “service dog” banner on its harness. I told them about Zena and Munch. That dog looked similar to Munch. A odd mixture you’d think, but it was very cute and obedient. That dog sat and never moved a muscle the entire time we were speaking.
Squirrels are my specialty … most of the time. I do come home with a fair share of squirrels missing snouts and tails as they run pretty fast after they feast. 🙂
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They may have walked longer than you but they only did it for 5 days. You do it year round, (and year after year) big difference!
What kind of squirrels do they have over there I wonder?
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Well Wayne, I can’t remember if I read in one of Zena’s blog posts or Zena posted a story that was in her local newspaper about the walk, but in it she said she always walked a lot ever since she was young and has never driven, so she was used to it. But 11 miles or more a day is a lot of miles and her daughter was working midnights every night, then doing the walk with Zena. I originally wrote that fact, but removed it as my post was getting so long. I just Googled and in Wales they have the red squirrels and gray squirrels. I never see the red squirrels around here, but I know they are in Michigan. Zena told me a long time ago her mom also liked birds and feeding the birds in the yard, so her mom read my posts and enjoyed them, especially about Parker. That always made me feel good.
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I enjoyed reading your post today, Linda. Lots of love here for sure.
And I love your this: “Squirrels are my specialty … most of the time.“🐿️❤️
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Thank you TD, I am glad you liked it and, as a dog lover, I thought you might enjoy reading about Zena and Munch’s relationship. Yes, the squirrels can pose very sweetly and just as I snap the photo, they scurry off and I get home with blurry photos or missing snouts and tails. 🙂 I got a lot more photos that day which I’ll put into a post to update about Council Point Park … not really much to update sadly as the landscape has filled in with weeds now, but lots of new squirrels born in the Spring and are now out of the nest and on the ground. Right after the destruction, I was not seeing many squirrels at all which really hurt my heart.
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You have the new generation of squirrels to treat with peanuts as they learn their way through their new world. And they have a sweet human who totes peanuts to add joy!
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They are funny the first time though TD. And I’m sure they watch their parents approach me and know its “safe” but still … they give me and the little pile of peanuts wide berth the first time, then the next time, they come right up to me. It is funny. Last week we had temps at night near 40 and only 70 in the daytime, which was like September weather. So they were already eating some peanuts, burying some. This week we are in the 90s and high humidity, so they’ll be pretty confused.
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I need to come back and read this slower. We are headed out the door for an adventure and will be home next weekend. But wow! That was a long walk, yours was long too!
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Dawn, since you are a dog lover, you will like it. I guess I was comparing my 25 miles to their 55 miles and feeling like a slacker, but it was a hot week, like we’re having now. Hope you are headed to a beach or somewhere cooler. Have a safe and fun trip.
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That is quite the walk, you could do it as well 🙂 , your experienced walker.
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Thank you Sandra. I have done walks that are about six miles long, maybe almost seven, but those two seven-mile walks were because I got lost and had to retrace my steps. I once overdid it on the walking on a beautiful Fall day, the kind where you just want to stay out in it forever, then I ended up with shin splints and no walking for a week!
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She is amazing! I can’t imagine being in her position. At least she gets to keep her beloved dog as a pet. I hope things work out for her with a new one. Kudos to you for your walks! even with the hiccups you encountered!
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I think she is amazing too Susan. I cannot imagine it either and I’ve always admired Zena’s spirit and her attitude that with Munch anything was possible. I am glad she gets to keep him as a beloved pet, but I’m sad she has to go so long using her cane again. We are having a very hot week, dangerously hot tomorrow, so I might just stay home in the A/C instead. I’m glad I made it because I was happy we didn’t have rain for five days in a row – I would have walked when it stopped raining, but it would have been stinkin’ hot!
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Yeah we’re having a bit of a heat wave too. A week ago it rained for 5 days in a row and was quite chilly. Strange weather, up and down all the time
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We had a bad storm roll through here around 6:00 p.m. – we have two more storms before daylight – I hate severe weather in the dark.
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Miss Linda…………………………….I’m excited to read about your blog and your new friends that you met learning to do a go-along on their road trip………………I always learn about something new when I read your blogs!
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Thank you Ann Marie for your nice comment. This was a different walk for me … first time I ever walked in an event where the other walkers were 3,589 miles away!
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Wonderful post! At least Much will remain with her as a companion while she awaits a new guide dog. I hope it isn’t too long a wait.
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Thank you Eilene! It was fun to do this collaborative effort, even though we are 3,600 miles apart. I’m glad Munch gets to stay as a companion pet and hopefully it does not take the one-year waiting period for Zena’s new guide dog.
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What a wonderful story you told about Zena and her guide dog, Munch! It’s a relief that Munch stays with the family once be retires. I wonder what that process will be like for both of them…how will Munch know that he is no longer a guide dog?
Thank you for sharing the stats about July being the hottest month on record worldwide. Ellis and I were just talking about that on our evening stroll, which we just started up again due to a light breeze. We couldn’t even fathom the idea of being outside for long in July…it was blazing and brutally hot.
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Thank you Esther, I’m glad you liked it. I’m glad Munch gets to continue staying with Zena and her family after he is retired and I also wonder how he will interpret just being a pet, not a guide dog and view the new guide dog once it arrives. I am sure Zena will be writing about that. I hope she does not have to wait as long as a year for a new guide dog to happen though.
Yes, July was horrible, especially that one day – the hottest day on record worldwide. We have had a couple of scorching days here, getting to a real feel of 100+ today – ugh. And that brought severe weather. We had storm #1 of three we will get tonight/early morning Wednesday. I hate after-dark storms and especially in the middle of the night storms. I am definitely ready for Fall.
I hope your around-the-clock nursing duties have subsided a bit and Elliot is on the mend. I like you and Ellis are taking walks together.
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Thanks for sharing some of Zena’s story with us. I admire anyone who signs on for heavy duty walking, and all the more for someone who has difficulty seeing.
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I’m glad you enjoyed reading about Zena’s story JP. It is an admirable one and that long walk, in the Dog Days of Summer was indeed a feat of the feet!
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What an unselfish person Zena is! She could have raised money for herself and instead she supports the organization that trains these dogs. I couldn’t imagine walking that far let alone blind, she is amazing and so are you for sharing her story, the need for guide dogs and walking too.
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First, thank you very much Diane and I agree with you about the fundraising. Zena will continue doing fundraising events until the family reaches a goal, which I think is a very nice gesture. I was amazed to find out that another dog was not already lined up when Munch retired. That is a lot of miles to walk in five days – more than I could walk, as my limit is six and I’ve walked almost seven miles, the two times I got lost, but 11 miles is really a lot, especially in not-so-perfect conditions and being blind.
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Well 6 miles is nothing to be ashamed of Linda! I don’t know how you have survived in all this heat!
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I will tell you I am glad it is over (for now at least) Diane. Our storm, for all its worries, did not happen in SE Michigan and we got no storm – thankfully.
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Awesome post, Linda. Kudos to Zena and her daughter for their long walks but also to you for helping them raise funds. Service dogs are such a blessing to those they serve It’s too bad there isn’t better funding for them.
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Thank you Ruth, I’m glad you liked the post. I have enjoyed following Zena’s blog for all these years and liked the idea of doing a tandem walk with her and it’s such a good cause. I was amazed to learn there would not automatically be a dog ready to take over for Munch at his retirement. I agree with you and I wonder if this is a problem here in the U.S. like it is in Wales.
P.S. – I hoped you fared well with this bad storm today. I know a lot of people lost power and there was some fallen trees and power lines in our city. The wind gusts were 76 mph at Metro Airport.
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I do think there is a shortage of service dogs in the US – Not sure what the cost associated with them is. You would think since the know the date the dog will retie they would have another dog ready to take over. I wonder if mandatory retirement is a good idea. Dogs love routine and some working breeds live for their ‘job’.
We had a lot of wind but nothing serious during the storm but at 9:25 PM our power went out. Came back on at 12:30 PM today
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I never thought about it before Zena’s post about the mandatory retirement Ruth as I figured it was a seamless transition and yes, these guide dogs, like K-9 officers, live for their “job” – I think it is a shame.
I’m glad you got your power on today – hopefully no food spoilage for you. We had two storms overnight with torrential rain but no damage here either. We have storm rumbling out there right now – it’s very dark and going to pour any minute. I’ll be so glad for Fall and hopefully cooler temps.
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What an inspiration Zena is! Thank you for sharing her story, Linda. ‘Love how you’ve connected as friends, even though living thousands of miles apart!
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Yes, she is Nancy, I agree with you. I have enjoyed following Zena’s blog and her adventures with the sometimes mischievous Munch. I hope she is as lucky with her next guide dog. It is one wonderful thing about blogging and connecting with other bloggers – I have a few other UK bloggers I follow, one in South Africa and one in Australia as well.
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It’s a remarkable story, a person navigating the world without sight. Guide dogs are a blessing and “Munch” is a great name. Good on you for completing the 55 miles despite those first couple of hiccups. And thank you (or not) for letting the Beatles into my head for the remainder of the day.
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I think it’s a remarkable story too Dave and I’m sorry for Zena that the relationship has to come to an end soon. Thankfully Munch will remain as a beloved pet while she awaits a new guide dog. The name “Munch” reminds me of Detective Munch on one of the “Law and Order” TV series. His official name is “Minster Munch” but Zena has called him Munch from the beginning. There was a heat wave then and we have a heat wave now – I am so ready for Fall but it is supposed to be warm as well. You’re welcome. 🙂 I loved that song and almost included a link to it on YouTube in the post. I remember it being popular around the time they broke up.
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