in 2016…
Dermot became involved with Irish Dogs for the Disabled, having already made up his mind to solo hike the Arctic Circle Trail he decided to combine it with fundraising for a good cause. His sister has had a long term involvement with the charity so being familiar with their work made it a no brainer as to who he was going to help.
Irish Dogs for the Disabled provides specially trained assistance and stability dogs to people, most of which are children, with disabilities. The charity receives no government assistance and provides the dogs 100% free of charge; they are completely reliant on donations and good will which makes fundraising initiatives so important to them being able to carry out their work.
Dermot’s solo hike became known as Walk for the Dogs and it successfully raised almost 11,000 euros for the charity who chose to honour him by naming a dog, “Kossie”, after him. After completing the Arctic Circle Trail he decided he would continue thru hiking and combine it with raising funds for Dogs for the Disabled.
in 2018…
Dermot hiked the first 200 kilometre section of the GR10 hiking trail in the French Pyrenees as part one of a two part challenge he christened Walk for the Dogs-2.
The second part of the challenge will take place in July 2019 when he will walk, solo, unsupported from Iceland’s most northerly point at Rifstangi, 3kms below the Arctic Circle, across the island to its most southerly point at Dyrholaey near the town of Vik. The 600km route will take in two of Iceland’s most famous hiking trails the Laugavegur & Fimmvorduhals trails and Dermot is planning to complete the distance in three weeks plus a couple of rest days.
Dermot’s future plans include in March of 2020 to team up with his hiking mentor Huw Thomas and take on a full winter expedition in West Greenland. The Great White Walk will be both Dermot and Huw´s first full winter expedition taking on minus 30 temperatures and covering a distance of 250 kilometres or more pulling 75Kg sleds across the snow and ice.As a result it encourages them.Our partnerships have found the experience of getting an assistance dog life changing.
a charity close to home
Dermot’s walk for the dogs is in aid of the charity “Dogs For The Disabled”. Find out more about the charity below!
Dogs For The Disabled
Our assistance dogs are specially trained to assist physically disabled children and adults to carry out a range of practical tasks in order to achieve greater independence. Every dog is trained to help with simple everyday tasks such as opening/closing doors, picking up dropped items, emptying the washing machine, sending for help or even helping a child with severe walking difficulties to walk with greater ease and balance. Each dog is trained to cater for the needs of the specific client to enable them to live life with greater independence.
Each Assistance Dog is trained to help his or her new partner but is also reliant on them to provide for their needs including exercise, feeding, love and care. As a result, encourages the them to become more active and outgoing in their community by taking their assistance dog for walks and engaging with the public at large. Thus increases confidence, encourages them to take up new activities e.g. returning to work or further education. Our partnerships have found the experience for getting an assistance dog life changing