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The Joe & Jack's Challenge

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When our vet Joe and his faithful hound Jack
aren’t busy cooking up a new recipe or fighting
over the first batch of Joe & Jack’s hot out of
the oven, they like to get out and about and see
if they can make themselves useful – keeping footpaths well-trodden, fetching sticks in the park, that kind of thing. And once a year, they always go that extra bit further and set themselves a more daunting challenge – and help out a deserving cause while they’re at it.

 

It took 9 days, and 250,000 paddle strokes, but Jack and I finally completed the 2007 Joe & Jack's Challenge by rowing our giant dog bowl, the Mutty Bark, 150 miles down the river Thames.

It was quite an ordeal, with bad weather, fallen trees and strong currents to contend with, but we finally made it to Putney at 4pm on Tuesday the 10th July after 9 long days on the river. It was worth all the effort, blisters and back ache though, as we hope to have raised over £5000 for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, as well as lots of publicity in their 25th year.

I kept a video diary throughout the challenge and you can still see the final installment on my diary page - and if you are feeling generous, it's not too late to sponsor me either, via my 'Just Giving' page.