Maple Ridge adventurer Chris Cooper might be getting close on his 80th birthday, but he’s just back from trekking 500 km across the UK with wife Barbara, their service dog Burnett, and his new artificial hip.
The trip started at Land’s End at the southwestern tip of mainland England in early March, ended in at the Shetland Islands, Scotland, and he got home on July 20. The couple and their dog were joined by friends and family at intervals as they hiked along the coast of England for 500 km, drove many more, and stopped at more than 100 villages along the route.
It was a unique trip for an outdoorsman who is better known for his journeys to Baffin Island and the high arctic, and paddle odysseys up the B.C. coastline by canoe.
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Burnett is a three-year-old border collie/Australian Shepherd mix, and he visited seniors at care homes along the way. Cooper said he’s one of those special dogs who makes friends wherever he goes, and a therapy dog who helps people. His one piercing blue eye attracts attention.
A day after he arrived in the UK, a man asked about Burnett, and learning he was a therapy dog, asked if he could give him a hug.
“He said ‘My wife died a few days ago. Can I give him a hug?’ and he did,” recalled Cooper. “And this went on for four and a half months. It was really amazing to see.”
A talented photographer, he is planning to put together a new book, and hopes to offer presentations at local libraries. He said it will be a story about his wordly canine companion Burnett, and not the dog’s owners. He told the story with numerous posts on his Facebook page throughout his journey.
Cooper had been physically hobbled until he received a hip replacement one year ago, and when he got back to Maple Ridge he went to thank his surgeon.
“I’ve got a new lease on life – it’s unbelievable what they did for me.”
He’s now 78, but asserts “I think young.”
Cooper will lead an ocean canoe expedition to Powell River again in the near future.