Wayne & Koda
In February 2016 Wayne Dixon and his dog Koda (Machine) took on a mammoth task and fulfilled a life long ambition of Wayne’s to walk the cost of Britain. The journey is over 7000 miles in total and they picked up litter as they went to help clean up our coastlines. Supporting and promoting Keep Britain Tidy, MIND and the NIS Rescue. Wayne and Koda have also raised funds for the charities along the way.
Koda was originally Wayne’s father’s dog, which he had purchased from Koda’s original owner but sadly passed away just one week later. Wayne and his sister Maxine contacted the NIS Rescue to ask for help with Koda as they had never owned a dog, let alone a Northern Inuit before. With the help and support of NIS Rescue Wayne and Maxine decided to keep Koda rather than rehome him. Now the two are inseparable with Koda proving a source of comfort and support during the difficult time after their father’s passing. Wayne says “he’s filled a massive hole of bleakness and sorrow with joy. I feel like I’m walking with my dad.”
The pair have generated a huge amount of media interest both locally and nationally, even making it into an article in the Telegraph and ITV news. Follow Wayne’s journey on our Facebook page, Northern Inuit Society Dogs and anyone wanting to donate can do so on their Go Fund Me page, to find out where he will be next you can email him on dixonwayne874@gmail.com.
Neil & Oslo.
From the very moment I picked Oslo up from Julie Kelham’s home in Newark on July 4th, 2005, I was hooked. In fact hooked line and sinker as the saying goes.
Julie handed over this small bundle and carefully laid him on to my chest just as new born babies are handed to their mums. The bonding took all of 30 seconds. Both ways in this case as for the next 14 years 4 and a bit months, wherever I went he was there.
We used to run for miles at a time too. Sometimes with friends and sometimes on our own. Then three years later, on what was his 3rd birthday (May 22nd), Tia (Saarloos) joined our family and running group. This of course was later followed by our Siberian Husky Luna and then Luna’s mum Tala and brother Loki (long story). We already had Bella our white German Shepherd Dog when Oz arrived, but she preferred long walks to running. She was a beautiful girl though.
I, like so many other people who after first joining the Northern Inuit Family, followed everything about the breed online and on social media. We also met up with Claudeen and Harvey Brown who had Oz’s brother Otto just after their first birthday and then later on also met with Tracy Fowler who had his sisters Anya and Saskia at a show in Norwich.
Having every now and again seen on the NIS facebook, dogs looking for new forever homes and some who just needed a bit of help what with illnesses, it became quite obvious to me that we should help to raise funds for NI Rescue.
I had already been fund raising for several years through running events such as our Felthorpe Boxing Day Hare & Hounds cross country run where I lead out runners all in fancy dress through 8 miles of the roughest terrain which includes chest deep mud and waist deep streams for various charities. Being a huge animal lover, the only Hare being chased of course is me. We always raise between £2,000 and £3,000 from these events where NIS Rescue very quickly became one of the recipients.
My business Sportlink just outside of Norwich is also very instrumental when it comes to charity fund raising ideas and events which we continually do throughout each year.
Having been a reasonable athlete in my day, apart from our Boxing Day events, I still like to set myself at least one other big charity challenge each year where in the past I have ran 106 miles in 13 hours raising £5,000 and the full length of Hadrian’s Wall inside a day further raising £4,000.
After losing Oslo in October 2019, I wanted to do something very special in his name – ‘Anything for Oslo.’ So the following year, with friends we ran the full length of Peddars Way in Norfolk followed by the Norfolk Coastal Footpath raising nearly £4,000.
For 2022, my plan was to once again run Hadrian’s Wall on May 21st which would have also coincided with what would have been Oslo’s official 17th birthday although he was actually born just after midnight on the 22nd. So very sadly though, one of my Siberain Husky’s, Loki was diagnosd with cancer on Feb 5th. We were minutes away from losing him, but after extensive surgery of the removal of his spleen and a blood transfusion, he was saved and whilst as I write this (ironically on May 21st), we still have him 4 months later. Unfortunately his cancer is terminal, so we are making the most of every moment with him. Needless to say, I am devastated just as I was when we lost Oslo and then Tia last year.
However, and whilst Loki’s illness very quickly kiboshed any thoughts of running Hadrian’s Wall this year, I and once again along with some really good friends decided to take on a challenge nearer to home and during March just a month after Loki’s diagnosis. The challenge being – The Cross Norfolk Challenge from King’s Lynn in the west of the county right across to Great Yarmouth in the east. This time under the name ‘Anything for Loki.’ To make it even more special, Loki along with his mum and sister also ran sections with us including the most emotional of finishes. We raised £5,000 for which the money was split five ways between NIS Dog Rescue – The Hallswood Animal Sanctuary – Pawpers in The Ruff – Fox Angels and Nelson’s Journey for bereaved children. ‘Anything for Loki’ https://youtu.be/PBWmYJQnfSE