Dog Walking Challenge for Dementia UK

This week we hand over to Senior Research Fellow Teresa Atkinson to hear about the fundraising challenge she’s taking on in March.

Physical activity has never been high on my ‘to-do’ list, but the idea of a dog walking challenge really caught my interest. Dog walking is something close to my heart, as is the cause I am raising money for – Dementia UK. 

I can’t imagine life without my lovely dog Oska. He’s a 9-year-old Cockapoo who has been in my life since he was a puppy. We have had so many adventures together and created so many happy memories. I can’t imagine my life without these memories, yet so many people living with dementia are fighting to hold on to things; familiar places, family faces, precious memories.

Dementia UK is a wonderful charity and the money raised will support the work of the Admiral Nurses. I have three Admiral Nurses on my Postgraduate Certificate in Person-Centred Dementia Studies Module: Dementia in the Family Context. They share with me the fabulous work they are doing to support carers of people living with dementia.

During March I will be walking 100km – not all at once, thankfully. Over the course of 31 days Oska and I will be taking to the highways and byways, hills and dales, rivers, valleys and parks, to stride out for our 100km. I can tell you now, Oska is a lot fitter for this challenge than I am!!! We are usually joined on our local walks by Suri our rescue cat – as you can see in the photos below, she is already showing a keen interest in joining in with the challenge!

Here are some ‘before’ photographs. I will post updates on twitter @TeresaA2022 and you can find out more on my Facebook page.

Teresa and Oska (and Suri!)

Good luck Teresa and Oska, and here’s hoping for some nicer weather for you!

Connect with ADS on twitter @DementiaStudies and on Facebook @adsuow