This past week, I discovered “Homeless James and Muckwah” page through a local community group on FB. James story caught my eye, and I figured it would be a great opportunity to meet him while he was in town.
James is originally from St. Catherine’s, Ontario. Seven years ago when he became homeless, he was told in order to keep his welfare benefits, he must go into a homeless shelter. The housing worker stated: “In order to do that, you have to get rid of that damn mutt!”. After living on the streets for three months with his dog, he discovered there were no homeless shelters in Canada that would allow pets. He decided to do something about it by starting his journey, walking across Canada to raise awareness. He has always wanted to walk across Canada since he was 16 years old. He started his journey Sept 24 2016 with his dog, Muckwah. He walked every step from St. Catherine’s to Vancouver. 7400 KM. It took 2.5 years just to get out of Ontario. He has since walked to Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia!
In 2019, James lost Muckwah to cancer. He was going to quit his walk. Before he started his walk, he was a functioning drug addict for 25 years. He has been clean and sober now for 7 years! After losing Muckwah, he was so devastated and in such a dark place. He was going to hop on a bus back to St. Catherine’s and look up all his old drug connections. His buddy Steve saved him by staying up with him all night, then tricking him to going to Orillia SPCA. One look at Muck’s face and he knew he was the one. Muck saved his life. Since then, him and Muck have continued their journey in walking across Canada.
After meeting James, I can tell you he has a vibrant personality. Full of laughter and smiles. A funny character that knows his geography extremely well. Muck is a gorgeous dog, very friendly and lovessss dream bones! I wish them all the best of luck on their journey.
Please go check out https://www.facebook.com/HomelessJamesandMuckwah and show some love and support on their journey!
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