Paul Hayes knows all about how expensive medical bills can be for a pet.
The Victoria-based adventure-cyclist’s loyal riding companion, a Siberian-Husky Shepherd named Cinder, needed extensive Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair surgery in 2020. Healing his best friend ended up costing Hayes over $5,000. He was able to cover the costs of the surgery through fundraising, but admits the experience was a nightmare.
“Pet bills can be very, very expensive,” he said. “My dog has surgery on her knee, it was very costly.
“I’ve done a lot of bike touring under the umbrella of giving back and this time it’s for animals.”
Now that she’s recovered, Cinder and Hayes are on the road again to fundraise for the charity Broken Promises Rescue, which helps cover the costs of vital medical procedures for animals, as well as rescuing abandoned animals from across Canada and finding them new homes. Which is what has brought him here to Inuvik — to help him reach his fundraising goal, Hayes and Cinder have made the 3,230 kilometre journey alone and reached Tuktoyaktuk in the afternoon of Aug. 23. They were met by hamlet officials and presented with an official Tuktoyaktuk t-shirt.
The inseparable pair set out on July 16 and reached Inuvik Aug. 21, making most of the journey in just 32 days with a short break in the middle, camping as they went. They set out from Victoria to Port Hardy, B.C. before turning northwards to Prince Rupert, onward to Whitehorse and Dawson City. Hayes kept himself fed on dehydrated food and water as he towed his friend along in a small bike trailer.
As one might expect, biking up the west coast into the Yukon and then into the Mackenzie Delta has its difficulties, but Hayes said biking up the Dempster Highway was an experience he would never forget.
“The Dempster really tested us. We can across poor weather, we came across wildlife, it definitely made us face our fears,” he said. “You can choose courage or comfort but you can’t have it at the same time. That kind of applies to the Dempster. It was a great battle to get to this point.”
It’s been one heck of a ride for the two adventurers, who along the way have braved heavy traffic, the elements and even a mother bear.
“We left Eagle Plains and the weather was really bad, so going up to the NWT border didn’t make much sense because we felt we would be really exposed to the wind out there,” he said. “So we decided we would take a chance and camp in the day-shelter that they have at Rock River. When we were leaving, about five kilometres north we saw the mother and two cubs.
“So before we had to go past them I made sure my dog was leashed up on a roll bar and I flagged down a motorcyclist and we went passed them. Cinder was on her best behaviour, she didn’t bark or anything.”
Using a GoFundMe page, Hayes is closing in on his $20,000 goal. Broken Promises Rescue spent over $120,000 on vet bills in 2020.
But for Hayes, the journey and the experiences had on the way is the real prize.
“People just stop and ask if I need anything, He said. “Two days ago I had a roadside dinner, with bannock, caribou and dried fish —which I really appreciate.
“We’ve met so many incredible people along the way. There’s constant communication up and down the Dempster and I love that.”