Hachi's Hike For Hospice

My name is Hachi. Some people call me Wonderdog, but I don’t think I’m anything special, I’m just a regular dog who likes to help the sick humans feel better and I like to follow my human when he’s walking in the mountains.

My own human, Jeff, is the Senior Chaplain at Advanced Hospice in Sacramento.  One day, a few years ago he took me with him when he visited a very sick old woman who was so sad because her best friend, a little Corgi, had passed on a couple of months before and she missed him so much she cried every day.

Well, when I met Sadie (that’s not her real name but my human said he’ll get in trouble if I use her real name) I could sense her sadness so I just snuggled up next to her and let her pet me and scratch my neck until she felt better.

Since then, my human has taken me with him 2 or 3 times per week to visit the sad, scared or lonely humans. I love helping the sick humans feel better. I know they aren’t ever going to get all better, and I get sad too; I’ve been on the bed next to a few humans keeping them company when they (my human says) get birthed into eternity. A couple times I saw them leave. They just up and floated away and I saw them smile. I tried to tell my human by staring at him but I think I get to see some things that he doesn’t. (He doesn’t have a very good sense of smell, either).

My human likes to hike in the mountains and woods and by the ocean.
And he takes me! I may be short but I can walk all day long. There’s lots of days where we’ve walked more than 20 miles, slept in a tent (he lets me in the sleeping bag when I get cold) and then did it again the next day and then again. I love it! I get extra special good food and treats, lots of it, when we go for long walks. I’ll bet you didn’t know I’m the smallest dog to walk the entire Tahoe Rim Trail on my own four paws! Yep, all 165 miles!

I love hiking with him, it helps me let go of the sadness I feel about the sick humans dying.

My human says the sick humans are being cared for by something called hospice. I’m not exactly sure what is (he never taught me to read! I know, can you believe it?) But I hear people talking about it.

So, I’ll tell you what my human says (he talks about hospice all the time).

I heard him quote a woman he said was the founder of the modern hospice movement, Dame Cicely Saunders. She said, “You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life. We will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.” He says that all the time; “hospice is about living until you die.”

He says although people think hospice is about giving up, it’s really about living the rest of your life, 10 days, 100 days, 1000 days, on your terms, honoring what matters to you, what’s important to you. 

I heard him talk about a book called “Being Mortal” by Dr. Gawande and I overheard him on the phone (I have an excellent memory – you know that Wonderdog thing) and he said that on pages 177 and 178 the doctor cites studies that people who start hospice early live longer than those who don’t! So I thought to myself, “WOW” how can I help my human spread the word about the benefits of hospice?

So I came up with this idea, HACHI’S HIKE FOR HOSPICE, pretty cool, huh?

My human and I are going to hike the California section of the American Discovery Trail which runs from the California/Nevada border starting east of Lake Tahoe all the way to the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes, 375 miles! We’re going to begin on September 12 and finish on October 6.

You can join us if you want! Most people never get to walk with a Wonderdog (I know, sometimes I get a little puffed up, sorry) but it’ll be fun to see you and walk with you. We’ll be on the American River Bike Trail for two or three days most likely the 23rd through the 25th of September. 

You know what else? You could help us by offering us a place to stay for one night when we’re in your area so we could clean up and wash some clothes (my fur stays clean but my human? Not so much) and get a safe night’s sleep.
I have my own Facebook page (Hachi The Wonderdog) and I’ll post updates as we get closer, a detailed itinerary of the hike, and then pictures and notes from the trail.

We started this fund because my human is going to take an unpaid leave from his job for a month to complete the hike and we are going to have all the normal expenses of living plus a whole bunch more.

I heard my human talking and he said that if we raise more funds than we need for the hike then we’ll donate 100% of the excess to the California Hospice Foundation. They promote hospice education.

So, to close, I hope you’ll help us and tell all your friends and tell them to tell all their friends (and somebody should tell ELLEN - she’s great and I’d jump in her lap)