Book Release: To Companion Friends, With Love by Michelle Jameus

I'm very excited to announce the publishing of my book, 'To Companion Friends, With Love'. It tells the story of my Cross Canada Marathon for unwanted pets and the remarkable people who helped me. This book is a must read for anyone with a pet or compassion for animals.

To get your copy, the book is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.ca, and barnesandnoble.com. Just search on the title.

$1 for every book sold will be donated to spay & neutering.

To read the press release go to:
http://www.xulonpress.com/about-xulon-press/news/press-release/?PR_ID=28249

To participate in the Pet Control Poll, click on the link on the left side bar.

Thank you for your support!
Contact me on Facebook or by email. I would love to hear from you!

What its like being back at home again

At first I was feeling a little lost. Kinda like coming home to an empty room. Being home didn't feel normal to me. I put everything into this run, being alone and pushing myself everyday. I couldn't just turn it off. It took some time to undo all that. Slowly I'm getting back into a routine again. My crazy friend and I even had a sleep out in the back yard one night to help with the 'withdrawals' of not being on the road anymore. We put a tent up and survived a cool night outside. I think I got it out of my system and am settled into home again. My feet are on the road to recovery and I'm spending my time in a pool these days. I'm working on two books and looking forward to publishing them in the near future. There's so much to say.

Ottawa - Oct 30

A heart warming home coming.

Dorit had an early flight so we were up and at the airport before daylight. We said our good-bye's and would get in touch again later in the week. I had some time to kill before my flight left so I went for a coffee and just watched the people come and go.

On the plane it felt a little like being in shock. Nothing was really registering in my head. My body feels like its just waiting to kick into running mode again. My brain thinks it should still be focusing on one mile at a time. My mind is relieved that we're on our way home but my heart is full of mixed emotions. I'm a bit sad that its over but excited to have finished.

I thank God for taking me on this amazing journey and for putting so many wonderful and kind people in my path because without them I wouldn't have made it. I'm grateful for the media that took an interest and helped inform people about whats happening to our cats and dogs. I thank all the animal shelters I had the opportunity to visit and for sharing with me what life is like at their shelter and for their support. I thank all my family and friends and everyone who followed my blog for their words of encouragement and support. It should be a testimony to everyone that our animals need our help and we all need to speak out for them.

The time on the plane seemed to go by fast. We landed and I headed for baggage pickup. To my surprise there was about 30 familiar faces waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn't believe it! The excitement hit me like a ton of bricks. It was such a great feeling to see everyone. It made my day and it was good to be home again. Thank you everyone for taking this amazing journey with me. The fight for our pets is still on and will be ongoing. I think there is a book in the future full of drama, adventure, truths, frightening moments, comedy, laughter and tears. Check back soon!

North Vancouver - Finish Ambleside Park - Oct 29

A press release went out to all the media and animal shelters in Vancouver. I told Dorit before she dropped me off that no matter what happens I was really glad she was here.

It was a rainy day and while I was running across the Lions Gate Bridge the visibility wasn't that great. Although it was still a great feeling crossing the bridge I couldn't see much of the view because of the weather. I told myself again that no matter what happens when I get to the park it has been an amazing journey and I did the best I could and I can go home feeling good about that.

Once I got to the otherside of the bridge I took the trail leading to the park. I passed a number of people walking their dogs. I took a few deep breaths and then my destination point was in sight. Dorit was the only one standing there. In the few short minutes it took me to reach Dorit so many thoughts went through my head. I felt bad that Dorit had flown in to be here and there was no one from the Vancouver media. I find it hard to believe that animals aren't viewed as important enough. I'll be dissappointed later but right now I just wanted to enjoy touching the ocean water and finishing a very long run. However small, I can build on the little successes from this journey. It really is an incredible feeling to live out a dream.

Vancouver - Oct 27

Today was a very exciting day. I was looking forward to reaching Vancouver city limits. Dorit was flying in later and would be picking me up.

I got onto the Fraser hwy and took it all the way to the King George hwy. There was so much traffic and lights. A couple of areas were a bit sketchy and I passed a few shady characters, a few that I thought might follow me. The Skytrain was impressive and I thought it might be fun to go for a ride. Maybe tomorrow. Crossing over the Fraser River was exciting and scenic. The Kingsway got me to Boundary Rd. and thats when I knew I had made it. One side was Burnaby and the other side was Vancouver. I felt like I should jump up and down or something but I really didn't know what to feel. I was more numb than anything. Maybe because there was no one to share it with or maybe I've just been out here too long. Maybe I'll feel differently when I see Dorit. I called her from the Starbucks and she had just landed and would pick me up in about 45 minutes. I waited in Starbucks for awhile and my brain wasn't really processing much. It was kinda like shock I think. When I saw Dorit I got a little more excited. I got in the car and it didn't really seem real. Even when we got to the motel it still didn't register. I guess it will just take some time.

Abbotsford - Oct 26

It was a roundabout way of getting from Chilliwack to Abbotsford. On the positive side it was quieter and less traffic. But I had to be on the lookout for dogs. Just about every yard had two or more big dogs. Thankfully they were fensed in except for one pitbull. He surprised me. I had to pull into a driveway while some trucks passed because there was no shoulder. There were hedges and trees on both sides of the driveway and no way to see anything. A pitpull came out of nowhere and looked like he was making a dash for me. I was about to pull out my bear spray and he just stopped in his tracks and stopped barking too. I thought to myself 'cool' and just kept on going. Not sure what stopped him, maybe another angel.

There were more fields and horses to look at and one horse was really close to the fense so I stopped to pat him but I got zapped instead. It was an electric fense. I'm pretty sure the horse laughed at me. He looked like he had rolled in the mud and his head was covered with thistles.

Once I got to the city centre for Abbotsford getting through the intersections was interesting. Traffic was heavy and a bit crazy. If I didn't know any better I would have thought it was downtown Vancouver.

I thought a lot today about going home, probably cause I'm so close to finishing. I'm looking forward now to being off the roads and out of traffic. I know my family will be relieved when I'm safe at home and they won't have to worry about me anymore. This has been pretty stressfull on them. I worry more about them than I do myself.

Chilliwack - Oct 25

Once I got to Chilliwack I would no longer be allowed on the Trans Canada hwy and will need to find an alternate route.

There were some hills and windy road until I got to the district of Chilliwack. I came over a small hill and the highway was straight and flat through the town. I passed a bunch of school kids jogging. There was lots of traffic and it was noisier. The noise from the traffic was bothering me today.

I got to the 116 junction and stopped at the Info Centre. A very nice guy by the name of Robert helped map out an alternate route for me. It felt like I was going to be taking the back door through some communities into Vancouver. It was going to be an adventure.

Bridal Falls

The fog finally lifted just after 9:30am and visibility was better. Today would be a 36 km run. There was lots of shoulder room and I was glad about that yet drivers will still wonder over onto the shoulder from time to time and even if there's noone in the other lane they hug their lane and won't budge or move over. It just makes me shake my head.

An older man on a custom motorized bicycle pulling a small trailor passed me a few times. He was picking up empty cans on the side of the road. When he smiled at me he didn't have any front teeth. I waved at him. I also passed a large tree/bush trimmer machine that took up one lane of the road. He swung around to let me go by. I wonder sometimes what these guys are thinking cause he just kind of looked at me like I was from outer space or something. But he did wave back at me and grinned as I went by. He had the one lane blocked off for quite a ways so I had lots of road to myself.

I was enjoying the scenery but was glad to get to Bridal Falls. I was counting the days now and anxious to get to Vancouver.

Hope

Seeing snow on the way to Hope brought home the realization of winter coming. It was raining in Hope but was suppose to clear up by tomorrow. I went over to the Info Centre but it was closed. I was looking at the map outside and I heard a voice tell there is gold in those hills. At first I couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from. Then he said again there's lots of gold in these areas. I looked around and a man dressed like a gold digger was standing at the museum looking down at me. I thought to myself he must work here and playing some kind of part. He called me sweetheart and wanted to take me gold digging. I politely declined and went on my way. I'm still not sure if he worked there or if he was a wanderer. I didn't stick around to find out.

Day 188 - Kamloops

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. It means a lot to me.

There was more rain today. The highways have nicknames out here and with good reason. They are 'the highway of tears' and 'the killer highway'. I think of that everytime I pass one of those crosses where there's been an accident. My Uncle Bert (my Dad's brother) and Aunt Darlene picked me up and I had a really nice visit with them and stayed with them while I was in Kamloops. It had been alot of years since I had last seen them. I also got to see a couple of my cousins and their great grandson. They were getting snow between Kamloops and Hope and there was a major accident. I decided to take the bus to Hope and bypass that area and would make the run from Hope to Vancouver. My Uncle made me a lunch and they dropped me off at the bus station. The travel to Hope confirmed that once again I had made the right decision.