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Dog lovers to take on African river challenge

Eleanor MaslinEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
News imageSupplied Two women and one man are sat in red kayaks with black oars resting in front of them. They are all wearing life jackets. On the left the woman is blonde, the woman in the middle has black hair, and the man has short brown hair. They are in a body of water with shrubbery behind them.Supplied
Kelly Magee, left, Erica Fox and Ryan Day are paddling 120km along the Zambezi River in Africa to raise funds for Immingham Dogs Home

Three dog lovers are swapping leads for oars to take on an epic adventure of paddling 120km (75 miles) along one of Africa's largest rivers.

Kelly Magee, 49, who owns Immingham Dogs Home in North Lincolnshire, will be joined by volunteers Erica Fox, 39, and her partner, Ryan Day, 40, as they tackle the Zambezi River.

They hope the challenge will raise much-needed funds for the charity, which nurtures and finds homes for dogs that come into its care and relies "solely on public donations", Erica said.

As well as being amateurs when it comes to kayaking and canoeing, Kelly added: "It's not just the water stuff, there are crocodiles and hippos, everything that comes with a river."

The Zambezi in south-central Africa is one of the world's most challenging waterways and is the fourth-largest river on the continent.

The three friends said over several days they will be taking on paddling in dugout canoes, inflatable kayaks, rafts, all while tackling rapids and sharing the river with elephants, hippos and crocodiles.

They will also camp under the stars on the banks of the river.

News imageSupplied A composite image of two women holding dogs. On the left a woman with black hair in a high bun, a yellow jumper and a large backpack is holding what looks like a border collie in her arms and smiling. On the right a woman with shoulder length blonde hair is holding a small brown dog.Supplied
Erica Fox and Kelly Magee are taking on the challenge as amateurs, driven by their love for dogs

Erica, who runs Paw and Co Freedom Field, a dog park in Keelby, said they had all been training twice a week since May in Brigg with Friends of Scunthorpe and Glenford Canoe Club to prepare for the challenge.

"I am really nervous but it's all part of the challenge. This is completely out of all of our comfort zones.

"It is all about the dogs we have dedicated our lives to," she said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside, Erica said due to a busy summer and a lot of operations carried out, the trio wanted to push themselves to raise more money going into winter.

She added: "There's not a lot of money around for everyone at the moment.

"Vet fees are just astronomical now, everything is just going up and up."

News imageRyan Day A man with short brown hair and moustache and beard stubble is wearing a light green top and is sat in a field taking a selfie with a dog sticking its tongue out which looks like a husky - it is black and white and also looking at the camera.Ryan Day
Ryan Day runs Paw and Co Freedom Field with Erica Fox and also volunteers for Immingham Dogs Home

Kelly said although the challenge would be demanding, she hoped it would be worth it.

"Every dog we take in costs us quite a lot of money before we've even put them up for adoption," she said.

"It will push us physically and mentally every step of the way, but knowing we're raising money for the dogs will keep us going."

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