Dogged effort for the SPCA

Stephen Brassett and Jake, nearing the end of Sunday's leg of their Longest Walk for the SPCA.

Most people who set out on a marathon walk would be looking forward to crossing the finish line after nine months, but not Stephen Brassett.

Originally from Wellington ("Where's home? I don't really have one"), Stephen, his pug-cross Jake and Chihuahua-cross Piccolo don't know quite where or when they will call it a day, but on Sunday, having visited the SPCA at Awanui, they were heading for a friend's place in Kaitaia.

They began their Longest Walk in Invercargill in January, with the aim of visiting every SPCA and animal welfare centre in the country.

Having just celebrated his 35th birthday, he was "well into the swing of it," he said on Sunday, but not so well that he could countenance tackling the Mangamuka Gorge.

He would be heading for Ahipara from Kaitaia, then making his way down the west coast and finally back to Wellington.

His other point of difference in what has become a somewhat crowded marathon top to bottom or vice versa market is that he is towing a 100kg trailer in which he and the dogs sleep, and aboard which 12-year-old Piccolo hitches a ride for much of the time.

"Jake is all for the adventure, he's much more outgoing. Piccolo needs cuddles and somewhere to snuggle and feel safe," Stephen said.

The modified bicycle trailer felt like a 15kg backpack on the flat, and more like 150kg when he was going uphill, he added, but it could carry enough food for 10 days, enough dog food for 20 days, and 11 litres of water.

Stephen has worked as a dog trainer and in animal shelters in New Zealand and Australia, and animal welfare is clearly very close to his heart. Both Piccolo and 6-year-old Jake are rescued dogs that he brought home to New Zealand, while he planned and saved for his awareness-raising walk for the best part of a year.

"I decided I wanted to do something more proactive," he said.

And it's SPCAs rather than geographical features that have attracted him as he's zig-zagged back and forth while making his way north. He has fundraising pages (Facebook.com/longest walknz/ or givealittle.co.nz/cause/thelongestwalknz), and many people have made impromptu donations when they encountered the little travelling caravan.

"I make it very clear they have to specify whether they're giving me money to help cover my Longest Walk costs or to go directly to animal welfare," he said. If it was the latter, it went to the nearest SPCA or animal shelter.

There had been a few perils along the way, but motorists had been considerate, and he did his best to reciprocate.