Волонтеры приюта для собак отправятся на 10-дневную каяковую экспедицию в Африку ради сбора средств

Kelly Magee, owner of Immingham Dogs' Home, will be joined by Erica Fox and Ryan Day for the challenge which will take them into several African countries Bethany Lodge Senior Reporter Intrepid dogs home volunteers are taking on their toughest challenge yet as they dodge hippos and crocodiles in a 10-day kayak trek in Africa for a cause close to their hearts, saying “it’s all for the dogs”. Kelly Magee, who owns Immingham Dogs Home, will travel to Africa on Thursday with long-term volunteers, husband and wife team Erica Fox and Ryan Day. The trio will embark on a 110km kayak trip along the Zambezi River in a bid to hit a £10,000 fundraising goal for the charity. ‌ It’s all in the name of raising funds for Immingham Dogs Home, which costs around £8,000 to run each month. Last year, the team did a 22-mile night time sponsored walk and this year wanted to do something even bigger. ‌ Erica said: “Today I’ve been feeling a bit shaky and I’m quite apprehensive. I think I’ve read too much about hippos and crocodiles! But we thought it’s got to be bigger this year.” The challenge has been in the planning stages since October last year and the team started training in May in the River Ancholme near Brigg. ‌ “There’s not a lot more we can do really,” Erica said. “It will be very different terrain and we will be in dug out canoes, not what we’ve been in. We’ve learned how to turn, to steers. We’ve got six days and we are doing about 110km, so between 25 and 27km a day. We’ve got to make our own camp at night, our own food, dig our own toilet. We’ve got the last two days of white water rafting before we end at Victoria falls.” The Zambezi River flows through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. The part of the river they will traverse during the first four days is densely populated with hippos and crocodiles. “We may have to wait and get past them,” Erica said. “We are on the water for eight hours both days for the last two days while white water rafting. I get seasick and Kelly won’t even go into the swimming pool on holiday!” ‌ Erica runs natural dog treat business Paw & Co. Pantry alongside husband Ryan, who has a dog boarding and day care business called Paw & Co. Freedom Field. She says Immingham Dogs Home has been a huge part of her life since she moved to the area five years ago. She said: “I ran my own rescue and then I moved here five years ago. I introduced myself to Kelly and the girls and now we are very close. I was made a trustee and my husband is a handyman there. It’s all for the dogs really. I’ve dedicated my adult life to dogs really, same as what Kelly has done. Between us, hopefully, we can raise money for the dogs. Our bills are around £8,000 per month. “Our ethos is very similar, we’ve just clicked and do whatever we can for the dogs that come in. We don’t turn away a lot of dogs if we have space, and we take dogs that need a lot of medical attention, but it all comes to donations. We’ve had a fair few big operations this year, especially on Frenchies, opening their noses up so they can breathe. That is £2,000 per dog and we’ve had three done already. “Kelly is the one that lives and breathes these kennels. We live at home and we take on their dogs but she is there day to day and spends 15 hours a day with the dogs. Immingham Dogs Home is run differently. The dogs get two walks a day, and they get to go in the play area. Not many places get their dogs out for daily walks. We have some amazing volunteers at the rescue, and the dogs get their walks rain or shine.” Article continues below Erica and the crew are packing their final things before flying out to Ethiopia on Thursday. She says she has been “doing some deep breathing” and has been heavily researching all potential predators she may come across. The trip will be formed as a group of 10 and the kayakers will have armed guards with them the whole time. They will return on September 20. Donate to Erica, Ryan and Kelly’s fundraising page here. Did you know you can make Grimsby Live a preferred source of news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here's more information about what this means and how to do it - you can also do it straight away by clicking here.