Meet a very special Golden Retriever

Hi!  My full name is MuchAdo Formula for Victory, but my friends just call me Tori!  While I’ve got a few fancy schmantzy titles in obedience, field and agility, and even one in dock diving, the thing I love doing most is putting smiles on people’s faces.

Back in January 2011, when I heard that Troy & Mareike Yocum (Drum Hike/Hike for Heroes) were walking across the United States to raise funds for struggling military families, I thought that was pretty neat.  But then when I heard that Emmie, their shiba inu, and Harley, their chihuahua, were walking, too, I thought that was even cooler!  I asked Mom if it was okay if I tried to get sponsors to help their mission, and she told me to go for it.  I figured I’d be lucky to raise a couple hundred dollars, but my friends really came through for me, and I ended up walking 275 miles and bringing in just under $4700! 

Helping our military is pretty important to me.  Several of my mom’s family members are veterans, and I know the ones who serve are the ones who keep us safe!  I had just become a therapy dog when 9/11 happened.  Because I still needed to complete some paperwork, I couldn’t go to the Pentagon Family Assistance Center to help like my “brother” Irish did, but I remember the stories Irish shared with me about those who talked to him at the Pentagon.  When I went to the 2008 Pentagon Memorial Dedication in Irish’s place (he was 15 then, and it would have been too long a day for him), I enjoyed meeting some of the family members, and he was glad to hear later that they remembered him!  

I know a lot of people joined the military after 9/11, and some of my favorite therapy visits of all were to our Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center between 2004 and 2007.  While I hated to know they were in the hospital, I was glad to put a smile on their faces and let them know how much I appreciated their service!  Another favorite “job” has been going to the yearly Parents and Children Fighting Cancer Christmas party at Andrews Air Force Base for the past seven years!

When Troy asked if I could help out by walking again, I told him I sure could, and I signed up to do 400 more miles between Veterans Day 2011 and 4^th of July, 2012.  Since I’ll be 12 when we finish, I signed my “sister” Bridget (a three-year-old corgi mix) and my six-year-old nephew Breaker up also as part of Team Tori.  I’m in great shape and I expect I’ll be able to get all the miles done myself, but just in case I have an “off” day, I don’t want to leave my friends hanging! 

I know I could finish up the miles easily if I just walked around the neighborhood a mile or two a day, but our military don’t have it easy, and I don’t think I should either!  That’s why I try to plan most of my hikes to be four to six or even more miles at a time, and I love the hikes that are out in nature the best!  Some of them have been a bit tougher than I expected, but it’s all been worth it.  My favorite hikes are the ones that include somewhere to swim and M-U-D!! 

I’m looking forward to finishing my 400 miles and bringing in a lot more money for our military families.  If you want to keep track of my journey, look me up on my Facebook page – “It’s Tori Time”. 

Have paws, will travel!  Slurps and tail wags, Tori