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Man and dog on cross-country tour make pit stop in Barrie

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A man and his dog on a cross-country charity mission made a pit stop in Barrie Saturday morning.

Bill Shoup and his dog Yoshi have been cycling and running across Canada since May. They started in Sydney, BC and stopped at the Barrie Farmers' Market Saturday. Schoup is on a mission to raise funds for three charities close to his heart: Easter Seals Canada, Chron's & Colitis Canada, and the Canadian Women's Foundation.

"I want to do this to help others," says Shoup. "So I just want to help people, and I find it's the best way that I know how to do this is to bring awareness and help bring funds for the three charities."

Shoup chose Easter Seals Canada after spending years as a volunteer with the organization.

As a sufferer of Chrons, that charity made his list as well. Shoup says he decided to support the Canadian Women's Foundation given the recent headlines of restricted abortion access south of the border.

He says the journey has been challenging but that he's always been an active person.

"The journey's been exhausting, physically, mentally," says Shoup. "The timeline was hard in the beginning. You are trying to make certain destinations. Now that I do the East Coast, I'll be able to relax a bit more. We have a bit of time and no deadlines to have to be anywhere."

He says as a dog lover, he's gotten a lot of strength having Yoshi by his side. The dog splits time between running with Shoup and riding along in the car with his wife.

"He runs about 30 per cent of it. He runs along just beside me," says Shoup. "He's got to see some new animals. He likes chasing prairie dogs, and he's chased deer, and he's chased bears, so he's happy."

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