Sofa-loving corgi set for epic walk in owner's memory

A university researcher and her corgi are set to walk 630 miles (1010km) along the south coast of England in memory of her late husband.

Jacqui Rix, who works at the University of Portsmouth, will take on the South West Coast path alongside her Welsh Pembroke Corgi called Scrumpy.

The pair are raising money for Prostate Cancer UK and Prostate Cancer Services, which is run by University Hospitals Dorset, after her husband George died of the condition last year.

Explaining why she was bringing her corgi along with her for the epic walk, Jacqui said Scrumpy had been "George's girl through and through, right until the end".

"If George was on the sofa, she was there every single time," she said.

"This walk is about keeping them together and continuing the adventures they loved."

But Rix said Scrumpy was a "sofa-loving pooch potato".

The 12kg (27lbs) corgi would walk the route when she could, and would otherwise be pushed in a pram or carried in Jacqui's backpack, she said.

She explained that she had chosen the path after George completed the same 630-mile trek in 2009 to raise £10,000 for clinical neurology research.

She was looking to emulate her husband's achievement by matching that fundraising total.

On her walk, she will also carry a crocheted version of George - just as he carried the same miniature toy on his original walk.

The researcher is currently following an eight-week training programme ahead of the walk which has been designed by Gemma Milligan, from Portsmouth University's sport department.

"Dr Milligan has been amazing, designing a training programme and giving me loads of advice," Jacqui said.

"The support from the university has been incredible," she added.

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