Real Life

Real life: I walked 40 dogs at once!

My arms were being pulled in two different directions, but I was on a mission.
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Maria Harman, 38, from Jamboree Heights, Qld, shares her story:

Sweat dripped from my brow as I clung tightly to the straining leashes.

“Steady on,” I called out to the 40 dogs walking in front of me.

It felt like I was being pulled in a hundred directions, but I was determined to stay in control.

I’d trained for this exact moment for months.

A passionate pooch-lover, I’d worked as a veterinary nurse for eight years before becoming a dog trainer.

I seemed to understand them better than I did most people.

Pups never judged – they loved unconditionally.

I’d just gotten home from another busy day of training when I saw some friends had sent me a video on Facebook.

Me with a few of the dogs.

It featured a woman walking dozens of dogs to beat a world record.

“You could do that,” my husband, Mark, encouraged.

Later that night, I looked up the Guinness World Records to see just how many dogs I’d need to walk.

The current record was 35 dogs, that had been walked one kilometre.

A sense of pride blossomed in me.

The most dogs I’d ever walked at once was 16 but suddenly I was determined to beat the record.

Just organising the dogs was no mean feat.

I filled out my application forms and started practising.

I carefully selected 40 of the calmest, most well-behaved dogs from my Behaving K9s business and walked with them all together.

I had to make sure the dogs got on well and were cooperative or I’d never make it across the finish line.

When the day rolled around, I was surprisingly calm.

But four of the dogs were mucking up, which left Mark a nervous wreck.

“They’re distracting the other dogs,” I called out to Mark. “Can you take them?”

With four dogs out I only had 36 – exactly the number I needed to break the record.

There was no room for mistakes.

Me and the pooches doing our best on the day.

My heart pounded as I walked the 36 dogs in two straight lines.

When I crossed the finish line I was exhausted.

It wasn’t until all the dogs had been given back to their owners that I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I’d done it!

I’m still waiting for confirmation from the Guinness Book of Records, but I know I smashed the test.

Every dog has their day and now I’ve had mine, too!

That’s not the only dog -related record out there, check out the biggest meeting of Border Collies below!

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