Man, Dog Bike Around the Country to Promote Animal Adoption

A man and his dog stopped in Dallas on Wednesday as they bike across the country together  to spread awareness about adopting animals from shelters.

“I kind of wanted to live my life like an adventure as opposed to a chore,” said Mike Minnick.

It is that desire that brought man and dog together on the road across the country with nothing but what is on their bike.

“There’s nothing on the face of the earth that I would rather be doing than to be taking a bicycle trip with my dog,” said Minnick.

But for Bixby and her human companion, Mike Minnick, it is more than just an adventure, it is a mission.

The two have traveled more than 6,000 miles so far spreading awareness about adopting animals from shelters. They started in Galveston more than a year ago and then headed to New England and down the East Coast.

“All while getting to play fetch at all these great places with my dog and stopping at animal shelters and rescues seeing if we can get other fury animals their forever humans,” said Minnick.

Bixby was once a shelter dog until Minnick adopted him four years ago in Austin.

But many animals are not as lucky. The Dallas Animal Shelter sees about 35,000 animals come into their shelter each year and more than half are put to sleep.

Bixby and Minnick’s mission is to help decrease the number of animals euthanized around the county.

“If Bixby and I can help other animals get their forever humans, than it just seems like the right thing to do,” Minnick said.

Bixby and Minnick will travel to Fort Worth Wednesday night or Thursday morning, then head North and then on to the West Coast.

If you're interested in finding out more about Bixby’s story go to http://wheresbixby.com/ .