Idaho cowboy ends 5-state trek with calluses, dog

After 2,000 horseback miles through five states, Idaho cowboy Phil Dawson expected the quarter-sized calluses on his backside.

He wasn't counting on finishing the five-month journey aboard his Appaloosa mare Apache Gold Chip with a passenger: A short-legged Welsh Corgi he picked up in Missoula, Mont., just after coming down from Lolo Pass and the Lewis and Clark Trail.

"As we traveled, I kind of grew on him," Dawson said of the dog, Short Stop, who rode double in his western saddle for about 500 miles.

Dawson, a horse trainer from the southern Idaho town of Hagerman, completed his round-trip trek last week, finishing 40 pounds lighter than the 200 pounds he weighed when he set out May 1 with his mare and a pack mule named Copper Penny.

He says the local volunteer fire department and the Gooding County Sheriff's Office escorted him as he rode into Hagerman Wednesday. Dawson says he's glad to be home.

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On the Net:

For Dawson's fundraising site: http://www.americafundraisers.org/