Kerry Irving, author

“On top of Ben Nevis that day I felt like a king”

From the darkest of places, Kerry Irving changed his life and the lives of many others, with a little help from the mountains and one very special dog...

These days it’s not unusual to spot Lake District canines Max and Paddy on TV, spy them meeting the Royals or catch them participating in charity events. Rocketing to fame from their social media popularity, the dogs, along with new puppy Harry, have attracted a following of almost 110,000 people. But it all started with a bit of mountain healing...

“In 2006 my car was hit by a truck,” says the dogs’ owner Kerry. “It was a game changer, and I went from spending all my time outside and in the mountains to not being able to walk to the end of the street.”

Kerry’s physical pain soon manifested into mental health problems when he couldn’t get outdoors. “At the time I didn’t really know, but I was suffering from depression. I felt depression was something men don’t get. They don’t talk about it. People say, just shrug it off. But you just have this feeling that you’re in this tunnel that you can’t get out of. It got to such a bad stage that I actually started to think about taking my own life.

“Two years after my accident I still found it very difficult to walk, and I would get panic attacks because I would get to a distance and then think I couldn’t get back home. And that’s very difficult for someone who’s used to walking and biking in the mountains every day.”

Luckily for Kerry, he found Max. And bit by bit, with the support of this quiet and patient springer spaniel, Kerry started hillwalking again. “I thought, if I’m going to walk up a hill, I’m going to go and do Ben Nevis,” remembers Kerry. “Every step was hard, and I mean really hard. But Max was beside me the whole way. Every time I stopped, he would stop. It took us three and a half hours to get to the top. We were the first people on top of Ben Nevis that day. And I felt like a king.”

That day became the start of something that was ultimately life changing. “For me it was the start of a complete shift in mindset,” explains Kerry. “Learning that small steps lead to bigger things. It’s calming, relaxing but invigorating all at the same time. It was not just the physical side of climbing mountains with my dogs that was important, but also the mental stimulation. Springer Spaniels have this incredible zest for life – they must be the happiest dogs on the planet. You can never be lonely when you have a dog by your side.”

The mountain effect has not only helped Kerry in his recovery, but with the assistance of his growing family of spaniels his positivity is now helping many others too. “We’ve helped raise over £110,000 for various charities. We’re going into local schools to talk about mental health awareness and getting kids outside. To be invited to tell our story in front of large audiences and say ‘It’s ok not to be ok’ has been life changing, and it’s all down to the mountains and a dog called Max.”

Kerry now has a brilliant best-selling book out now - Max the Miracle Dog - which chronicles his struggles with mental health and the important role the mountains and his friend Max have played.