A long mane of curly locks will soon hit the deck to raise funds for cancer research.
Dr. John Atkinson will have his head shaved at 5:30 p.m. on May 26 at Lakeland Veterinary Clinic, where donations for the Canadian Cancer Society are now being collected.
Free chili and buns will be provided and further donations accepted at the Shave My Head for Cancer event at #3, 150 Horse Lake Road (in the Pinkney Complex near Total Pet).
"We are also taking donations in Lillooet, where I work down there, so we'll see if 100 Mile can do better than Lillooet."
Atkinson says he is doing this because, sadly, everyone is touched by cancer at some point.
"I recently lost a friend to the same thing that took my father – leukemia."
While April was Daffodil Month for the Canadian Cancer Society, Atkinson explains he wanted to wait for the weather to warm up.
"I didn't want a cold head. Plus, I'm going camping [beforehand] and I don't want a mosquito head either."
The veterinarian has four dogs now, but lost his previous two beloved canines to cancer, and says he often treats pets with cancer, some of which cannot be saved.
Atkinson says nobody is going to get near his beard with any trimmers – it will stay untouched.
"My beard stays on."