Puppy Chow – Is There A Dog Living In Our RV ???

Christmas in our household included a very special gift this year.

Puppy love

Puppy love.

It wasn’t a gift to us or from us, but on Christmas Eve, as we were hanging around with our granddaughters in front of the Christmas tree at their house, they suddenly announced: “We’re getting another dog! For Christmas!!”

Puppy Dog in the RV lifestyle-min

The Christmas Pup.

They already had two dogs, but earlier that day they had seen a little puppy at the Humane Society, and they had fallen in love with him.

Puppy Dog and RV life-min

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And he was going to be moving in!

Puppy Dog playing in the yard-min

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At the moment he was doing the rounds with their mom being introduced to friends and family, but a few hours later he arrived at his new home.

Puppy dog plays in yard-min

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I have to confess, I’ve never been a dog person.

When I was four years old a very large dog with big paws and a huge mouth full of teeth knocked me down. He was playing, but I was terrified. Ever since then I’ve been an avowed cat person and bird person.

But when this little pup walked into the living room late on Christmas Eve, something in his spirit spoke to me.

Dog and RV travel-min

You see, I don’t like dogs.

I picked him up and he was surprisingly calm and self-contained. He didn’t quiver and he didn’t struggle to get out of my arms.

Portrait of a Dog as a Young Pup-min

Portrait of a Dog as a Young Pup.

Over the next few days he got to know the other two dogs in the household, a part-papillon and a chihuahua. The results were mixed.

Puppy dog tests his paw in a puddle by our RV-min

Puppy discovers his reflection in a puddle.

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Peek-a-boo!

The little pup was so cute, Mark and I couldn’t stop taking pics of him. Friends and family who are accustomed to receiving emails from us of pretty landscapes started getting inundated with photos of this puppy!

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He had been given a variety of names, but none of them had stuck.

The Humane Society had called him Perry, and he had arrived on Christmas Eve with two possible names, Miller and Bailey. The votes were evenly split between the two.

Our friend Bob who is a wiz with with Photoshop put the pup on the cover of a book that he thought the dog could write if he spent some time traveling with us. After seeing all the shots of him jumping in the grass he had anointed him Skippy.

Book about puppy Skippy-min

It would be a bestseller.

We were enchanted with the puppy. He was as sweet as could be. As I ticked down my list of reasons I didn’t like dogs — they bark, they jump on you, they drool all over, they lick you incessantly, they pant, they shed, they chew things, they smell yucky — I realized he didn’t have any of those traits.

He was silent and observant. He was extremely calm. In fact, he was eerily catlike. He liked to sit like a cat and he even rubbed his paws on his face like a cat.

He also had a very cute floppy ear.

Puppy dog portrait with floppy ear-min

Even the vet loved his floppy ear.

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He was so quiet he would go for several days without barking. He wouldn’t make much of a watch dog like that, but he looked good posing as one.

Puppy dog on the doormat-min

The Watchdog.

One day we took a family trip to Cave Creek, north of Phoenix. We had a ball playing around with the western themed photo cutouts around town.

Puppy dog in Cave Creek Arizona-min

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The Humane Society had said the pup was an Australian Shepherd, and we thought maybe there was some short haired Border Collie in him too. The vet thought there might be some terrier. Whatever his heritage, he likes to herd the people around him, and he sure knows how to sprint.

Puppy dog plays with ball in backyard-min

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Running puppy dog with ball-min

This little guy can sprint!

He had just a little tiny battery, though, and after a few wild sprints he was done. You could throw the ball or his rope toy all you wanted and he would just lie there and watch.

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All done running.

Sometimes he was such an adorable little angel Mark would call him Puppy Chow.

Our friend Bob was loving our pics and he put him on the cover of a magazine too.

Puppy Chow Dog's Life Magazine Cover

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We were visiting with a family whose dad is a city cop, and one day he took a big group of us — kids and adults — to see the precinct police station.

There were three dogs and ten people along for the trip, and while we were all busy staring at the interrogation room and learning a little about police life in a big city, the pup suddenly felt Nature’s call.

Unbeknownst to any of us, he sneaked off to a corner to take care of business.

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We left in high spirits, but a few hours later our friend got a call from the police chief. “One of the dogs you brought in today left something behind!” The other two dogs had been on leashes, so all fingers pointed at the puppy.

Oh dear. Now our little buddy was a Wanted Pup.

Puppy Dog Wanted Poster-min

Dead or alive!

We took a few hikes on the beautiful trails around Phoenix, and the puppy was amazing. He trotted right along and greeted everyone on the trail with a happy wagging tail and a friendly sniff.

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He’s a great little hiker!

Mark has been a dog lover all his life, and I’ve often heard tales of his beautiful Afghan Hound, Hoover, that he’d raised with his kids.

As a little boy, though, he had begged his parents for a dog, preferably a real boy’s dog like Lassie. His mom wouldn’t dream of it, but finally she relented and the family got a dog — a French Poodle. This was great for his sisters, but it wasn’t the dog Mark had dreamed of playing with.

As he hugged the little pup one day, he said to me, “If only this dog had come into my life 50 years ago!”

Since three dogs was a bit of a crowd in the puppy’s new household, Mark offered that the pup could stay with us in our rig for a few nights while we were there.

Frankly, I think he just wanted more snuggle time with the pup!

RV welcome home to puppy dog-min

An extra special welcome home.

The puppy was supposed to be returned to the family that weekend, but the few nights with us stretched into a week, and then to two weeks. By then the kids were back in school and it was time for us to leave the city and start traveling again.

RVing with a puppy dog-min

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We had joked that the dog should be called “Loaner,” because he was supposed to be on loan. But we began to call our little buddy “Buddy.”

He looked very cute when he sat in my chair in the trailer.

RVing with a dog-min

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It was winter and our trailer was often very chilly in the morning. Sometimes when he yawned first thing in the morning we could see his breath. Not surprisingly, he liked to snuggle up.

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Puppy dog in a blanket in an RV-min

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Somehow he would end up in bed with us too. I mean, who can resist?!

Puppy dog in bed in an RV-min

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Another thing that amazed me about Buddy was that not only did he never bark or jump up on people or drool, but he never shed his fur. We could pet him and bathe him and comb out his fur, and not one hair would come off.

“He’s the ideal dog!” I would say to Mark as I wondered to myself what I meant by that.

He adapted extremely well to RV life on a test run to a camping area at Lake Pleasant. There was a lot for a young puppy to see at the lake.

Puppy dog checks the view out the RV window at the lake-min

“What’s out there?”

He’d sit on the water’s edge and watch the water lap the shore.

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Whenever he went to down to the water the ducks would swim over to him and check him out.

Puppy dog and duck at the lake-min

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As we fell head over heels in love with this little puppy, we thought long and hard about how a dog would impact our lives.

The grandkids were fine with Buddy becoming a traveling dog, and they encouraged us to keep him because they felt he’d be happiest with us out camping and hiking.

But it’s a huge commitment to set aside 15 years of your life to care for an animal. We’d both done that years ago and we had both sworn off of pets for good.

For the last ten years we’ve been blessed to live our lives focused entirely on ticking things off our lifelong bucket list. But owning a dog wasn’t even on the list!

Needless to say, we had many long conversations and more than a few sleepless nights. And we read every essay on the “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan’s website and downloaded every video of his that we could find.

Puppy with a floppy ear-min

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In no time we realized Buddy had been with us for a month!

As time passed we noticed he had grown up quite a bit. His floppy ear didn’t flop over any more and he started losing his baby teeth. We found seven of his baby teeth in four days! And he grew an inch or two in each direction and gained a few pounds.

But he was still an angel.

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Perhaps the coolest thing was taking him out on the hiking trails. He loved it and we loved having him along.

Puppy dog hikes the hiking trail-min

He’s a happy pooch on the trail.

When we got out into the desert near Quartzsite, Buddy really came into his own and sealed his fate in our lives and our hearts.

We took him through the massively crowded Quartzsite RV show where his view was a sea of shoes and legs and knees — with the occasional German Shepherd’s or pitbull’s nose thrown in — and he was as calm and cool as a cucumber.

Even better, we took him off his leash whenever we were at our campsite, and he stuck close by, hanging out on the patio mat with his chew sticks and rubber ball and patiently waiting to be let in or let out like a cat. And, like a cat, sometimes he’d go out only to come right back in again.

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Buddy may be part Aussie, but he’s also part cat.

Who knows how this will all turn out, but sometimes life takes funny twists and turns. And if we’ve learned anything in our time on this planet so far, it’s that the biggest blessings in life come to us of their own accord, unbidden and unexpected, moved by a hand greater than our own.

RV boondocking in the Arizona desert camping

Our little buggy now has a pup inside!

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62 thoughts on “Puppy Chow – Is There A Dog Living In Our RV ???

  1. What an awesome post guys! Steve and I know y’all are going to really love traveling with this little guy. He’s young enough to really enjoy your hiking and traveling. Steve and I had a Jack Russell for almost 16 years and we were devastated when we had to put him down after he had 6 seizures in one day. Right now we have our son’s German Shepherd because he’s moving to Singapore. He’s the best dog ever and it will be interesting to see how he likes to travel!

    Happy trails with your sweet pup. He’s precious!

    Janet and Steve

    • One of the many topics we’ve talked about was end-of-life issues with a beloved pet, especially as we will be a bit older ourselves. It’s a hard topic when you’re looking at a little pup, but one we have both been through and understand.

      How lucky you are to inherit a beautiful German Shepherd after the loss of your Jack Russell. There’s that divine intervention again. I’m sure he’ll love your trailer and the trails!!

    • This is definitely way out there, Pete. Not at all what we ever imagined. Our motto has always been “Thank goodness we don’t have any pets!” If someone had told us when we were camped by the river in Phoenix last month that we would soon be dog owners we would have thought they were crazy!! But isn’t that the best part of life when something beautiful and unexpected sends you on a new path??!!

  2. What a cutie pie! He seems like a great traveling companion. The magazine covers are hilarious and your pictures of Buddy are just as good as your landscapes. Are you still in Quartzsite? We are too!

    • Thank you, Terri. The fun thing with Buddy pics is it is teaching us about wildlife photography! The first few days Mark kept emailing our pro wildlife photography friend Steve Perry and asking him questions like which focusing modes to use for an animal sprinting towards you!! We are out by Bouse and it is lovely, but we’re heading back to Phoenix later to check in with the grandkids again!

  3. Well, Buddy certainly does seem like just the right pooch for you! We know what it’s like to be adopted by a pet. Ozark the cat has brought lots of joy into our lives – and strengthens the bond between us. I hope our two adoptees can meet up sometime soon!

    • We thought about you and Ozark many times as Buddy crept into our hearts and adopted us. I remember you saying Ozark brought a special love into your motorhome, and that is so true with Buddy too. What a neat adventure this is! We’ll be over in your neck of the woods in a few weeks and hope to connect!

  4. My Aussie rescue travels with me in my 5th wheel too, and you will come to love the loyalty and friendship this dog (God spelled backwards!) will constantly offer! And a recent study illustrated how folks with dogs live longer! More miles for all.

    • Friendship and loyalty are all over this pup’s little face and soul. We’ve been floored by how eagerly he wants to please us and by how quickly he responds to gentle corrections. More miles and more years are definitely welcome in this household, and I know our years with him will be very special. Enjoy your Aussie in your travels across country and through life!

  5. Em,
    Now, this is a heartwarming story. So glad to see Puppy Chow found such a good, loving home. Even if it has wheels. 🙂 It won’t be long until Animal Planet comes knocking.
    Bob

  6. What a heartwarming story with great shots of love in action! Our pets bring us so much joy regardless of the responsibility. Please research toxic plants for animals to ensure Buddy does not chew on anything unsafe.

    Enjoy and be thankful you fell for Buddy while RVing and not sailing. We are preparing to take Rambunctious, our 44 Deck Salon, across the Gulf of Mexico from Houston, again, … this time to move her to the Chesapeake Bay for East Coast cruising. It is really happening in May this year; we will finally be cruising the next few years while you two, oops, three will be RVing. We will be farming out our 3lb Toy Fox Terrier with our daughter while making the crossing and Coastal trip North 🙁

    • We are indeed lucky that Buddy showed up at this time in our lives where we are land-based and have a handle on how we like to live this full-time RVing lifestyle. You are going to have a blast cruising up the East Coast and you are making me miss our beautiful 44DS sistership, the Groovy boat! You’ll be in waters we never cruised but that so many people love and spend a lifetime sailing. What fun! I’m sure your tiny Toy Fox Terrier will be thrilled to reunite with you once you get to the Chesapeake. Thanks so much for following our travels for all these years!!!

  7. Great story guys, and what a cute owner you have there LOL. We are currently on our 4th boxer rescue and Roxy seems to like RVing. We do know she loves the road. Good on you for sharing your adventures with that cute guy, and thank you for doing that. As Dr. Evil says to Mini Me “You complete me”. Dogs tend to do that for us.
    Happy travels.

    • It’s going to be a wonderful new learning curve for all three of us, and I know we’ll all be the richer for the things we discover about each other and ourselves. Enjoy your travels with Roxy. She’s lucky to have very experienced Boxer owners!!

  8. I am so happy for you and a little teary eyed also. This is a great love story between a pet and its humans. I am a cat person and am anticipating traveling with her. So far she does well on short trips and I am hoping longer ones are to come. Please give your ‘Buddy’ a hug and pat from me.

    • Buddy is in my lap half asleep right now as we drive from Quartzsite to Phoenix, and he appreciated your pat on the head (and scratch on the ears too). Many cats love traveling and some have even sailed around the world, so I’m sure your kitty will take to the road nicely. Have fun with her in all your adventures and thank for reading and wiping your eyes a bit too (Mark did that too when he read it this morning!).

  9. What an awesome post Emily! I’m going to send it to Rose – she’ll love it. It’s seems like Buddy is the perfect companion. It’s funny – my first dog was named Buddy as well. We’ve had three dogs, and Buddy (AKA “Da Bud Man”) was the best! Keep us posted 🙂

    • Oh, how cool is that, Steve. Our little Buddy has a twin looking down on him as he trots around the countryside on his velvet paws. Thank you so much for reading and sharing this with Rose, and thank you for the tips on how to capture Buddy in his best sprints!!

    • He’s a little charmer and he sure charmed his way right into my heart, Edith. I have fond memories of Minou, and when the girls announced they had gotten a puppy as a Christmas present for their mom this year, it made me think of that Christmas long ago when Jasmine was a tiny fluffy kitten with a bright red bow around her neck!!!

  10. Such an awesome story 🙂 I have often wondered why you and Mark don’t have a pet, but know it is a very personal choice.
    We began our full time journey 2 years ago with 2 elderly cats, who transitioned really well to the RV life. Sadly we only have one now, she is almost 19 and we know her time with us is limited, so we make the most of every day.
    Pets really do add something very special to our lives, not least extra years!
    Buddy definitely seems to have been meant to join you and Mark, Emily, even if by a devious route 🙂 so happy he has joined your home, and I am sure you will have many delightful years together.

    • How wonderful that your older cats adapted to RV life. I hope your remaining kitty enjoys her final days with you on the road.

      Choosing to have a pet and add a new personality to a household as well as add responsibility to the people in it is definitely a very personal choice and one that deserves a lot of thought. We never had a pet because it didn’t fit the rhythm of our lives. We live very spontaneously and are often in situations where a pet is an inconvenience. We are often out of our rig for very long periods in places where a pet can’t go, and as decades long owners of other pack/flock animals (I had two hand-raised cockatoos for 20 years) we both know how important it is to their well being to be with their pack/flock and not left alone at home. Fortunately, Buddy’s personality is so docile we think we can incorporate him into most of what we do each day, and that will be a great joy for all three of us!

      • Buddy absolutely seems like the perfect RV dog in every way, and the quartzsite show is a major test for any dog!!
        I agree with your comments about the responsibilities and restrictions that pets put on us as RVers, especially when we do a lot of boondocking and can’t leave them “at home” when it might get hot inside and need airconditioning,; it can get to be a real dilemma! It’s certainly easier, in some respects, having a dog, as dogs like going places with you, and going for walks etc – cats, not so much !
        I think you and Mark are going to have a blast with Buddy, even if it does mean there will be a few restrictions on where you can go now.

        • I think you’re right, Sally, and we’re learning as we go and will continue to. He’s a good natured little fellow, and I find I can even hold my camera up to take photos when I’m holding the leash and he doesn’t jerk the leash and my hands with it. So far so good, and you just can’t beat the snuggles. He really likes those!!

  11. I’m happy to see another “cat person” has learned to love a dog! You’re as lucky to have him in your lives as he is to have you in his. Just a little FYI . . . all dogs shed their coats a couple of times a year, with the heaviest shedding occurring in the spring and fall (it’s a function of length of day, not temperature). The good news is that it’s easily controlled with consistent grooming – daily grooming is better than weekly grooming, but weekly grooming is much better than none at all.

    I believe your new pup is a mixture of many breeds, though Aussie Shepherd may predominate. The Aussie is a double-coated breed, meaning there’s a denser, softer undercoat with longer, stiffer guard hairs growing through it. It’s important to groom down to the skin so that snarls and tangles cannot get started in the undercoat.

    Please, please, please do not listen if anyone tells you that you should shave the dog when the weather starts to get hot. This can destroy a double-coated dog’s ability to regrow it’s coat over time and is NOT providing the presumed comfort to the dog that those who shave their pets claim.

    The undercoat is there to provide warmth during cold weather, but also provides protection and comfort during hot weather as well. The longer guard hairs help to repel moisture and dirt from getting down to the denser undercoat, and shaving the coat eliminates any protection from the sun that the dog’s coat provides.

    Again, congratulations on your new traveling companion. Once they wrap themselves around your heart, you’re helpless. 🙂

    • Thank you for the detailed information about Aussies and their coats, Tao.

      We would never alter an animal’s natural physique in any way, and one of the most bonding human/animal experiences I ever had was playing with one of my fully flighted cockatoo in a very open area in my old office. She would fly to me when I called her, even around corners, and we played games with a set of Japanese Shoji doors where I would close them more and more with each successive flight and she would miraculously still be able to raise her wings high above her head and still make it through the crack — until the final flight where she knew she couldn’t make it and she would fly over the top at the last second. She loved the game and so did I, but she needed all her flight feathers to play it…

      Buddy adores his baths (!!!!) and has had quite a few, especially after playing in the desert dust. Being damp inspires him to lick himself, just as taking a shower with my cockatoos (which they loved) encouraged them to preen their feathers. I think this self-grooming is wonderful too.

  12. WOW ! What a surprise !!! Never imagined a pup in the rig – but Buddy is definitely “at home” and his presence is opening a new chapter in “Roads Less Traveled”. A tummy rub from Boston…

    • I just delivered your tummy rub to him as he lies in the sun napping. He responded with a big yawn and a few sleepy blinks! We have definitely opened a new and precious chapter in our lives, and I think we’re in for some really special adventures together. You know, much of what he does reminds me of Mother Cat and it has been fun reminiscing…! 🙂

  13. What a sweet addition to your buggy. He’s adorable. I’m so glad you kept him. Enjoy! And, if you really want to know what breed or mix he is, I think there is a test for that.

    • We are so glad we kept him too, Rose. He’s sleeping like a little angel in the sun right now! I was wondering if there was a DNA test and we joked about ancestry.com. How interesting!! Maybe they’ll find he really is part cat. 🙂

      • In fact, there are quite a few canine DNA tests out there, some (of course) better than others. Here’s one of the best (I have 50+ years of training, showing, working with shelters, etc.):
        Wisdom Panel 3.0 Breed Identification DNA Test Kit
        4.2 out of 5 stars 1,733 customer reviews | 235 answered questions
        Amazon’s Choice for “dog dna test”
        List Price: $79.99
        Price: $74.99 Free Shipping for Prime Members
        You Save: $5.00 (6%)

        Buddy is an adorable mix of any number of breeds; one thing I’ve learned over the years is that a supposed “x/x mix” (based on some physical characteristics) is often WAY off base!
        Whatever his heritage, he’s obviously the right dog for you!
        BTW, after 7 years of full-timing in our 1990 Bluebird Wanderlodge motorhome, we adopted a 16-month-old Boxer (our second Boxer rescue). He’s certainly narrowed our living space (no slides in most of the Birds), but we’re having a blast!
        Enjoy your new pal!

        • Thank you very much for all this info, Cheryl. I had no idea you could get these DNA tests on Amazon — how cool is that?! Maybe we’ll do it! Buddy is a sweet little guy, whatever his DNA is, and we are really loving him!!

  14. No surprise. That cute pup fits your life style. We could tell you were hooked with the first pictures you sent.

  15. I enjoy your posts so much. It is great to read and see the pictures. I enjoyed your story about the puppy. I also now have a puppy. A 19 lb Chug. Chihuahua Pug mix. Charlie. He is quite a watch dog, even if nobody is there, he lets you know about the intruders.

    • Thank you so much for continuing to read our various posts, Jesse, after all these years! How neat that you have a puppy too, and what a combo that little guy is! Our granddaughter’s chihuahua is actually a chihuahua-poodle mix, but looks like a chihuahua (so she named him Poodle!). Please give Charlie a hug for us — it’s great to have a good watch dog!

  16. I’ve often wondered how you felt about pets. When you would get up at 0500 and hike somewhere to get that special photo I would think that’s why you don’t have pets. I think this will open new vistas for you and your camera.

    • We’re both big animal lovers that’s for sure, but we’re not beyond waking Buddy up in the pre-dawn hours and taking him out on a sunrise photo shoot. We’ve done a few sunset shoots together already, and he does just fine, although he doesn’t like us to get too far apart from each other as we wander around with our tripods!!!

  17. What a lovely story, sometimes things come into our lives when we least expect…..but someday you will realize why he really did come into your lives. Enjoy him he is a real cutie!

    • He is a real sweetie pie, Camille, and we actually do know why he came into each of our lives. For me, it has to do with our birds, with loving thanks to Chippy whose perky cheekiness introduced us to the avian world so long ago and also with lifelong thanks to our wonderful friends in Maine who hand-reared our beloved cockatoos!! Not coincidentally, Ron got a surprise puppy, Mason, just a few weeks before Buddy came into our lives… We are all connected.

  18. I LOVE that your dog left a gift at a police station of all places! That is so inappropriate and, therefore, SO hilarious! He looks like a very sweet dog and I have no doubt you will quickly forget what life was like before you had him. They just insert themselves right in your life and take over your heart. Puppies rule! Congrats and enjoy every minute!

    • Thank you, Laura. We all had such a laugh about the little gift Buddy left for our friends in blue, especially because it wasn’t a junior level person who discovered it, but the top dog, so to speak. We are loving him and find ourselves watching his sweet little antics in awe and with so many smiles. It’s crazy and wonderful to have a third personality trotting around in our lives!

  19. What a nice story. I love dogs but haven’t had one for 30 years. I feel too unstable in my life. But I have often done dog sitting for others and always get sad when the dog has to go back. I see beagle in your dog’s eyes and whippit in his demeanor and probly some other bits, but it doesn’t really matter does it? Dogs always give more than they take. Happy for you guys.

  20. Wow, Mark and Emily! A dog. How surprisingly perfect! He really seems like a perfect fit for you. You have both been in our minds more often these past several weeks as Dave and I headed S for our first ‘Snowbirds’ camping adventure. We needed a break from building our house and all the building materials froze solid. We went down the West coast, stopping lots in Oregon, visited many cruisers we got to know while on the water, keeping an eye open for you both, while in Arizona and Nevada. We visited some old friends at Senator Wash, near the Imperial dam. We drove through Quartzite, while the RV show was on! Shoot, if only we had reached out!!! Darn. If we make it on the road next year, I will be sure to touch base as it would be lovely to catch up! We have a new dog as well, a Golden Retreiver who has us wrapped around her little paw, too, Haha. While she did not love the twisty 101, she was fine with ’50’ the Lonliest Road. Boy is It EVER! We may have seen 6 vehicles but n 4 hours.

    Let us know if you come up near us, we’d love a catch-up!

    • How great to hear from you, Rose & Dave. Thank you for all the news!! Our paths are definitely running parallel these days. Too bad we missed each other in Quartzsite, but we’ll catch each other next time. We’d so love to see you and hear about your voyage from Mexico across the S. Pacific in person. Sounds like you are settling into a beautiful life that will be capped off with a brand new home, and I know Buddy would love to meet your golden retriever, as would we! Happy building and happy travels to you both and thank you for reading our various stories!!

  21. What a heartwarming post! After losing our doggie in 2013 we also thought we were finished with pet ownership. But in November when I was helping my 90 year old mother find a companion dog I found myself suddenly acquiring her puppy’s litter mate! Charles is 5 months old and he’s the very best impulsive-like thing I’ve ever done. He will be taking his first RV trip with us soon. BTW, my mom named her puppy Dickens and they are also a match made in heaven.

    • Now that’s a heartwarming story too!! Isn’t it wonderful to say that Charles is the best impulse “buy” you’ve ever made?! How fortunate that both you and your mom have unexpectedly found so much love and companionship in your two dear puppies.

  22. It’s been a little while since I’ve read one of your posts. I was surprised when I saw Buddy on the first photo of your post on the Superstition Mountains. I just HAD to read about his appearance in your lives. How precious! We have been dog people all of our lives. After the loss of our last Rottweiler we ‘thought’ we were done with dogs. It just hurt too much when their time with us was over 🙁 Then a few months later Ron saw Rufus listed on an adoption website. He is a good fit for us as well. I wish you three happy trails!

    • Buddy has been a sheer delight and we are so happy he came into our lives. We know just how agonizing it is to lose a beloved pet, and we’ve both been through it more than once, but the years of joy are worth it if you find the right one. Puppy Chow seems to be finding his own rhythm in our lives, and he’s awfully fun to take on a hike or a run! Thanks for coming back to our site and reading our latest goodies, and enjoy your years with Rufus. Buddy sends him a tail wag and a nose kiss!

  23. Prompted by the Buddy reference in today’s post, what fun to read the “Buddy Story” – in 2019 – and to know how much joy he has brought to your “Roads Less Traveled”,,,,

    • Thank you for clicking on the link to read his back story once again. We had no idea back in Christmas 2017 just how much joy he would bring us. He’s a delight in every way and we are so fortunate to have him along!!

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