As I look back on my life, almost every era is defined by a dog. That's not to say that I've lived a horribly long time, but rather that I look at my life in a series of segments shared by various dogs. There has been at least one dog in my life since I was eighteen months old and we moved to a farm.
Ten years ago, our first Greyhound entered our lives. Treat was a model dog, the kind that spoils you for all others. Everything with her just seemed so easy, and even her battle with epilepsy didn't diminish her standing in our eyes. Through her, I met some of the most wonderful other people -- all fellow Greyhound owners. Honestly, there aren't any nicer people anywhere. I've seen them come together for all kinds of reasons. There were GURs, or Greyhound transports, long before I heard about other breeds doing so. I experienced so many new things through her. We joined message boards online, began doing therapy dog visits, went to meet and greets to help other Greyhounds have homes and traveled to places with and because of the dogs that we'd never have gone before.
Now, I have Bunny and it's a new era. I had been to Dewey Beach before with Treat, Hawk, Lilac and Blueberry. The Greyhounds Reach the Beach event happens annually on Columbus Day weekend. Bunny had never been, and I really wanted her to experience the beach, especially now while she's young enough to really have fun with it. A couple of months ago, I realized that we weren't going to be able to go together as a family the way we always have in the past.
Fortunately, we have a good friend who also wanted to go. She offered to let Bunny and I ride along with her and share a hotel with her and her dog. I decided that I wanted to go bad enough to travel halfway across the country, even though that's something I haven't done by myself before. Travelling such a long distance with someone who was not part of my family was not something I'd done before, but it turned out to be a great trip.
Bunny was an excellent traveller. The truth of the matter is that I probably wouldn't have gone and had all the wonderful experiences that we did if it weren't for her. It's hard for me to break out of my comfort zone. Yet, there's something about travelling with a dog that seems to transport you out of yourself. I regret that I didn't take
Travels With Charley along with me to read. I really think she'd have been content to lay on the beach with me while I read through the pages. Actually, after our day of shopping on Saturday, I know she would have much preferred that!
There didn't seem to be anything that she didn't handle well. Riding in the car was no problem for her at all. She was a good shopper, and happy to model things that I was thinking about purchasing. Eating in restaurants there was a pleasure, since she happily laid down on the travel bed I took along for her. She greeted everyone with a tail wag and good manners, happy to let everyone on the boardwalk and sidewalk pet her. Even posing for pictures was no problem for her, although I regret not seeing a rock that she could pose on like
Rusty,
K and R.
It is such a pleasure to travel with dogs, and I've been lucky that I've had some wonderful travellers in my life. You do need to do a little extra planning, but it's definitely worth it! I hope that everyone has the good fortune of taking a fun trip with a dog at least once in their life. The experiences you can have when you share your life with a dog are truly amazing.
Sometimes, the best part is that it makes you appreciate how wonderful coming home is, too!
We just learned that
Karletje's dad passed away yesterday. It's been a while since he and his mom, Anya have blogged, due to his dad's health, but I'm sure they would appreciate some comfort and support right now at this difficult time.
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