On the road with Dog

Traveling with Dog is harder than it would seem possible. Walking from town to town alone or with a road-dawg is cheesecake in comparison. When traveling by foot with bipedal companions people either think you are a criminal (IE rapist, serial killer etc) or they think your a good person who hit hard times. Traveling with a quadrupedal companion has every one screaming NEGLECT! ABUSE! Oh My GOD call the authorities!. Which really gets annoying after the third time you have to stay in a town without work or shelter for three days while the Humane Society evaluates the condition of your furry com padre. Now don't get me wrong, I fully support animal protection laws. I do in fact think there are several areas of animal law that could use a firm hand. Laws dictating animal welfare are laxly enforced which is what starts the whole problem in the first place.

I travel with a dog. More specifically, I travel with a large, aggressive mixed breed who would never be able to find a home in a more sedentary lifestyle. He lives to travel and will eagerly sit and wait looking out the window when he sees the pack and gear come out. Liwanu is a one person dog. He doesn't like human companionship other than my own. If this dog ended up in a shelter he would be euthanized immediately. Resource Guarding, territorial, fear-aggressive and highly reactive dogs with high prey drive are not good companions for those who want a cute little lap dog. They need all the running, physically exhausting exercise they can possibly get. What better way to meet these needs than hitting the road?

Which leads me to my newest mode of transportation. Scootering. Liwanu will be getting a harness as soon as he is 1 year old (February 20th). Then we will start training so that he can pull the Trike with me and our supplies. We'll start small and work our way up to the needed weight over time. Then we'll head out onto the open road again. So please, the next time you see a vagrant with backpack and a dog in tow view it with an open mind. That person may be the only reason that dog is alive. Just because we don't have a six bedroom house to live in doesn't mean we don't love, cherish and protect our furry partners.