South Carolina

New places are always interesting to a dog. There's new smells, new people with new faces to taste, new bushes and tires to wee on.

Our visit to Dad's daughter's house was really great. I had to be on leash while in the house because I'm not totally house trained yet. That ensured that I didn't have an accident. And I didn't. The leash was also good because there were things all over the floor that I shouldn't chew on. Being a puppy, I want to chew everything and some things I might swallow might cause blockages. They have 5 kids so there were toys all over, especially after Christmas, that would have been irresistible.

Speaking of the leash, the 2 yr old girl liked to lead me around all over. We went room to room and back again. Mom said she wasn't sure who was dragging who. All I know is that it was great fun for both of us.

Cruz and Cruz

I met my namesake. Dad's grandson's name is Cruz. I'm not sure whether I was actually named for him or whether Dad just liked the name. He's an awesome kid though, and I'm an awesome dog, so the name fits us both. And one of Cruz's best friends is named Sammy. So we had Cruz and Cruz, and Sammy and Sammy. Pretty cool. (The blur over Sammy's face is because Mom didn't get permission from Sammy's mom yet to print his picture. She said it's something to do with privacy. I don't know about that because dogs don't have much understanding of things like that. After all, we stick our noses everywhere.)

Sammy and Sammy; Cruz and Cruz

Mom & Dad found a nearby church on Sunday to attend. Sammy and I waited patiently in the truck and didn't go inside. But the people looked nice and I heard Mom say they were all very welcoming and friendly. My folks are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and there are congregations all over that they can attend. Being friendly doesn't seem to be a problem for LDS folks. I particularly like the young missionaries because they all seem to like to wrestle with me.

For the past 5 nights we parked our RV at Carolina Haven that we found through boondockerswelcome.com. We had a big field all to ourselves. Dave was very welcoming and even filled our water tank twice. Mom & Dad finished taking out the dinette that we never use, and put in the cabinets and top for Mom's keyboard. We'll stop at Home Depot today to get door handles and eye hooks so straps can secure the keyboard for traveling. I wouldn't know for sure, but I've heard it said it's like an earthquake inside the RV when we're on the road. Anything not secured would be tossed around and probably broken.

We had to go to a place to empty the black water tank. That's the tank that holds all the yuck from the toilet. That's another thing I don't know anything about. Being a dog I just sniff out a good place and go. Being a good dog neighbor, Mom picks it up in a little bag and tosses it in the trash. While we were waiting for Dad to do his stinky task, I had lots of fun chasing leaves that were blowing in the wind.

Our visit to South Carolina is at an end and we're headed to North Carolina to visit Mom's granddaughter's family. Sammy has met them before but I haven't. Sammy says they're really nice and give good belly rubs. I'm really looking forward to that and I'll keep you posted on how they score in that department.

--Cruz

Projects

As I said in my last post, dogs lead pretty simple lives and are fairly easy to please. As long as we're warm, fed and snuggled we're happy. Mom and Dad left the cold NH winters for someplace with no snow and ice. Along with leaving for the winter, they left behind a myriad of projects, some finished, some in various stages of development. Mom says people can't die until all their projects are finished and that she's going to have to live to be 100 years old. That's good because I'd miss her terribly.

New projects here started pretty fast. First Dad couldn't figure out how to get the hot water working until today. Second, there wasn't much more than a trickle of water in the kitchen sink. Both problems were quickly diagnosed and fixed with a phone call to my friends at Camping World in Center Conway, NH. Roger was super helpful and walked Dad through what to do and he was able to resolve the issues.

Next project is to remove the dinette and install a bookcase type stand for the piano keyboard with storage underneath for music books. Mom said only skinny people would be able to fit at that booth so it had to go anyway. And since there was no other place to put the keyboard this seemed like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Not that I would ever kill a bird, mind you. I am a hunting dog but I'm supposed to just point them, not kill them. Well, when I'm trained anyway.

Nap time with Mom

Meanwhile, life is good.

--Cruz

The Learning Curve

Being a dog, life is pretty simple for me. Food, water, a warm place to sleep, a bone to chew on, letting the wind flap my ears while my head is out the window, snuggles with my favorite human (Mom), and, of course, my stuffy, and I'm pretty content. But humans seem to require a lot more. And, apparently, living in an RV is a learning curve to satisfy their more complex requirements.

We arrived in SC to visit Dad's daughter and her family for Christmas. The first night we just parked our roving home outside her house and crawled into bed when we got tired, which was pretty quick considering we'd been on the road for 2 days. The next day we found a site to boondock for a few days. That's a term that means dry camping, or living in the RV without being hooked up to facilities in an RV park. These boondocking sites are pretty easy to come by if you join boondockerswelcome.com. There are literally thousands of sites across the country where you can stay in someone's yard or field for 1 to 5 days – for free!!! I like that word because it means Mom and Dad have more money to spend on treats for me.

Anyway, we found a pretty nifty place in a big field owned by a nice man named David where Sammy and I can run around and go wee when we need to. There's a chicken farm not too far away and we can hear the rooster in the morning. Reminds me of home before Mom sold all the chickens.

Dad finally got the water tank filled but he can't figure out how to get the hot water running. I'm not sure why they would need hot water but it seems to be pretty important for taking a shower and washing dishes. I've never had a bath, and being very short haired, Mom says I might not ever even need one. I guess if I did though, I'd want the water to be warm. We stopped at the Camping World in SC to ask about it and they think Dad just forgot to turn on a bypass valve. Mom is sure hoping that's as simple as it sounds.

Dad also got the generator running to recharge the batteries. This is important because if the batteries go dead there won't be any heat in the morning. Days in SC at this time of year are in the 60s and 70s, but the nights get down to 40 or so. There was actually a frost a few nights ago. That means it would get too cold for this short haired guy if we didn't have heat. I really like being warm.

One of the things that Mom had a hard time with is making the bed. There's not much room to move around it. At first she climbed on the bed and tried to get the sheets and blankets placed while

kneeling on them. That didn't work very well, especially since she has an extra hard time maneuvering because of the walking boot on her leg. She came up with an ingenious idea. She gets into bed and pulls the covers up over her and straightens them while Dad throws them in her general direction. Looks pretty funny to me but it seems to get the job done with a lot less huffing and puffing. I love bedtime because I get to climb under the covers and curl up next to Mom while Sammy curls up next to Dad. It's really hard waiting while they do their nightly bedmaking mambo but I've learned the more patient I am, the quicker they get this job done so I can settle in for the night.

While my folks are figuring out the ins and outs of RV living, Sammy and I are having fun meeting new people and thoroughly sniffing out all the new places we stop. But who knew there was so much learn? Certainly not me.

The Trip South

There was a lot of preparation to leave for parts warmer and live in our traveling house for the winter. Since I wouldn't be home to protect our house, Dad updated the security system and arranged for several friends to keep an eye on the place. Mom packed our RV, and we said goodbye to friends, some old, some new.

Craig & Susie

Robin & Lynn

New friend Lindy from Lin-Jo Creations

Missionaries from our church Elder Johnson & Elder Thurn

Until several weeks ago Mom and Dad were farmers with about 400 chickens, 12 goats and 4 Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dogs. Our home was a bustle while the livestock was advertised and sold. One by one, and sometimes 50 or 100 chickens at a time, all the animals were sold to new farms. Remi, my favorite Pyrenees, went to a home that she chose. She fell in love with some of our friends and they decided to keep her. I miss her the most because she let me snuggle up with her and play with her tail. But I'm OK because I've still got Sammy to torment, ummmm, I mean, play with.

My new friends, the Grasso family.

We left for the winter on Sunday night, 3 goats and a Pyrenees in the bed of the truck and towing our 26' RV. Deliveries of the animals brought us to PA where we dropped off a goat for Mom's friend, then delivery of our last livestock guardian dog to VA where I met the Grasso family. Of course they thought I was cute, especially their daughter Sarah who kept playing with my ears. That feels so good when people scratch my ears.

Elizabeth from Black Mountain Kinders

From there we went to GA to deliver 2 Kinder bucks to my new friend Elizabeth. For those that don't know, a buck is a male goat, and boy, do they ever stink! Now a dog thinks most things smell interesting, some things more than others. But when a dog thinks something stinks you'd better listen up. These 2 were still fairly young so they didn't smell too bad, not nearly as bad as a full grown buck. Now the odor from those could singe your nose hairs!

Finally arrived at our destination in SC.

So now the only animals left are my brother Sammy and me. And everyone knows we're not really animals, well I'm not anyway. We're pampered house pets who think we're almost human.

We finally arrived at our destination in SC where we'll spend some time at Dad's daughter's house. Then from there, who knows? I'll keep you posted as our adventure continues.

--Cruz

Shopping

There's no doubt about it - from Black Friday when the stores are mobbed with shoppers looking for the best deals on holiday gifts, to Cyber Monday which repeats the buying frenzy without the mobs, to National Returns Day which is the day after Christmas when people return the gifts they didn't want for something else - the holidays are filled with expectations and exhaustion. My mom often says it's when people spend money they don't have on things other people don't want. Every time we stop at a store I look through the truck window to see people hurrying into the store. Then after a time they stroll out looking quite exhausted and frustrated. It doesn't look like very much fun. Maybe that'd have more fun throwing a ball for me. I'd gladly donate my time to that.

But my mom and dad are smart when it comes to buying me a Christmas present. They decided to give me a gift I can really appreciate. They're taking me someplace warmer for the winter.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love life no matter where I am. But I have to admit going wee in the cold of northern NH isn't something that I would ever include on my bucket list. In fact, it was so cold a few mornings ago I thought my wee would freeze before it hit the ground. Since I have very short hair I'm definitely not an outdoorsy kind of guy. And then there's this stuff called snow - pretty, but wet and cold. Plus it covers up all the smells I'm used to so I have to stick my nose into it to sniff out where I put that bone. Now whose idea is that?

So it was a unanimous decision to go to a more southern climate until that white stuff disappeared. To do this, we'd need someplace to live. We went to Camping World in Center Conway, NH to buy a traveling house. We chose a 26' RV with heated floors! Now we're talking!

The folks at Camping World were very nice. Everyone petted me, gave me treats and even let me run around the store on a leash. It was only my 2nd time on a leash but I did very well. I tried to be on my best behavior. Since I'm not completed potty trained yet I'm very proud that I didn't go wee on the floor. Not even once! Each time someone came by I got an ear scratching, even if I'd met that same person before. These were definitely my kind of people. And my brother Sammy and I sniffed out a mouse hole in Rick's office and let him know he'd better take care of that.

Me and my friends at Camping World in Center Conway, NH

We're picking up our traveling house today and soon will leave for parts warmer. I'll let Mom know what to take pictures of along our travels and will keep you informed of the great places we visit and interesting people we meet.

---Cruz

One Lucky Dog

Everyone has a story to tell. Some live fascinating lives, some traumatic, others peaceful and uneventful. Most are a combination of everything. And so begins my story.

I was born to a mom, just like all babies. There were 10 of us in the litter so I have 9 brothers and sisters. All went as one would reasonably expect for a large litter of puppies. We fought over who was going to get the nipple with the most milk, who was going to be top dog, and who was going to be the underdog. Everything was going as it should - until my mom got sick and couldn't feed us any longer.

As we were still quite dependent on her for our care we quickly became dehydrated and cold when we couldn't nurse her warm, sweet milk. That's when we met our guardian angel. A kind lady named Lauren, who lived in the town where we were, heard about our plight and stepped in. She talked to my mom's owner and he agreed to let her take us to a vet. I don't remember much of what happened then. All I know is that I quickly started to feel better. I was told she even paid the vet bills for us and our mom. Then a rescue organization brought us to a foster home where we were cared for. It felt really good to be warm and to have a full belly again.

While we spent the next few weeks there we heard a lot of talk about being adopted. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded like it might be a good thing. Meanwhile, while we waited till we were old enough, we played together, chased each other and wrestled, chewed on anything we could manage to get hold of, and when we had exhausted ourselves, collapsed in a heap to rest up for the next burst of energy.

Finally the weekend came for adoption. One by one we met our new families and left the security of our litter for the unknown. I have since heard that all my brothers and sisters live with families that love and care for them.

When my turn came I met this big man named Jim. He picked me up and I felt the warmth and tenderness of his body as he held me close and reassured me. He took me to his truck where I spent the next few hours being held and comforted. He had even brought a friend who could drive while he held me. I fell sound asleep in his arms as we traveled a long way to his home. When I got there I met his wife Sandy. I was really excited to meet my new mom and dad but missed the security and comfort of my litter mates. I was happy, sad, and frightened, all at the same time.

Remi

One thing that made this transition to my new home a bit easier was that there were 2 older dogs there - Sammy, an older Poodle/Dachshund, and Remi, a Great Pyrenees who is a retired livestock guardian dog. Sammy wasn't very welcoming, but Remi was a big ball of warm fluff who had the patience of a saint. She let me pounce on her, curl up next to her, and became sort of my surrogate mom. I found her tail an endless source of amusement and she was very patient when I played tug with it.

Sammy

When bedtime came I wondered where I would sleep. I just knew I would be all alone and cold. Then the most wonderful thing happened. My new mom scooped me up in her arms and took me to bed with her!  As I snuggled in to her warmth I knew that I would always be loved and safe. I've slept curled up next to her every night since.

And so begins the rest of my life. I go just about everywhere with my family so I get to ride in the truck a lot, see lots of places, and meet many new people. Everyone says how cute I am and wants to pet me. Some give me treats. I've heard whispers about dogs who have a rough time in life, who aren't cared for very well, or some who have people who hurt them. For me, I'd say I'm one lucky dog to have found a family who loves me, feeds me good food, and lets me sleep in their bed.

--Cruz