Travels with Charlies

John Steinbeck didn’t become famous as a travel writer, but he did write Travels with Charley, a very fine book about touring the country in a very small, homemade camper, accompanied by Charley, his poodle buddy.  His experience traveling with a dog was very positive.  The Steeles, on the other hand, report a less happy outcome: they had to find a home for their dog because it just didn’t like the vagabond lifestyle.

But they both had just one dog.  We have two.  And I have to say that neither of our mutts is as… refined, shall we say… as Steinbeck’s or even the Steeles’.  Which made me wonder what travels with our Charlies would be like.

First let me introduce them:

• Muchacho (“Cha-Cha” to his friends) is a German Shepherd mix from Puerto Rico.  He has never learned English.  Or perhaps he has just never learned to obey commands in English.  He may very well ignore command in Spanish, too.  I have never tried that.  He is our “gentleman”, as his vet puts it.  At least he is gentlemanly now, at age 11.  In his younger years he was more feisty.  He is not an aggressive dog, but once broke a leash to start a fight with another dog.  That is behavior we never saw before that time and never saw it since.  Perhaps the passing dog insulted him in Spanish.
• Grace is a terrier mix from Virginia.  Or, more appropriately, a “holy terror” mix.  Never has a dog been so poorly named.  There is nothing quiet, gentle or graceful about her.  “Tasmanian Devil” is the name that fits.  She is the alpha dog and has been from the day she was introduced to Cha-Cha.

Grace (on top, of course) and Cha-Cha

They were kennel-mates but had not met until that fateful day when we decided to adopt both.  The kennel master suggested that we introduce them, to see if there was any personality clash.  So we put Grace, who was just 3 months old and about 3 pounds of non-stop energy, in with Cha-Cha, who was 6 months old and about 25 very somber pounds.  We thought that Grace might be intimidated by the much larger dog, so we kept close watch, making sure that Grace would not be freaked and that Cha-Cha would not be too aggressive.

Well, we were worried about the wrong dog.  The moment we put Grace down she charged at Cha-Cha, nipping at his legs and generally establishing the fact that she was in charge here.  Cha-Cha retreated to the corner and looked imploringly at us to save him from the little monster.

But there is no saving Cha-Cha from Grace – she is truly irrepressible. More than a decade later the dynamic hasn’t changed much.  He still looks at us imploringly.  She still pushes him around.  But they love each other and are terrific companions – to each other and to us.

The Big Red Beast is a “crew cab” truck, meaning that it has a full rear seat.  The seats actually fold down, creating a flat surface for cargo.  Or dogs.  We plan to travel with the dogs in the rear seat, on that flat surface.  They both travel well, if you don’t count Grace barking at every passing 18-wheeler.  Hopefully she will tire of that after the novelty wears off. And before both Jett and I succumb to fatal migraines.

I am more worried about their campground behavior.  We get the impression that many campgrounds – even so-called “pet friendly” ones – would prefer that pets did not exist.  Some charge extra, though it is hard to see why a dog would increase a campground’s expenses.  Insurance, possibly, but what else? Water?

Staying at campgrounds means walking the dogs.  That will be my job.  But both dogs have very little experience with relieving themselves while on a leash and I think it is all too possible that they will feel more comfortable relieving themselves in the RV rather than in some unfamiliar grassy spot by the highway. Cleaning the RV messes will be my job too.

And which do I walk first?  Our house has a fenced-in yard, so we have always just let them out.  Taking one for a walk first means that one dog will be second. What is the socially correct way to handle this?  Do I always take Grace first because she is alpha? Or take turns because that is fair?  Will the one left behind raise a Baskervilles howl, causing a disturbance and getting us booted from the campground?

Most campgrounds prohibit leaving dogs alone because some do raise Baskerville howls.  Now, we love our dogs but we do leave them alone while we work.  While I can’t swear that they don’t howl all day long, I really don’t know how they behave when we are not there.  We have often thought about leaving a webcam active, to get a view into their lives during the day, but I think we are a little afraid to find out.  They probably just sleep all day, but maybe that is just a ruse.  Maybe they throw a keg party for the neighbor cats.

That “don’t leave the dogs alone” policy will crimp our style is several ways.  For example, it is going to be hard to see San Francisco with dogs in tow.  Maybe we will be able to find a dogsitter at the campground?  We would be happy to return the favor.

Once we get to our winter home, wherever that may be, we will be looking for jobs.  Again, how do we work without leaving the dogs alone?  Will I need to take a night watchman job just so I can hang out with the dogs while Jett works?  It will be a problem.

I know what you are thinking: why take them at all?  Why not find a home for them, then travel carefree? It is a good question, but moot because we couldn’t live without them any more than they could live without us.  But the fact is that they are both older than we are, in dog years.  Grace will probably last forever as only the good die young.  But Cha-Cha is not in great health.  I think there is a real possibility that he will not live to see San Diego.  Which would be a shame.

I hear that Spanish is spoken there.