
OUR FURRY FRIENDS:
Dublin (RIP January, 2023)
Our 11 year-old Golden Retriever probably lived just about the best dog life ever. She was a constant companion to our boys when they were teenagers, and then got to enjoy five years of farm life after we became empty nesters and moved to Vancouver Island. She hiked more miles than you could count, and even got to square off with the occasional bear over the years.
She adapted easily to life as a full-time RV dog, and because of her protective instincts it was always reassuring to have her with us. She was pretty much fearless, and became even more so in her old age. She was eventually almost deaf and almost blind, was losing her teeth, smelled like hell, had lumps and warts all over her body, and was generally grumpy most of the time. But she was still the first one to spring to attention when there was the possibility of a walk or a swim.
We were so happy to have her with us on our RV journey, and it was incredibly sad to say goodbye to her in January, 2023. But it was time, and despite the fact that life won't be the same without her we can look book fondly at years and years of incredible companionship.
Rest in peace, Dublin. There's a first time for everything!


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Hattie
When we figured Dublin was getting close to the end of the road we felt the time was right to add a puppy to the family. Then Dublin decided not to pack it in and we had almost five years with the pair of them! We've had two big dogs for a lot longer than we were expecting!
When we lived in Shirley, our next door neighbours had a super-friendly Saint Bernard who was impregnated by another neighbour's super-friendly Chocolate Lab. We loved both of those dogs, so there was no way we could pass up the opportunity to have one of their puppies. That puppy turned out to be the sweetest, friendliest, most lovable dog we've ever owned: Hatteras (aka 'Hattie').
She is 100+ pounds of muscle and is strong as an ox... and is pretty scary looking to a lot of people when they see her for the first time. But she is absolutely amazing around other dogs, cats, people - and especially children.
We can't imagine what our lives would be like without her with us.
Wallace
When we moved to our acreage on Vancouver Island in 2016 we felt that every farm needs a barn cat. Instead, we ended up with Wally! He was the last cat left at the 'adoption day' event at the local pet store and if you had seen him you'd know why. He was far from majestic. But he had a great personality that couldn't be ignored.
He had been diagnosed as a kitten with cerebellar hypoplasia - which means that his brain never fully developed. As a result, he has no real 'cat skills'. He wobbles when he walks, has poor balance, jumps into things all the time, and is generally completely derpy.
But he has the most friendly disposition, and acts more like a dog than a cat. And since we started our journey we seem to have had a steady stream of people wanting to meet him. We often let the dogs chill outdoors tethered to the rig, and whenever Wally is out there with them he is the center of attention for anyone who notices him.
He loves RV life with one exception: he hates moving day! Whenever he hears the slides retracting he stumbles up on to our bed or crawls under a chair and doesn't move until we're all set up at the next destination.

