Have Dog, Will Travel
A literary vision board for my post-pandemic life
This past weekend I took my first road trip in almost a year. As soon as I sat behind the wheel of the rental car I had a moment of panic. “Crap, I hope I remember how to drive!”
Spoiler alert, I did. And with each kilometre under my foot, I started to dream of what my life can be once the pandemic is over.
See, part of my mental resilience was in not dreaming about the things I would do. It was hard enough missing my usual past-times in the early days of lockdown. Making plans for an indeterminate future felt like pure torture.
But now I have a vaccine doing what it’s supposed to do and the world no longer feels like a cesspool of contagion.
I want to go places again. And I want to bring my dog.
For those who need an introduction, this is Pearl.
She’s a rescue dog from Saint Lucia, courtesy of an organization called Helpaws. She’s called a “potcake”, which is the slang term for street dogs in the Caribbean. It means she’s a mystery mix of all the breeds on the island. She’s just over a year old and she’s been my constant companion throughout the pandemic.
She leads a good life, but after this one road trip I realized she’s also led a sheltered life.
We have a handful of walking routes downtown with access to a few dog parks and she goes to day care. But that’s about it. We cover the same ground, literally, every day.
But on this weekend roadtrip to visit family, I was able to take her hiking for the first time ever. We visited Rock Glen Falls in Arkona, Ontario. A lovely trail through a shallow river bed leading to a waterfall. It’s all very Instagramy.
With Pearl on her leash we set off on the trail. On our city walks, a trek around the block can take an hour. She’s a sniffer and will make frequent stops to fully inspect a fire hydrant, sewer grate, blade of grass. Rainy days change all the smells, so those take the longest. But on the trail, she was surefooted and confident.
I watched with delight as this timid and shy little pup bounced gracefully along the rocks and trudged confidently through the water.
The only hiccup was a wooden bridge. See, I have yet to socialize my dog to walk in a stairwell, so any stair situation that’s boarded in just freaks her right out. I carried her over one bridge and then part-way across another. But a few sniffs and she had it figured out and continued to lead her pack through the trail.
Her weekend of firsts continued with her first patio, first sunflower field and of course, first pup-achino at Starbucks.
It’s all lovingly documented on both our IG’s (@tmcewen77 and @potcakepearl) but after this first taste of adventure for me and my dog, it doesn’t seem like enough.
I want more, for me and the dog.
So now I have a crazy idea. I want to rent an RV next spring and drive across Canada with the dog. I’ve always dreamed of doing this but never felt like I had the time or resources. As for driving an RB? Yeah, that’s going to be a first. But I’ve learned the wildest ideas often lead to the best content.
This means I have less than a year to research, plan and do some dry runs. Maybe a weekender to Ottawa or Prince Edward County?
Tips, suggestions and recommendations are welcome — especially as I search for dog-friendly places across the country.
For now, it feels good to dream. And who knows, maybe by the end of that adventure we’ll learn how to take a photo looking in the same direction.
