What An Old Van Can Teach You About Life
Chapter 2: How To Live In A Van With Two Dogs
Dogs are something I simply can’t live without. But when I look at other people in their vans, dogless, sometimes I wonder what that must be like. Getting out and going into restaurants and grocery stores whenever their heart desire without a second thought. Oh the things we once took for granted.
When we get out of the van we’ve got some work to do if we’re leaving the dogs behind:
Is the van too hot or too cold
Where’s the food and garbage
Is there ANYTHING else they can get into, that means gum, dirty pots and pans, everything.
Are we parked in a place that their incessant howling will bother the least amount of people
Do they have food and water
Do we have the keys? Because they’ve locked us out before.
Do we have everything we need? Because going back to the van would be like starting at square one with the barking and the howling.
Is just the hope that you’ve covered all of your basis.
Then, Virgil needs to go through the second checklist:
Did Christie lock her door
Did she bring her phone and wallet
Is just the hope that he covered all of his basis.
Alright! So we’ve covered the leaving dogs behind.
Now there is the actually living with them.
My dog gets car sick, so he hates driving, which makes whoever is in the passenger seat dread the coming windy mountain roads. You constantly need to push him back and deal the constant drool rolling down the poor dogs face.
Then there’s cuddly magee (Tlapa) who won’t stop licking any part of showing skin. If she’s under the table and you’ve got ankle showing, consider it licked. If you’ve got a hole in your pants, same thing. Constant. Licking. And cuddling. If you're sitting on the small bench in the back of the van, consider yourself sat on, and of course licked. Tlapa will be there before you know it on your lap asking for your undivided attention. And if you stop, you guessed it, she’ll lick you.
Getting out of the van is also a whole other story. You think you can just get up, throw some leashes on and leave the van? No. Not so simple. We need to get our boots on while there are two large missiles whizzing around your feet and licking your face. Then we put on the harnesses which is almost impossible. It’s like a game of hokey pokey, you put there right foot in and they take there right foot out and they shake it all about. They do the hokey pokey and they turn themselves around. Sadly, that’s what getting out of the van is all about… Finally, you get them out of the van, leashes on, boots on. You poor soul if you forget to put on your jacket.
Sleeping… Well, I’m not so sure if that’s what I’d call it. The dogs sleep like babies, Tlapa on the pillows at the top of the bed, and Eska on top of your feet and all the blankets at the bottom, and Virgil and I struggling for air in between.
Why do we have the dogs with us you say? Because we love them.
The places we’ve been, the many things we’ve seen, I owe to our dogs. Their constant need to be outside, sniffing nature and enjoying the outdoors is all the motivation we need to get our butts out the door and see the world outside of the van. It’s like having one of those friends who has endless energy, always looking to the next adventure. The difference is, you don’t have to carry your friends poop around all day.
Although the list is longer for why not to bring your dog, I vote differently. All of those seemingly inconvenient things are only stories. They make everyday one of problem solving and a one worth talking about. It’s about wanting to make them happy, and in return, they make you happy. It’s a win win win in my opinion. I say, bring your dog! You’ll have so many more adventures and stories headed your way.