Florida Dog

 His Fluffiness, Trooper, has been a real trouper on our trip. But sometimes a dog just has to cut loose and feel his oats (or kibble).

1. Florida Dog loves his puppy bed, which Janice gave him, when he rides in the truck. Especially if he has his favorite toy, Blue.  Notice how clean Blue is in this picture. Obviously this is at the beginning of the trip.
   
   
   
2. Florida Dog loves his camping buddy, Tess.

   

   Trooper with Pam and Tess
   

   
   
3. Florida Dog got the Zoomies in the Holbrook, Arizona mud, wrapped the leash around himself and sat down.
4. Florida Dog endured having the dried mud, from the above episode, cut out from between his pads and out of his pants and tail. Washing it out didn't "cut" it.
   
5. Florida Dog also got the Zoomies the first time he walked in the snow.

   

   Photo taken about 30 seconds before Zoomies commenced.
   Nothing to cut out of his fur this time. Just needed the paws dried.
   

   
   
6.  Florida Dog says, "So many smells, so little time." (Why is it that on a brisk morning, when I want to go back into the warm camper, there are more smells than normal and it takes 3 times as long to walk him?)

   

   Sniffing something, as usual.
   

   
   
7. Florida Dog knows that when we arrive at a new campsite he must wait about 15 minutes while we set up before we get him out of the truck. 
8.  Florida Dog refused to get out of the warm truck one very cold set-up day. (I'm pulling, Dave is pushing, and he wouldn't budge.)
9. Florida Dog got out of the warm truck when I said, "Denta-stick?" He LOVES those things.
   
10. Florida Dog always has to be in front when we hike trails. He also likes blending in with the environment.

    

    If it weren't for Dave, you might not find Trooper in this pic.
    

    
    
    
11. Florida Dog kept coming back to check on me on the hike in Valley of Fire when I was dehydrated. No mom left behind.
12. Florida Dog loves his raised, ventilated outside bed he inherited (temporarily?) from Kristi's dog, Cody. (We like that it keeps him cleaner than laying on the ground.)
13. Florida Dog loved Grateful Dogs, the doggie day care in LA. He was happy to go in the mornings, and exhausted when he came home in the evenings.
    
14. Florida Dog still hates bathes, even though his new buds at Grateful Dogs performed the good deed.



Trooper spots deer.


15. Florida Dog has seen a lot of wildlife - deer, wild turkey, Canada Geese, the usual assortment of birds and squirrels - and has learned to ignore them. Mostly. 
16. Florida Dog lies in front of the fan with his floof waving in the breeze. "Do you like that, Troop?" The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
17. Florida Dog is very comfortable with new people now, even men. I was walking him at our campground in Yosemite and he pulled on the leash, headed for a man who was sitting at his picnic table. Trooper? Wanting to visit a man he had never met before?
    
18. Florida Dog sleeps with his nose covered by his tail when it's chilly. 

    

    Chilly mornings call for a nose tucked under the tail.
    

    
    
19. Florida Dog sprawls out on the camper floor when it's warm, taking up more than his share of space.
20. Florida dog's tail wags in circles when he sees me return to the camper after a visit to... um... somewhere. We call it a "Tailspin." 
21. Florida Dog loves getting "slickered." (No, it has nothing to do with alcohol. It's a special brush that gets the burrs, sand spurs, and hitchhikers out of his fur.)
22. Florida Dog loves being with his family.

    

    Florida Dog is one Happy Camper.