Many have asked how Gus is doing. We think he’s doing great. Early in the trip, he ended up with a few stitches but it really was pretty minor. He’s a good old dog that loves to hunt, thinks he’s still young (don’t we all) and really loves being with us. He’s as loyal as the day is long and we are so happy to have him with us. We’ve learned that he doesn’t like anyone but us reaching into his Jeep to pet him. We take comfort in the security system he provides.
With that being said, the little shit will usually not sleep past 6:30 most days but is getting better. He will sleep for hours anywhere else, but once in the camper, he does about 6ish hours and then the whining starts. I figure it’s because we are out of sight and he can’t hear us. When we are hanging out by the fire or traveling in the truck or Jeep, we are always talking and reaching back to pet him and he will sleep for hours upon hours with no problem.
On our long days of traveling, we’ve noticed his various sleeping positions and started documenting them. He also chooses to only sleep on the corner of his bed at times and we think he’s weirdly adorable. We chuckle at his circles before he settles, his restless legs during a doggy dream and his weird eyeballs when he’s so tired and they roll back in his head.
He’s full of scars and we love him that way. He’s lived a pretty charmed life on our 15 acres chasing critters and now gets to travel the continent with us. He makes us smile and laugh and grit our teeth with frustration when he won’t eat until we put in some bits. “Bits” started when he wasn’t eating much the first week or so after we left. Then he got the stitches and we felt really bad for him. So we started giving him the leftover eggs and bacon at breakfast and called them bits. Since then he expects bits. So being he’s an old dog and he deserves to be spoiled, we gave in. Unfortunately his old digestive system didn’t handle bits too well. So we’ve tried to find a balance and really watch what kind of bits he gets.
We’ve taken him on a few hikes and he loves to be out exploring. We have to keep him on leash most of the time because he’s a terrible listener…I’m not convinced he can’t hear as he wakes up if I try to take a picture of him when he’s sleeping. In any case, he tends to put his nose to the ground and just go. He does pretty well with a couple mile hikes but that is about his limit.
Sometimes we wonder if he’s got some internal stuff going on. He seems to struggle a little bit with swallowing, not much, but enough that we notice and his breathing has gotten to sound more like Craig snoring at night. He got a clean bill of health from our vet before we left. Besides having severe arthritis in his spine he’s doing pretty well. But he is 15 and a half and we know things can change pretty quickly. So for now we are going to keep spoiling our little Gus Gus, enjoy having him right with us as we make this journey, and hope to bring him home to his bed in front of the fire place in West Olive next year.
