My First Camping Trip

A blog post by Josiah, the camping Yorkie puppy

It was a crazy day. My vet came to visit—way too much poking but lots of yummy treats. Meanwhile, Miss Janet had piled nearly everything we own on the living room floor. What was up?

When the vet left, Miss Janet took all our stuff to the car, put me in my backpack carrier, and off we went. To where? I’d never been in the car for such a long time. The road seemed to move back and forth like a giant worm. Would we be driving forever?

Finally, the car stopped. The land around us was very tall, but pretty. Lots of grass and trees everywhere. I smelled horses nearby. I don’t know where we were, but it seemed like a nice place.

One of my aunts was there, and she picked me up and cuddled me. I love being spoiled by my aunts. Another one of my aunts drove up. Next thing I knew, Miss Janet was stuffing me back in my carrier, and we were driving along another giant worm-road. This one was worse. It had a lot of bumps.

We got to a little house made out of trees. My aunts and Miss Janet carried all our stuff into the tiny house. Then we drove again. I was starting to think humans are really strange.

Outdoor Playpen

We finally stopped at a little house on wheels, and I was freed from my carrier. There was a huge playpen in the yard. How fun! Miss Janet put me in the playpen, and I explored every inch. Trees were all around us, and I could see a creek next to us.

Miss Janet started picking up all the acorns outside the playpen. She looked like a rodent-squirrel! I’m not allowed to eat acorns because they’re not safe for dogs. So she didn’t want me to find them. It was funny watching her scurry around, gathering all the acorns. If she were a real rodent-squirrel, I would have chased her.

I got to eat my dinner and drink my water in the outdoor playpen. My aunts and Miss Janet fixed their dinner, and they ate outside too. It’s fun to eat outside!

My aunt started a mini bonfire—like the one at Beauregard’s farm, but a lot smaller. It was toasty warm. Then my aunt picked me up from the playpen and cuddled me inside a blanket.

Overnight House

When it was bedtime, Miss Janet put me in my carrier, and we drove off. I settled in the carrier, ready for a long drive home. Instead, we went on that bumpy worm-road to the little house we saw earlier.

Miss Janet brought me inside. I was surprised to see my sleeping crate set up next to a bed. How exciting. We were going to stay overnight. Miss Janet said we were on a camping trip and would see my aunts again the next day.

My New Friend

In the morning, Miss Janet let me run free indoors and explore the little house. The floors were made of trees. She gave me my morning dinner and water.

Then she put me in my carrier and drove to the little house on wheels. Miss Janet said we would spend all day there and stay overnight again. How fun!

The night before, I had seen a short dog at the house on wheels. The dog barked at me and didn’t seem to like me. I barked back. My aunts tried to introduce us, but it didn’t go well. I had no idea who the dog was or why it was there.

The next morning, the short dog was still there. Miss Janet called the dog Lily and said it belongs to one of my aunts. They hoped Lily and I would become friends. That would be great. I like having friends. But was it possible?

My aunts tried different ways to introduce me to Lily. It all ended up the same way, with Lily barking at me, and my barking back. One time Lily bit my nose. I squealed and kicked. (Is that why Miss Janet doesn’t like when I bite her?)

The humans decided we should all go on a long walk together. That’s a way for dogs to get to know each other. We walked and walked forever. I’ve never walked so far in my life.

I walked on one side of the camp road and Lily on the other. Sometimes Lily would come over to smell me. Not exactly friends, but we weren’t fighting.

Our walk took us everywhere, down to a creek, into the grass, over some rocks, around the trees, through a little building where we got some water, and all over the camp road. I was so tired. The world was spinning around me. I wasn’t sure I could go another step.

That’s when one of my aunts said I should be given a chance to smell Lily, instead of Lily always smelling me. They brought us next to each other and held us carefully on our leashes. I leaned in to smell.

Oh … Wow … Everything seemed to move very slowly. A million tiny bonfires exploded all around me. They sparkled in my eyes and lit up the sky. I had never smelled a dog like that before. That’s when I realized … I don’t know how, but somehow I knew …

Lily is a girl.

I couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with her. I couldn’t let her out of my sight. My legs turned to mush, and I kept falling over. But I had to stay with her. She was so beautiful—the most amazing creature I’d ever seen. Now I really hoped she wanted to be my friend.

Bark Park

The humans insisted we rest for a while. Finally, they took us on an outing together. The place was called the Bark Park. It was a big grassy field with a fence all around it. We got to run free!

Lily and I ran in circles, knocked each other over, then ran some more. There was a big bridge in the middle of the Bark Park. Lily ran over it, and I ran right behind her.

Before you think I run slowly, let me explain that Lily is at least twice my size. She ran faster than I could. But I ran faster than I’d ever run before. My feet just kept moving and moving, and somehow the rest of me kept up.

We took a water break then ran some more. I started to slow down and couldn’t quite keep up. I was panting. My aunt scooped me up and told Lily I was done for the day. We would get a chance to run in the Bark Park again the next day.

Miss Janet and Lily’s mom said they wanted to find a time that we can play together again. I hope we can do that soon. I’ve grown two more ounces since then, so maybe I can run even faster and for longer.

When we got home from our camping trip, I slept all day and all night. I dreamed about running with Lily through the Bark Park. I can’t wait to play with her again.

I’ve got really good friends now: beautiful Lily, gentle Beauregard, all my fun aunts, and of course Miss Janet. It’s fun to have so many awesome friends, and it’s fun to be a Yorkie puppy. I can’t wait for my next adventure.

Slurps and squiggles,

Josiah