A trek to bring home Trek

I was deeply saddened when I was notified that a long-time, very dear and close friend recently passed. The reason I was contacted so quickly… My friend had a dog bred by me. Not only was the dog bred by me, I was also listed as a “co-owner” of this dog with my friend.

After exhausting all possible options of potentially having this dog transferred from California (where my friend lived) to Colorado (where I live), I could see no other option than driving out to get this dog! It was to become the trek to retrieve “Trek”. Unfortunately, this was during the recent “arctic freeze”; I wanted nothing more than to hunker down with my furry and feathered critters to endure the storm. And, of course, there was the pandemic to worry about! Then, too, my girls were due to “come into season”; I didn’t want to miss my planned breedings. But because I couldn’t be sure Trek was “safe”, “getting the dog” took precedence over any other concerns.

I packed in a daze and the next morning, then hubby and I set off to bring Trek home. I am extremely grateful my son promised to take care of my animals and “hold down the fort”. He also agreed to monitor the girls for signs they were finally “in season”. To make things slightly less chaotic for my son, we took my two Havanese girls. I figured this would be a crash course in socializing and travel for them. Plus, as “pocket dogs”, well they really don’t take up much space.

We made it to Richfield, Utah on Friday. FYI: when using the adaptive cruise control, set at 5 miles above the speed limit (so 85 mph), when the sign says to decrease speed to 50 mph for the curve ahead, the adaptive cruise control does NOT adapt to the oncoming curves. Now I know this! On the trip home, in daylight, I got to see the area I drove through mostly at… 85 mph! I’m thankful it was pitchblack dark driving through those mountains!

Saturday morning had us saying “good-bye” to Richfield still continuing west. I really thought that once we made it through Vail Valley/Summit County, we would be past the snow? NOT TRUE! We drove through near white-out conditions for several miles until we were well into Nevada.

Heading to Las Vegas… We encountered some sort of “dust storm”? It felt like a tornedo with dust and debris all over the highway? The sky was black! We just kept driving…

Saturday night’s hotel stay was uneventful. We made plans to meet Sunday morning to pick up “Trek”.

After a brief visit, we were on the road again this time heading home. We made it as far as Cedar City, Utah before having to stop for the night. This was going to make it a long drive on Monday but we were all exhausted at this point… both physically and mentally. It was time to stop for the day.

Monday morning was rough! First, the toilet over-flowed in the hotel room. Gone was the 65 degree weather of Southern California; we were back into “winter”. We had significantly MORE luggage to repack in the car having brought in Trek’s crate from the car the night before to sleep in. And neither hubby nor I slept well. Not a good way to start a day of driving!

After Utah, now in Colorado, the western slope is a really pretty area. Through Glenwood Canyon and onto Vail. Finally through the Eisenhower Tunnel and back down the mountain with ears popping and our heads feeling like they were about to explode! About 40 minutes from “home” and we came to a complete stall on the highway due to an accident ahead. SO CLOSE and we were stopped! Until finally we were HOME!

Trek has never seen snow and he was pretty excited to meet my girls, now in season, even if only through the fence gate. On Tuesday, Trek had a “spa day” complete with ear cleaning and nail trim. He was a total rock star and seemed to enjoy all of his pampering.

Trek has so much to explore and he really isn’t sure WHAT those little dogs are? He now, however, knows to NOT mess with my barn kitty! One swat from kitty taught Trek some instant manners.

Life for Trek is going to be way different in Colorado with us than his life was in California. First, we have SNOW! Once the girls are done “being in season”, I think he is going to be excited having his very own “harem”? As for the girls, progesterone testing done midweek and we are right on schedule for the upcoming breedings. Deja is meeting her “boyfriend” this weekend and Vee will go in for another progesterone test tomorrow to see how far she has progressed? Although my son “thought” both came into season on the exact same day, more likely Deja was in season a day or two before Vee so… we won’t be having puppies on the exact same day. That is if BOTH girls get pregnant which is our hope. Cross your fingers!!

All in all, it was a trip I would do again… for one of my dogs! It really isn’t just about this particular dog though. It is about being part of the solution for the breed.