Life is Ruff! The dogs of the van life

Even though I already have two of the BEST dogs in the world...I could take on one, two or twelve more! haha

My Chili Moon is a Deer Chihuahua with the sweetest temperament you'll ever see in a Chi. She loves to sit with you and feel the warmth of your love...and your lap. If you're ever in our camp, she'll be greeting you with a wagging tail and sandy paw prints on your pants...don't say I didn't warn ya!

My Savannah Butterscotch is a Doxle; Dachshund/Beagle mix and thee most beautiful dog I've ever had. She is super smart, a big weirdo and loves the boys! The love of her life is Jamie, she melts like butter when she's with him. 

In this life, we are always surrounded by dogs, most are just awesome and amazing and then, of course there are a couple that I could never be around again and be just fine...but let's get back to those other ones!

We always joke around about "stealing" our friends' dogs! 

"If you can't find your dog and our rig is gone...we probably have them." 

Of course this would never happen but it's still fun to joke around and to let our friends know their furry lil' animal spirits are safe with us.

It's also fun to see what kind of dog we like and could have in our rig without the "investment"...and we can always give them back! 

This year it's a toss-up between a few and this post is about them. Anyone who knows me, knows I love my girls like my own children, well... because they are, so I'm always posting pics of them and talking about them. This post is about the dogs that run the van-life, plus, it's always fun to look at pictures of cute dogs!

Enjoy looking at and reading about some of the coolest dogs we have around camp!

Our first beautiful girl is Miss Rain Barrels, a 1/2 Australian Cattle Dog/ 1/2 Border Collie mix. The first time I met her was in 2012 and I fell instantly in love, she reminded me sooo much of my beloved Roxy Love, that I lost unexpectedly a couple of years prior.

We try to camp with Rain and her family a couple of times a year but you know how it goes out here. Rain is probably one of the smartest dogs I've ever met and also one of the most emphatic when it comes to sticks, you could throw a stick for her all day and she would chase it...all...day...long!!

  She watches over my girls, as if she is their mother...another thing I love about her.
She loves long walks and is a much better hiker and climber than I am!

She definitely lives her life to the fullest!

Next up, we have Rain's 'brodder' Snowden.

Handsome. Smart. Cuddly. Playful.

And the perfect size to sleep right in my arms every night...haha

His color and markings are amazing, he is an Australian Cattle Dog.

Every time Jamie gears up for a ride, it's like he knows he can get rough and for Snowden, it's Go Time...they will play rough for a few minutes, he gets so into it. He loves to chase balls, sticks, frisbees and he can do these small little flips, it's the cutest thing.

Snowden is much harder to get pictures of because he's always on the move, although I manage to snap a couple here and there. He and Rain have the greatest lives, they get to live freely and are very loved.

The next dog we're going to kidnap...I mean love on 😉

is Cody, Bob Wells dog.

I don't have many pictures of Cody because he, too is always on the move.

I believe Cody is an Australian Shepherd and pint size! 

He is one of the sweetest, lovable dogs in the community.

When we camp with Bob, Cody makes a point to come over and say, Hello, every morning. We hug and have a small cuddle session and sometimes, if I'm cooking, he'll get a piece of chicken or sausage. Some mornings I wake up and he's laying on our mat waiting for us and the girls to get up...he's a lover! He is always keeping us company.

Cody and Snowden are new besties and love to play!

These two babies are the newest, sweetest and probably oldest of the group. They belong to my darling friend, Debra. You can read her blog here:

http://www.debradickinson.com/ 

Miss Nonni, a ten year old Rhodesian Ridgeback. She loves her momma and is a really well-mannered dog. Food can be a little bit of a tease for her but she's just 'so hungry'...haha

and Bentley, the softest, sweetest, cutest, 13 year old Wheatable~ a soft-coated Wheaten Terrier mix!

He doesn't hear or see too good but he LOVES to swim, be with his momma and lay around being cute! I snuggle with him every single chance I get. Debra knows I would take him in a heartbeat if she needed me to.

The 3 Amigos. Nonni, Bentley & Bear

I'm sure I'm missing some amazing dogs, but these are the dogs that have stolen my heart over the past 3 1/2 years.

The last one, that I have for sure not forgotten, is our dear Bear. Bear left us way too early but was able to live an amazing last part of his life out here on the road; meeting new fluff-friends, taking long walks with his daddy, Roger every morning and getting chicken surprises in the mornings from me. Bear was so soft and fluffy, it was hard not to hug and hold him for as long as possible when you saw him. His heart was pure gold and he loved everyone that came into his camp. Bear you are very missed but not forgotten. I hope my Roxy girl is showing you the ropes and you're getting to play to your hearts content. 

We love you.

These dogs live the best life possible. They are never stuck in a house, crate or small space for hours upon hours of the day. They get to spend all day with the people that love them most as well as other fur-babies. They get all kinds of treats, cookies, biscuits, what have you, from all of our friends, even the ones without dogs. I couldn't imagine any better life for my girls than the ones they're living right now.

We hope to meet you and your dogs some day.

I'd love to see pics of your fur-babies in the comments.

Maybe I'll fall in love with your dog next!

PEACE

(**Dang it...as soon as I posted this I remembered many others...guess there's going to have to be another post!
Miss Cheri and Tony, you're the first ones!
We need to camp together more often! Love you**)