One woman. Four surly and fantastic trick dogs. Leaving indentured servitude in the paradise of the Rain Coast for the wild hills of Alberta. What could cause her to leave her home and return to a place she swore she would never return to? Can she survive life in a 20 foot trailer for the winter? Will she make it to the wild, wild west that Alberta continues to be? Come on in, join us on this R-Podyssey adventure…
I have trained dogs on the West Coast of British Columbia for the past 25 great years. There is nothing in the world I would have rather done for those years. I had acreage with a house I worked on and made into a house, learning all about good carpentry, plumbing, and developing patience for extensive electrical work along the way. I was a firefighter and first responder on our local fire department for nearly 7 years. I have a performing trick dog team, and until this last summer, we performed at events on Vancouver Island. I played and I worked and I surrounded myself with the best of the best people. There was nothing not to love about my life.
I bought myself a little travel trailer, a Forest River R-Pod 180. My travel trailer is 20 feet long. It’s tiny but perfectly well appointed for a single woman and her 4 canine compadres. Full bathroom, full kitchen, a bed a table, a couch, heat, air-conditioning, an amazing sound system, storage and a very nice awning. I quickly christened my Pod “The ArfPod”.
For the first year I had it, the little Rpod rarely left my farm. Mostly because steeply rising costs of everything in BC, not the least of which is fuel, made it impossible to take time off work to go anywhere, let alone take a camping or road trip. So I made do, as we do in BC. I went “glamping” on my own beautiful property with my 4 dogs, just to see if I could do it and retain a modicum of sanity. “Why leave this beautiful place anyway?”, I thought.
Well, then the reason to leave such a beautiful place landed in the middle of Alberta. His name is George, and he is my grandson and George is the apple of my eye. Like his father before him, George makes my heart absolutely sing. So that was it.
I packed up, sold the farm, and now I am headed back to a province I swore I would never return to. Not directly though. It’s winter time. Winter in Alberta is something I would like to have the opportunity to adjust to slowly, as I watch the maples and poplar trees change their colours and shed their leaves. I really don’t want to be suddenly plunged into winters hard frozen white freshness. So what to do? I really was stymied.
But right then, a wonderful opportunity plunked itself down in front of me, made possible by an equally wonderful woman who was a client, and then friend. Through my work I meet the most amazing people, and one is my friend, a senior Dr. who invited my to camp on her property on the ocean. I arrived yesterday and this is the beginning of truly the greatest journey of my life.
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have been a dog trainer, artist, performer and firefighter for most of my life. I strongly believe in weighing odds, and taking adventures, being kind to animals and people, and having faith in one's own abilities. I believe Canadians are the luckiest people on earth, in spite of some baffling governments we have had and aside from the winters, which actually aren't so bad if we learn to dress for and embrace the weather. I still love catching air on my mountain bike. And I still hate hitting the ground hard. I love dogs. No I mean, I really love them. I have trained dogs professionally since 1995, and have devoted my life to making their lives better and creating pathways to understanding between humans and dogs. I also love art. And most people, if they love dogs.
Rpodyssey