Trekker came into our lives a mere 23 months ago, but regardless of its length, his life was rife with stories!
Here is the very first picture taken of him on July 27, 2007. He was only 2 months old and already the same size of our 14-month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Cobi. Right after this first meeting Trekker turned around and peed all over that cement car stop while Cobi looked on and wondered why we'd needed to get a second dog.
Where Cobi is high-strung, Trekker was always very laid-back and relaxed. Cobi is nervous around strangers and Trekker can't get enough of them. That personality stayed with him throughout his life.
Trekker ate a lot and grew very, VERY quickly! We had to get him a bigger kennel after only 4 weeks. Poor guy was a little cramped in his old one.
When he reached his 10-month birthday, he was already 90 pounds and full of energy. We found that the easiest way to tire him out was a good, long day of hiking on the Appalachian Trail.
He was great for the first half of the day and would finally start to lay
down halfway through the afternoon. The odd 10 miles was his limit! When he would get tired, he would run ahead and lay down under a bush or on a patch of grass and wait for us to catch up. Then he
would wait for us to get out of sight before jumping up, barking, and racing to catch up again. He'd pass us, find a spot to rest and continue in this way for the rest of the day (sometimes 5 miles or more).
When we moved to Virginia, hiking was still on our minds and we soon found the Prince William Forest Park off Route 1 outside Quantico MCB. We tramped those trails beginning last Fall and continuing straight through the Winter and Spring. Trekker didn't care for the Summer heat and humidity, but could put in a full day when it was cooler. Whenever it was too warm (60 degrees or warmer), he would drink absolutely every drop of water he could find. Not such a great idea when the water is from a pool of standing water from a deep truck tire rut in the ground that might be 2 weeks old. "Don't DRINK things!"
Not one to miss a good nap, Trekker quickly found "his" spot in our apartment. It was exactly the same spot that I chose, but that didn't matter. He spent hours looking out the window, just rolling his eyes around to take in his world.
Cobi liked to sit with him because, well, then the world took him more seriously too!
The crazy part of where he slept, though, is that, in Dallas, Trekker wouldn't go anywhere near a
couch or blanket or bed. He never slept on anything soft (not even a blanket!). He roughs it for a couple of months out in the woods, though, and now he's gotta have his
pillow! Every time he hopped up on the couch he would pull the pillow off the back of the couch and put it on the armrest before laying down on it. The couch just wasn't soft enough for him!
Trekker was an adventurer, a napper, always up for a walk, a rawhide, meeting a new dog, and eager to haul my shoes from the closet into the kitchen when he got very excited (no matter where I was at the time). He was quirky and friendly. He was protective and loyal. And, from all the messages we've received in the last two weeks, he touched a lot of lives in his short time on earth. It was an honor to be Trekker's family and to share his life with so many others.
