Back to Pomona - or is that 'Buck to Pomona'?

Pomona KOA - January 30-February 1, 2009

Well, this was the first trip of this year, the last couple of months being taken up by the holidays. Of course, if the reader has been following this blog, you will realize that our December blog had to do with an addition to our family - a purebred Black Labrador Retriever named Buck.

Sandy and I have been planning to take Buck camping with us, maybe not all the time, but at least on those occasions when we are able to do so. We decided that if Buck was going to go camping with us, we might as well get him accustomed to the RV lifestyle while he is still a puppy. So, we figured we ought to go someplace fairly close so as not to expose him to hours and hours of driving (he's still getting used to riding in the truck). Where better to head off to than Pomona Fairplex KOA, the same place we took Boldlygo on her maiden voyage?

The Pomona Fairplex KOA is directly across from the fairgrounds on Fairplex drive. This is only the second time that we have been there, but we have found the grounds to be very clean and the staff very helpful and friendly. While making reservations, the reservation clerk (her name was Nancy I believe) made us promise that we would bring Buck by for a visit while we were there. She told us that, at one time, she had a black lab and wanted to play with our little Buck for a while. Anyhow, off to Pomona we went, me in the driver's seat, Sandy riding shotgun and Buck cowering in the back seat.

I've got to say that, although he didn't get a chance to do much running around (important for a lab pup), he still was a pretty good boy. Judging from the pictures below, I would say he's probably ready to go again!!

Here's a picture of Buck and Sandy sitting alongside of Boldlygo. No, Buck isn't getting ready to take a dump. I just happened to snap the picture at the same time he was (finally) sitting down:

We took Buck's bed outside so that he would (hopefully) lay down while we sat around talking and reading. It didn't work all that well since he was so full of unburned energy. Regardless, it gave me a place to point at and yell "lay down, sit, rollover, play dead"!! Here's a pic of me sitting in my chair with Buck pretty much ignoring my stern commands:
Buck is up to about 40 pounds now. He's not huge, but he's not tiny either. Here's a pic of him inside of Boldlygo, laying in front of the bathroom door. It doesn't pay to have an emergency when he's laying there:

Speaking of his growing size, Sandy decided to take a picture of Buck's huge paws. It gives you an idea of how big he may eventually be. For those of you with a doggie foot fetish, here's a closeup pic of his dirty soles (yuck):Most of the time while we are driving, Buck prefers to lay in the back seat floorboard. On the way home, he finally decided to sit on the seat and look out the window. Here's a shot Sandy snapped while he was so doing:All in all, it was a successful weekend of camping with Buck. There were some challenges, no doubt. For instance, I would have liked to sleep in past 5:30. However, when you have a pup, you learn to get up early to take him out to pee. Otherwise, he may just find a convenient place to do his business inside - like right where you step first thing in the morning. Some other challenges that the RVer faces when camping with a dog (especially with a pup) is that some dogs don't like to pee or poop while on a leash. This was not a problem with Buck. He acted the same as always, that is, feed him a pound of food and within an hour he'll evacuate 3 pounds of poop. Not sure how that works . . . but trust me on this. Another challenge is getting enough of his energy sapped for him to be ready to go to bed at a decent hour. This is more difficult than it may seem, since he had to be on a leash all the time we were outside. Of course, one of the biggest challenges is the fact that he is a dog and therefore lays on the floor. Where on the floor? Well now, that depends. Do you need to use the bathroom? He'll be laying in front of the door. Do you need to cook dinner? He's laying in front of the stove. Do you need to do dishes? He's laying in front of the sink. Do you need to go outside for something? Well . . . you get the idea. Our Boldlygo is a pretty small travel trailer. Just the right size for Sandy and I as long as only one of us is walking around at any given time. With Buck along, all bets are off. We may just go looking for a larger unit in the near future . . . not because of Buck, but because Boldygo DOESN'T HAVE AN OVEN!!!

Be well everyone and God bless.