Dog Is My Copilot

In this case, by Dog is My Copilot, right now I mean Dog Was My Copilot. 🙁 This particular Fotos Friday may not be so fun. But I don’t mean for it to be sad either. After all, we must practice what we preach and Be More Dog.

wyatt ray dawg

In case you haven’t heard, it’s a lot quieter around here lately. This week we said goodbye to our current Tripawds spokesdog and three-legged co-pilot Wyatt Ray Dawg. Rene wrote a short memorial in Wyatt’s words here: Let Go. Let Dog. I’m sure we’ll have much more to say. For now, I’ll share a few photos I found from our 13+ years of RV Lifestyle Galleries.

Jim and Wyatt
Meeting Wyatt Ray, August 2009

From the day I first met Wyatt Ray, we had a love/hate relationship. Anyone who spent much time with our pack will understand.

Wyatt Ray Dawg

As much as I loved that dog, I hated hearing those piercing yaps in my ear as he alerted us to the dangers of every stop light, deer, or little white dog we passed.

wyatt and jim
Who’s the boss of who? June, 2018

As much as I wanted to strangle him sometimes, I never did. Rene often referred to us as Homer and Bart. Funny how I found this when searching for some applicable quote:

Back in high school, I wrote a novel about a character named Bart Simpson. I thought it was a very unusual name for a kid at the time. I had this idea of an angry father yelling ‘Bart,’ and Bart sounds kind of like bark – like a barking dog. —Matt Groening

wyatt and jim

Wyatt was an excellent spokesmodel for Ruffwear gear, and everything else we made him wear and pose for.

wyatt and rene

Jerry’s Acres might as well have been Wyatt’s. I know he probably felt that way.

I can also hear him still saying “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry”…

wyatt snow dance

Wyatt had big booties to fill, following in Jerry’s paw prints. But his paws grew bigger than Jerry’s ever did.

wyatt boondocking
June, 2014 – Miramonte, Colorado

Jerry may have been the reason we hit the road in the first place. But he only traveled with us for those first two years, almost. Wyatt has been our dog copilot for the past twelve.

graceland guard dog
Graceland, June 2015

He will forever be our Guard Dog.

slabber dawg

Jerry never made it to The Slabs. But Slab City wasn’t his kind of place. He felt more at home at Luckenbach.

luckenbach dog
May 2016

Wyatt followed Jerry’s paw steps across this country and back, a few times.

Vickers Ranch Jeep

He spent more time at Vickers Ranch, Jerry was only spent his last summer there.

wyatt runs
Samoa Beach – April, 2017

And he ran on Jerry’s beach. But he never knew the significance that meant to us.

wyatt eclipse

Wyatt was there with us for The Eclipse.

star dog
Wyatt Ray Star Dawg

And he had his own few minutes of fame in the RVing is for Everyone video we did for Camping World.

lake mead dawg
Lake Mead – October, 2018

So many photos. Never enough words. I miss you  dawg. See ya down the road…

road dawg

As Wyatt aged, we did all we could to keep him Loving Life on Three Legs.

wyatt at csu
Colorado State University – May 2019

He was a good boy. If only he knew how good he had it.

wyatt gif

18 thoughts on “Dog Is My Copilot”

  1. They have such a huge presence so the silence is truly deafening. And the energy becomes static until it can compose itself to settle back into a steady rhythm. Jerry’s story touched my core, I think because he paralleled Applesauce in so many ways, so coming off of that ending a few weeks ago to this is just heavy. But the lessons are ours to read, learn, understand, and live. So much is out of our control and so many lives are just too damn short, so yes, “be more dog.” And the pain keeps telling me I’m still human. Love and light sweet boy. Your paw prints have left a huge legacy.

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  2. That was beautiful. Bo has Wyatts bark… I laughed when i read that because I get that same cringe.
    My heart is with you guys. It’s amazing how quiet can be so deafening.
    Hugs,
    Jackie

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  3. Thank you for sharing. Renee’s posting brought tears and yours today has me looking to the side at the sticker you’d handed me–“Be More Dog“–that I keep posted by my computer. A firm reminder to cherish each moment of every day. My best to you both.

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