Oregon Hikers

After long fight with cancer, my best hiking buddy of 8 years, Pepper went down in the last 2 months, and we had to put her to sleep this past Sunday. Things looked good in March after her last (5th?) surgery and I thought we're done for good, but saw a new sign of trouble just 3 months later, and biopsy confirmed we ran out of options. We spent last months hiking and trying new food, and all the other things she liked. Pepper was 1 month short of her 11th birthday (we adopted her in Moab, Utah and no one knew her age - we always went with lower estimate).

She will be remembered and missed.

Pepper on her last hike on September 10th

So sorry to hear about Pepper. I will certainly miss seeing her in your trip reports.

Marilyn

Sorry to hear about Pepper. I had to put my dog down about 2 months ago. He was about 14 1/2 and LOVED hiking. He was a good hiking companion, but didn't like people outside the family unfortunately. I did my first solo hike (no dog, no friends) the day before we had to put him down - I knew he wasn't up to the trip I had planned. Had I known the end was that close, I probably would have scheduled a shorter hike.

This was him last year on the Harris Ranch Trail:

Rob, sorry to hear about your dog. It's very hard decision to make; seems he could enjoy life and hiking almost until last days.

Rob and romann,

I'm sorry, I remember when I lost my hiking buddies. Oddly, sometimes I feel they are still with me. I now have my Ellie who is a wonderful buddy who is still learning to be the hikers that they were.

It's a hard decision.

While I loved hiking with my dog, I didn't think I'd miss him so much since he had kind of a "prickly" personality. I couldn't hike with others with him. But now that he is gone, I really do miss him - both the hiking part and also just having him around the house day to day. It is weird what you get used to.

On a different note, it has now been over 2 months since we had to put him down, and are starting to think about getting another dog - I've been looking at the county shelters and at the humane society websites for adoptable dogs, but nothing has really jumped out at me. I'd kind of like to get a puppy, but have had a hard time finding many non purebred (mutt) listings for puppies. I am really not interested in a purebred dog - I'd prefer a mutt. Probably a mid-sized dog.

Any suggestions? I've only done this twice in my life, so don't have a ton of experience....

RobFromRedland wrote:While I loved hiking with my dog, I didn't think I'd miss him so much since he had kind of a "prickly" personality. I couldn't hike with others with him. But now that he is gone, I really do miss him - both the hiking part and also just having him around the house day to day. It is weird what you get used to.

Ain't that the truth. Goes with people too.

RobFromRedland wrote: Any suggestions? I've only done this twice in my life, so don't have a ton of experience....

Pups are a lot of work and you can't start hiking with them right away but you can really have an impact on their behavior. My last dogs have been rescues and they have their rewards too, but can be unpredictable, I had no regrets, they were the best. Thanks for not supporting puppy mill breeders.

I believe that sometimes it can't be planned, open your heart and mind and the dog will find you. It could be today or next year. Sounds strange I know.

This is Kira, she is a super awesome hiker but nervous around other dogs. Bonus points if you recognize the setting....most of us have been there, some many times.

I love that shot, it looks like she chose to take another route besides the log crossing.

So this topic came up again today, so I thought I'd post a happier item than my last post. We put down our last dog last September. I missed having a dog so much, so after much looking, we adopted another rescue puppy in December. When we texted our daughter his photo, she named him almost instantly - Thor - it kind of stuck. He took his first hike in March, at McIver, on a rainy day, but he seemed to like it. Since then, he has gone on several more, and loves hiking (and is fascinated by running water and snow). He has learned a lot in a short time, but he still has a lot to learn. Thankfully, he has also gotten over his carsickness that he had as a small puppy.

Here is a rather poor picture of him (but the best I could find on short notice) a couple weeks ago up on top of Fish Creek Mountain - he was about 9 months old at the time: He is well on his way to becoming a great hiking dog!