Sure, it might have been easier to go on vacation without my dogs, but it would have been a whole lot less fun!
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pet friendly travel
The Other Don Quixote
A little over four hundred years after Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, I pulled into a small farm outside of Austin, Texas looking for a new story. At the time, I was six months, thousands of miles, and tens of thousands of words into a narrative which felt old and plagiarized.
A man, a dog, an adventure. Travels with Charley. A Boy and His Dog. Where the Red Fern Grows. Lassie. Take your pick. This same story has been told countless times. As I toured with Eko, writing about our time on the road, I worried my journey was a tepid imitation of a familiar tale.
Just A Dog
For the past five years, five days a week, I’ve written about dogs. About the love, loss, joys and frustrations we experience with our pups.
To commandeer the famous Lou Holtz phrase, I believe that for those who know dogs, no explanation is necessary. And for those who don’t know dogs, no explanation will suffice.
Chicago’s Best Dog Park, Just for Us
We love having Montrose Dog beach so close to home, but when we’re looking for even more room to romp we make the trip to Prairie Wolf Dog Preserve. The massive park just outside the city offers acres and acres of trails perfect for an energetic pup.
Since Penny is officially back in action from surgery, a visit to Prairie Wolf seemed like a great way to celebrate. 
We dodged a few rain showers on our drive out, so we had the park nearly all to ourselves
Penny didn’t mind one bit! As if on cue, the sun came out and we had an incredible afternoon. Penny was over the moon
And over Eko.
And under him too.
She also made time to splash through every single puddle in the park
Penny wasn’t the only one airborne. Eko made a hasty retreat when his mud-covered sister tried to jump on him
Luckily the park has a nice lake where pups can cool/wash off
Nothing like a calm day and a couple wild pups
My favorite photo from our trip
For a couple hours on a warm summer afternoon it was just me, the pups and room to run. It was perfect.
Montrose Dog Beach Appreciation Day
It seems anyone can make up their own holiday these days (see: Tortilla Chip Day, Bathtub Day, etc) so at least in this apartment we’ve declared February 24th “Montrose Dog Beach Appreciation Day.”
We live such a short ride from the dog beach that I admit I’ve taken it for granted. You’d be hard pressed to find another major city with such a large dog beach just a few miles from downtown. With Penny’s temporary ban from off-leash activities, I’ve realized just how spoiled we are to have the dog beach in our backyard.
For the time being we’ll have to get by on memories of our last beach trip.
Every day is dog-beach appreciation day for Penny. It’s her absolute favorite place
There’s nowhere else in the city the pups can get up to top speed
Nothing makes me happier than watching these two race across the sand
Nothing makes them happier either!
And when they really get flying, it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins
I mean, I’m not even sure how this photo is possible. I’m pretty sure Eko shouldn’t have six legs…
Every day at Montrose Dog Beach is a good day
It could be another week or more until Penny gets the all-clear to return to off-leash activities. I imagine it’s going to be quite the homecoming for her. I might need to block off a whole day for that trip.
Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder. We miss you Montrose and we promise to always appreciate you if you’ll take us back!
Road Trip!
Despite numerous letters to the President and both houses of Congress, my petition to reduce the distance between Chicago and New Jersey fell on deaf ears. I checked again this morning and the map still says we have a thirteen hour drive ahead of us. Oh well, it was worth a shot.
Vote Will/Eko 2016! We’ll remove inconvenient geographical distances!
I ran Eko and Penny doubly ragged yesterday so they’ll be content to snooze the trip away
This drive is never fun, but I’m lucky I have two road warriors for pups. I also have a theory that they don’t think the trip is that long since they’re sleeping for the vast majority of it.
What the backseat of my car looks like for ten of the thirteen hours
Either way, now’s no time for dithering. The road calls. Catch you guys tomorrow from NJ!
[VIDEO] Why Blog about Pets?
Over the years I’ve had countless people ask me the “Five W’s” about Marking Our Territory. The first four are easy to answer.
Who? A knucklehead and his two dogs
What? A blog
Where? Chicago
When? Monday through Friday, rain or shine
Why? Now here’s where things get interesting. Why blog? Why about dogs? What do I hope to accomplish? I took some time recently to think about these questions and here’s what I came up with.
Thanks to everyone who passes along some of that pet-love love here in the comments, on your own blog, or out in the world!
[VIDEO] Penny’s First Boat Ride
A beautiful summer afternoon, a boat ride, a beautiful view and a pup by my side. What more could a guy ask for?
Not a thing. Life is good!
[VIDEO] All Aboard The Holiday Express
Eko and I are on the road to NJ today, but for some reason I had to do all the work to get us ready for the trip. Go figure.
Travel gets pretty hectic from this weekend through the end of the year, so if you’re on the road, tracks or in the sky from now until then, travel safe.
Catch everyone next week from the East Coast!
Home Is Where The Park Is
Eko is a seasoned road warrior and I am lucky how patient he is with long car rides. Especially considering we were on the road for twelve hours yesterday and this was the type of stuff he had to deal with:
The pet “exercise” area was about the size of Eko’s old kennel, filled with sharp rocks and dogs aren’t allowed off leash. Someone didn’t think this one through
Unfortunately for Eko, he slept Tuesday night, had to sleep in the car all day Wednesday and then listen to me snore all last night after I crashed into bed. This morning we took a well earned trip to the beach for Eko to burn off all that stored up energy.
I love unclipping Eko’s leash after he hasn’t been to the park in a few days. The way he bounds into the water always makes me smile
It was also nice to see our old friends. I call this guy “U-Boat” because he is a German Shepard that always lays in the water like a submarine
A couple people people also thanked me for bringing back “the dog that always makes my dog sleep longer.” I particularly like “U-Boat” lurking in the background of this photo
Happy to be home!
NJ was a blast, but it’s great to finally be back in Chicago.