Once upon a time, we traveled with two dogs – a medium-sized Gordon Setter named Milly, and a big Black Lab named Ralphie. And they – as all dogs do – needed to occasionally go poo. Usually at the most inopportune times. For example: there we were, middle of nowhere, 20 miles from the nearest town, at a beautiful scenic overlook, and both dogs decide it was the perfect spot to relieve themselves with NO trash cans in sight. There was an emergency call box, but I was guessing this didn’t count as an emergency in anyone else’s mind.
A woman in an RV stood glaring, hands on hips as Rick walked away from the “dump site”. I’m sure she was thinking what terrible people we were, but Rick was just returning to our car for poop bags. He returned and I held both dogs’ leashes while Rick did “doodie duty.” With nowhere to dispose of the bags, Rick put them in a plastic grocery bag, tied it shut and tucked it in the farthest back corner of our station wagon. Here’s where a trunk – or even a zipper-closure bag – would have come in handy. We continued on our way, heading toward civilization with all the windows rolled down!
We laugh about it now. As I said, that was some time ago, and now we travel with one small chihuahua. The problem hasn’t gone away – just diminished in size. After all, dogs gonna do what dogs gonna doo-doo, and all you can do is deal with it. We also now drive a car with a trunk, but I’m not sure that makes the problem any less concerning. We carry clothing and food and other things in the trunk that we’d probably rather not have smelling of – well – poop!
So what to do? One solution would be to purchase one of those disposable Styrofoam coolers and use that just to hold “unmentionables.” If you travel with babies or young children, there are similar “by-products.” At the very least, I’d recommend keeping some of those “scented” trash bags in your car, and maybe a few zip-top baggies (what size depends on the size of your “pooper”, of course). We also carry a roll or two of paper towels. We were glad we’d packed those when one of the dogs got car sick. Life does enjoy tossing unexpected emergencies your way now and then and it pays to be as prepared as possible.
So there you have it – some practical advice about how to handle times when life gets – er – sh*tty!
Got a suggestion on how to deal with poop, or funny story of your own to share? We’d love to hear it! Just send us an email at olddogsnewtreks@gmail.com. We try to respond to all messages within 48 hours, but if we’re on the road it may take longer so please be patient.
“Life is an adventure – enjoy the ride!”
Remember – Live life fully; travel mindfully; speak kindly; share wisdom; lend a hand; treat all as friends…if you can. ~d.wylie