Penny is a thirteen year old fiesty Chihuahua. She has transformed from an urban condo introvert to a camping and traveling dynamo.
Among other things, she is in charge of campsite security. She accomplishes this by sounding like a much larger dog if anyone comes right up to the door of the trailer. While I do have to pick her up so she won’t bark if a friend visits, I’m glad she’s so protective.
Best strategy for friendship with Penny is to ignore her and wait until she initiates. People who bend down and try to talk to her are immediately suspect in her little doggy brain.
Penny is great company for me as a solo traveler. She helps me keep to a schedule since she has internalized when I set my alarm and when it is time to go to sleep. When we tow the trailer, she is quite content to curl up in the footwell of the front passenger side of the truck and usually goes right to sleep.
A month ago, we had quite a scare. A large Airedale mix got off of its lead at a campsite and made a beeline for Penny. Unlike her usual Napoleonic stance toward large dogs, she somehow sensed danger and fled behind me. The large dog chased her in circles around my legs and bit her. Fortunately, the owner got his dog under control and Penny was not hurt badly. The owner paid the vet bill without asking, after mentioning that the dog had previously picked up a small dog in its mouth and shaken it. Seriously, that is not the kind of dog to take camping where invariably there will be many dogs. I’m just grateful Penny is okay.
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