A Dog Named Walter

May 18, 2015

Why would you bring your dog with you?

That's the question everyone asks either out loud or to themselves when we tell them that we're taking Walter with us on our bicycle ride across America this summer. And here's the thing: I get it. It's more logistical work for us. It means more weight to carry. It limits the number of places we can eat and sleep and take shelter from the wet or the cold or the heat. It's just kind of strange to most people. But Walter long ago made the transition from pet to family member. That sort of thing has a way of changing your perspective on what seems like a reasonable thing to do.

Walter is a West Highland Terrier and he's been in my life since he was just ten weeks old. Back then he was all of about eight pounds, with massive ears perched on top of a tiny head, a coat of thin and wiry hair, an immediate love for sleeping beneath the protective cover of the couch, and a yawn that would turn into a high-pitched squeak if he stretched out his legs before his mouth had a chance to close. I'd never taken care of nor even shared the same house as a dog before Walter showed up. I had no idea how to raise an untrained puppy into a well-behaved, well-adjusted, healthy, happy dog. As with so many of the major decisions in my life, I dropped myself into a difficult situation and figured I'd come up with a solution as I went along.

Somehow it worked. In the years that followed he came to be one of the few constants in an ever-changing life. I've worked from home for as long as I've had Walter, which means that we've always spent more hours of the day together than apart. He's one of the first things I see when I wake up in the morning, and I don't turn out the lights to go to sleep until he's had the chance to wedge himself down near my feet or come to rest in a ball next to my hip. When I go for a walk around the city, he comes with me. When I go for a hike in the woods, he's the one blazing the trail. He's present at every family function and rides shotgun on every road trip. When I got divorced he gave me a reason to get up in the morning and made me feel better when nothing else could. When I moved to Portland he inspired me to explore its parks and boulevards and neighborhoods and helped make them feel like my new home. He's one of the best friends I'll ever know.

Walter's now almost three years old and a full-grown seventeen pounds. His coat is thicker and there's a deeper tone to his voice, although he still has the same love of wedging himself beneath furniture and falling asleep there for hours. Because he's white and cute and kind of fluffed it's easy to write him off as a toy dog or a pushover, but nothing could be farther from the truth. West Highland Terriers were bred to be mousing dogs, which means Walter is strong and fast and attentive to subtle changes in the world around him. He has more confidence in himself than dogs five times his size. He's a tough little dude.

He packs a tremendous amount of character into such a tiny body. He's intelligent and curious to degree I never thought possible. When we open up a box and start to piece the contents inside together, Walter watches from half a dozen feet away and tries to make sense of what we're doing. When we talk to him, his eyes lock onto ours and his head tilts a little to the side as he tries to make sense of what we're saying. He loves to spend time outside to a greater degree than any animal or person I've ever met. He makes it impossible to keep my heart from filling with joy when he runs around in circles or rolls around in the grass, because he gets this look on his face that says oh my God, I love this so much, this is the best day ever. And from the moment he met her, Walter has been taken with Kristen. When she leaves he whines and has a look of concern that makes it seem as if his world is falling apart. When she returns he squirms and wiggles like it's the only way the happiness inside of him can make its way out.

He adds so much to my life and demands so precious little in return.

I love the little guy with all of my heart. It's that simple. No amount of talking myself into some other decision could change the fact that I'd wonder and worry about him every day if Kristen and I took off on this adventure while he spent the summer away from the two people to which he's more devoted than anything else in this world. And so the real question isn't Why would you bring your dog with you? but rather How could I leave him behind?

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