By Jeannette Kershner, Member
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After being Newfless for almost four years, at long last the time had finally come to add a new puppy to my life. Royal Flush’s Duncan MacFinnigan at Avalon, an adorable brown-haired, green-eyed boy, was one of nine pups born on September 12, 2020 at Edie Koster’s kennel in Sherwood, Oregon. Waiting until November 19th to pick him up was almost unbearable. I flew from Nashville, TN to Portland, OR on the 18th and hardly slept a wink all night in anticipation of seeing my new boy for the first time. The next morning I picked up my rental car and made the short drive from Portland to Sherwood where I met Edie, her daughter and granddaughter, and numerous Newfies of all ages, sizes, and colors. Then I saw the most beautiful puppy I’d ever set eyes on and couldn’t believe it when they told me that he was MY PUPPY! We visited for a few hours and as much as I hated to leave, Duncan and I had a six day drive ahead of us so we finally said our goodbyes and hit the dusty trail. |
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Day one was a relatively short drive to our first stop in Bend, OR. It was a beautiful drive through the Cascade Mountain range, but so devastating as we passed by miles and miles of homes, vehicles, businesses, and forests that had burned in this summer’s forest fires. Crews were busy for miles cutting down the burned trees that were close to the road. There was light snow throughout our first day on the road, but nothing I couldn’t handle as I was originally from Wyoming where the winds and snow prepare you for winter driving just about anywhere. I’d purchased a nice soft-sided crate for Duncan to travel in, and although he whimpered a bit every now and again, positioning him where he could see and hear me helped to reassure him and he quieted down easily enough. Since I was traveling during times of Covid, Thanksgiving week, and with a puppy, I’d made all my hotel reservations well in advance so sticking to the schedule was a must. 166 miles later, Duncan and I were getting acquainted in our room at the Red Lion Inn in Bend, OR. Although Duncan had never slept in a crate, or been separated from his litter mates or family, he did remarkably well that first night and only woke me up once to go outside to potty. He totally amazed me by not having any accidents in our pet-friendly room. Surely he smelled the scent of every dog who had ever visited that hotel room and surely he must have wanted to leave his mark there as well. How could I get so lucky as to have a 10 week-old puppy who didn’t get car sick, slept almost through the whole night, didn’t cry out his first night away from home, and had no accidents in the hotel room? I hesitated to get too excited, fearful that even thinking about it might change my luck.
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Day two of our trip took us 404 miles down the road to the Super 8 in Battle Mountain, Nevada. Nothing too exciting along the way but lots of good out-of-the-way places for potty and exercise stops. Since I was traveling with a new puppy and Covid was in full swing everywhere in the U.S., fast food stops were the norm, as were bathroom breaks at truck stops or off the side of the road. I brought plenty of masks, disposable gloves, and disinfectant wipes along to help keep us safe. The idea was to stay away from Interstates and bigger cities as much as possible. Battle Mountain provided us with another no-frills, pet-friendly motel where Duncan behaved perfectly. One 2 a.m. potty call and then back to bed for the night with no complaints. Fortunately, the weather was cooperative for our middle of the night walkabouts. |
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Onward and upward (well, downward actually)! Our third day on the road took us 432 miles to beautiful St. George, Utah where we stayed at the very nice Coral Hills Best Western. An expensive hotel in an exclusive area with a large group of pet-friendly rooms. Why don’t people do a better job of picking up after their pets? This hotel provided pet stations for cleaning up after your pet yet numerous people chose not to do the responsible thing. So frustrating, not to mention scary since Duncan had only received his first vaccine so far. I had the opportunity to have a nice, relaxing dinner at a local Italian restaurant in St. George instead of fast food on the road. The evening was cool and I got a parking spot right in front of the restaurant so I could peak in on Duncan as he rested quietly in his crate in the rental car. Due to Covid hotels/motels are no longer offering sit-down breakfasts, but they do provide food to go which is nice when traveling with a new puppy. Duncan and I hit the road early, as we did each morning, and I ate my breakfast as we drove on down the highway across Arizona.
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Duncan’s puppy packet from Edie contained her homemade Pumpkin Banana Newf Bars that Duncan just loves!
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Our destination on day four was 390 miles to the LaQuinta Inn and Suites in Gallup, New Mexico. The drive across northern Arizona to New Mexico was strikingly beautiful, but also very sad. The land is mostly Indian reservations and it was painfully obvious they were doing everything possible to avoid the Covid epidemic. While none of them were alive to experience the time when smallpox almost wiped their people out, they clearly remembered and weren’t taking any risks. Curfews were in place, casinos were closed, driveways had chains blocking them off and signs posted which read “Wear a Mask” or “No Visitors.” All of the roadside stands normally occupied by native vendors selling their handmade wares were empty. Restaurants were closed all along the several hundred mile journey, even McDonalds closed at 3:00 p.m. so 5:00 p.m. curfews could be observed. Gas stations were open for fuel only and signs posting “Restrooms Closed” were ubiquitous. It was eerie and felt like we were in some sort of apocalypse movie. Duncan and I finally checked in to our motel and then visited a local grocery store to purchase a Bully Stick for Duncan and some chips and dip for my dinner in the room. At this point in our travels I no longer felt the need to keep Duncan in his crate at night. His favorite place to lie was the cool tile of the bathroom floor and he was doing an awesome job of coming to the side of the bed to wake me if he needed to go outside at night. Our fourth night on the road and still not one single accident! It had been many years since I had a Newf pup around and I had forgotten how they love to take the leash in their mouths and walk themselves. Little Duncan would just trot around like he’d been doing this since day one! Who knew this was a genetic trait! We’d been lucky enough to have rooms on the first floor on each of our subsequent nights. Tonight, however, we were on the third floor so Duncan experienced his first elevator ride in addition to his first set of automatic doors. Growing up in Wyoming my other Newfs either never got this experience at all or encountered it on one of their trips to a dog show later in life. Duncan showed little or no apprehension to any of these new events and I couldn’t have been more proud of my confident little guy. At 10 ½ weeks of age he was already a seasoned traveler.
We’re nearing the end of our journey. I’m sure Duncan must have thought this was the extent of his new life – drive all day and sleep in a different house every night, just him and me, seeing the sights. Day five would have done nothing to alter this impression as we headed across New Mexico for the 423 miles toward Amarillo, Texas and a stay at the Drury Inn. Duncan was so used to getting in and out of the car at this point that he would just lay down in his crate and go to sleep whenever we were on the road. More automatic doors and elevators, looong hallways to negotiate from the room to the elevator during late night potty breaks, and lots more people to meet. Such a great little ambassador of the breed Duncan has been as so many of these folks had never seen a Newfoundland puppy before, let alone a brown one. I wasn’t quite sure what was taking place but while walking Duncan on the grounds of the hotel a bus full of medical staff unloaded at the hotel. Doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, all dressed in scrubs with stethoscopes still dangling from their necks, disembarked and entered the lobby, waiting their turn for the elevators. Duncan trotted up to them and happily greeted this weary group. They seemed grateful for the moment to de-stress. A sign in the lobby mentioned free snacks and drinks in the lounge. Hard to pass up but I didn’t want to leave Duncan all alone in a strange hotel room so I ordered a pizza and he and I watched Netflix for awhile before calling it a night. One more sleep til home! |
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Duncan and I left Amarillo behind in the morning and drove the 441 miles to our next-to-the-last stop, Fort Smith, Arkansas, before arriving home. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and, since it was our last night on the road, I booked a room with a spa tub. I thought it would be nice to relax in a bubbling hot spa bath after traveling 2,300 miles, but didn’t think about the fact that I would need to totally disinfect the tub with bleach before using it! Duncan and I made a quick trip to the local grocery store to pick up some Clorox bleach spray and some snacks before retiring to our room for a little “me time.” Duncan thought the “me time” surely must have included him as he quickly mastered the steps and begged to join me in the spa tub. It wasn’t quite the relaxing experience I had hoped for but it was enjoyable none the less. |
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We logged the most miles, 502, on this last day of our trip from Fort Smith, Arkansas to our home in Lynnville, TN. Duncan and I got an extra early start and left Arkansas before daybreak so that we could return the rental car on this day before Thanksgiving. Finally, we were headed home where new adventures await Duncan as he learns the ropes of life on the farm. But that is a story for another day. |
