The Dogs We Love: 2017 Adventure Dog Contest Winners

(1) WINNER: Lola

Ellie Stone writes: “Last September I left Vermont to drive across the country and live in California for a year. I had been aching to get a dog since I graduated from college, but knew it would be a big responsibility to take on. So, I supplemented having my own dog with dog sitting and walking, but that didn’t fill my ache. Finally, it was time to return back to Vermont and I had a huge road trip planned for the month of August.

The first big stop was in Bend, Ore., for camping, hiking and mountain biking. The first night there a little dog ran through the bushes from the campsite next to mine. She was honestly the cutest puppy I’d ever seen, and proceeded to climb up through the arm of my camping chair and jump all over me, licking my face. Soon her owners returned her to their campsite, but I kept wishing she would run back over.

The next day she did the same thing, but this time I talked to her owners for a while. They mentioned they might have to find her a new home because she was so energetic and they had a baby on the way. The next day I woke up thinking about her, and knew that she was my dog.

Someone once told me “you don’t pick your dog, they find you.” I was pretty sure I’d been picked. After that, everything fell into place, except that I still had to drive across the country back to Vermont. The road trip got shortened and Lola became a travel dog. She spent more than one 12-hour day in the car, mostly sleeping in the foot well.

Luckily, she had lived at campsites her whole life and was used to being outside. I took her on short hikes all across the country, made her camp with me in the middle of nowhere, and introduced her to my friends. At three months, she has already adventured through more of the U.S. than most people do in their lives. A Lab/terrier/ Pit Bull mix, she is my adventure dog.”

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