Chance experienced a first with our family this past weekend – he spent 36 hours roughing it in the great outdoors (well, as rough as it gets being a pampered Pekingese.) Although we’ve always brought Roxy and Cash along on our camping trips, this would be Chance’s first foray into the wilderness, and I was nervous at the idea of exposing this most precious of charges to the harsh realities of the wilds.

The trip did not get off to a good start. We forgot to pack many of the essentials in our haste to get to the site before dark (including toilet paper and pillows) and were bombarded with Chance’s cries and flatulence throughout the entire two hour drive. The unpleasant road trip finally concluded with us finding our friends at the bottom of a very steep hill in absolute darkness – exactly what I was hoping to avoid. I’m pretty certain that my less-than-excited demeanor was quite evident despite my best efforts to appear excited about our beach-front real estate. Nevertheless, we began the arduous chore of unpacking the car and getting the dogs settled for a weekend full of fun and adventure.

This camping trip presented another first for Chance – he had yet to be introduced to my friends. They were all familiar with his story and are HUGE fans of the blog of course, but had never actually met the little monster which they had heard so much about. I will admit that I was hesitant to introduce him to a group of strangers considering his recent bout of violent attacks (Jeremy has also fallen victim to his surprisingly sharp snaggle tooth.) I decided to err on the side of caution, and asked my cohorts to be watchful for signs of a pending assault. At first the group heeded my cautionary tales and approached him with apprehension and care. But to my surprise, he was nothing but cordial, a vision of charm and gentlemanly grace. This was a side of him rarely seen by those of us given the pleasure of sharing his home. He relished the snuggles, coos and attention showered on him by my shocked companions – this could not possibly be the same dog who has been running my house with an iron fist (or jaw, depending on how you look at it.)

Chance was mostly well behaved throughout our outdoor excursion, barring one incident with a wayward camper who chose to risk life and limb by waking the Mongolian Monster. To be fair, this woman was met with a sufficient display of warning in the form of vicious snarls and growls (Chance seemed pretty annoyed with her, too) but she persisted in her attempts to win his affections in spite of his being fast asleep. This resulted in a bruised ego, bloody finger and a group of campers kept up all night by the whimperings of a spoiled dog upset to have been disturbed from his slumber.

The rest of the weekend flew by without further incident. Chance joined Roxy and Cash for a swim in the lake and enjoyed a multitude of healthy treats such as leftover hot dog bits and potato chip scraps he picked up off the beach. Always Jeremy’s faithful companion, he amazed my friends with his ability to chase after his best bud at top speeds, never letting him out of his sight. All in all, the weekend was a success in spite of the doggie-drama, a flat tire and a poop-filled backseat. Chance managed to ease my trepidation and instill in me the confidence to allow him to roam the wild beaches of Lake Harrison, unrestrained by my fussing and fretting. Stay tuned for his next exhilarating exploit, same dog blog, same dog channel.