By Aspen & Porter ~
Next up in our interview series of Dogs on the Road, we present Ducati, of S&M Boiler Works. Ducati and his parents, Mike & Shannon are doing something truly unique~ traveling the world by MOTORCYCLE! They plan on circumventing the entire world in the next three or four years, which we find pretty damn amazing! Lets get right into the interview.
Please offer up a short blurb about who you are? Age? Who else is in your family?
My name – at least as far as I can understand it- is Ducati, though I respond to so many different ones and that gets a little confusing. Memati, squirrel, rabbit, bug, Bubba, Bubba-pop, duke, peanut… You get the picture. As long as I can remember, which may only be a day or so – what time is it anyway?- I have lived with El Jefe (the man of the house, “the boss”) and Reina (the woman of the house, “queen”) and for a long time I had a sibling, El Gato Negro (black cat) who taught me so many things like washing my face with my paws every day. I never did get the hang of flying onto things the way he did and I never could figure out how he got in and out of the house without El JEfe or Reina opening the door (cat door!)
I am a Chihuahua that goes by Ducati and my favorite things are sleeping, playing chase with my friends, (Paco, Pear Pear and Bingo are my besties), camping, and being with my pack. There are currently three in my pack – me, El Jefe, and Reina. El Jefe – well, what can I say. He is the boss and what he says goes. Sometimes he growls at me which is pretty scary. Then there is Reina and is just the best, though El Jefe does give me more table scraps than she ever has. My friends Paco and Pear Pear look a lot like me, though I am bigger than both. Bingo is a big dog. My stats: I’m almost twelve years old, weight 10lbs and a few ounces, and I shed year-round, no matter the season or temperature.
1.Tell us a little about where you have traveled with your family. Have you traveled internationally? Within the US?
I have traveled a lot of places, and Reina says that so far we have been to Canada and Mexico as well as 10 states in the US. Most of our long travel has been by motorcycle, though I have gone around in a car. I mean, who hasn’t? When I was little we went a bunch of places on a plane. My family likes to take me with them wherever they go and that sometimes means I have to go in a special bag where no one can see me. I am very good at being incognito when needed.
2.What is your favorite place to travel? Do you like hiking the mountains? Running on the beach?
I like it all, though running in the sand is one of my favorite things as I can get some serious traction for the quick turns. But, the smells in the forest is right up there. I just don’t like getting wet. I find water on my fur gross!
3. When you’re traveling do you camp? Stay at hotels? Rent houses?
We do a bit of everything; camp, hotels, homes, and I am mixed about whether I like a bed with sheets or a tent better. Our tent is now our home so it feels most comfortable, but, there is something to be said about a hotel room with a bed, tv, aircon or heat, depending on the weather. I always snuggle at night with Reina either in the tent ( I let her share my sleeping bag) or in a bed where I have more room to really stretch out.
4. Do you have a hard time finding good quality food and water on the road?
Food fills my bowl twice a day so I don’t know if it’s must of a problem for Reina or El Jefe. When we travel I seem to get more treats or bits of their food, which I do prefer. Bacon is one of my favorite things; well any meat really, but I also like cheese. I get my water out of Nalgene bottles, in a cap, so it is always fresh and healthy. We are in Mexico now and I have noticed a change in my kibble and I don’t like it as much as the other stuff but, no amount of pouting seems to change what is in the bowl.
5. Have you had any problems with other dogs, either playing at the dog parks, or street dogs, when traveling?
Not yet but everyone, and I mean everyone, seems to think I the most awesome smell so I get a lot of noses coming up fast from behind and then they just follow me around. Not sure what is up with that but…at least they’re not trying to eat me! Plus, Reina and El Jefe keep me on a leash all the time, though they scoop me up pretty quick if they think something bad might happen. Reina is particularly careful and always watching… I can never sneak off and do my own things. Which I should be able to do, I mean, I am twelve now!
6. What don’t you like about traveling? A different bed? Strange water?
I miss my friends so I think that is what I don’t like the most. Right now, my bestie Paco is with me in Mexico and that makes things so much more fun. The pack is together all the time so that makes up for the things that aren’t the best.
Thanks Ducati for your take on the life of a Dog on the Road. You can follow along on his adventure at: http://www.smboilerworks.com
Safe travels and perhaps one day our paths will cross.
Aspen & Porter