Pablo and the Open Road

Most people buy or adopt a dog, but very few are paid to take a dog!

My little man Pablo, a Chihuahua-Beagle mix, came into my life in the most unexpected way. As an international college student from Ireland – thousands of miles away from home in Nebraska – I had been longing for a dog. I grew up on a farm, surrounded by dogs, and being away from animals made the United States even more lonely. I longed for a furry best friend.

To fill the void, I would go to my friend's house and “kidnap” her dog, Scottie the Scottie-Poo mix. This rapidly became a frequent occurrence – almost daily – and Scottie’s company and love made the stressful college days easier.

The regular kidnappings quickly became a popular Snapchat series for my friends and extended network, as I documented “stealing” Scottie and our resulting adventures. Scottie and I often went to a horse barn nearby, and he loved riding in my lap as we explored the trails.

Now…this is where the story gets interesting.

After a year of consistent but loving dog theft with Scottie, I was sitting in my 8 AM lecture, and obviously, I wasn’t paying attention. In my defense, it was 8 AM and a boring class! I was scrolling through Snapchat stories, and I noticed a post from a follower. I did not know who this person was and we had never spoken. You know how social media goes…you don't always know everyone who follows you.

The day prior, he had posted a picture of a very cute dog with the caption, “Does anybody want a dog?”

Naturally, I hadn’t thought much about it, because people always joke about giving away a dog when they do something mischievous. However, on this fateful morning, he had posted another picture of this adorable dog captioned, “Y’all really gonna to make me send him to the pound?”

The word “pound” paired with the cute little dog’s face felt almost criminal, so I had to reply to investigate. It turned out that the poster was indeed seeking a home for the dog, as he couldn't care for him any longer due to a job opportunity as a truck driver.

Although – despite all the love I got from Scottie – I really wanted a dog of my own, I was a little hesitant. Not only was this all so sudden (the poster wanted the dog gone within the day), but it was also 8 AM!

We messaged briefly, and I explained my hesitancy; for example, I didn’t have the supplies for a dog and I didn’t have the money to pay for his shots. But the poster was determined…he had been following my Snapchat stories with Scottie and knew how happy I was making that little dog, that wasn’t even mine!

After a few brief messages, he announced that he would not only deliver the dog and all of his belongings to my apartment, but he would also pay me $300 to get the dog set up.

How could I say no? By 5 PM the same day, I was a proud dog mom, and my life was about to improve tremendously. Little did I know the impact Pablo would have on me and my life.

(PS: You might be wondering what happened to Scottie. Before I moved away from Nebraska, he and Pablo had many play dates!)

Pablo was instantly my best friend and soon, we did everything together. From running stadium stairs to working out together, road trips, grocery shopping, nature adventures – you name it, he was and is by my side.

Little dogs are always quirky, and that's Pablo in a nutshell. A prime example is how he will only drink iced water when he is hot; yes, he will refuse all other water temperatures! This wacky dog demands that there must be ice cubes in the bowl.

At first, I thought he just had a big personality, but after a year of having him, I found out that he is actually disabled. He has what's called hemispatial neglect. This is a neuropsychological condition in which, after damage to one hemisphere of the brain occurs, the dog is left with only half a world. The left side of everything he sees does not exist, so he simply sees half of his view (like covering one of your eyes). I am not sure how this occurred or if he was born this way, but it does explain a lot of his behaviors. Poor guy doesn’t even know when he still has food in his bowl because he can’t see the left half of the bowl!

Although he may not see the full picture, he completes my life. We have had a number of wonderful adventures that I could share with you, but my fondest experience so far has been our recent transition to a new form of transport. In graduate school, the best fit for my budget has been riding a scooter – the closest to a motorcycle that I can get at the present – and Pablo has become my co-pilot.

When I ordered myself a helmet, I got Pablo a harness and the most adorable goggles to protect his eyes from the wind. On our first ride, he sat in his harness on my chest, sniffing and snorting his little heart out. He always has loved sticking his head out the window, so I’m sure his mind was blown by the fact that we were basically riding with the window down – but better. As is obvious from the below video, he loves our rides and is a true biker dog.

Sundays are my new weekly scooter date with my little man. We get his favorite – french fries – and a pup cup that we then eat at a park together.

He is the center of attention everywhere we go, but I can’t blame the adoring masses. He really is that adorable in his goggles, and we’ve been popping up on strangers’ Snapchat stories across town. I am now saving money in the hopes to find us a motorcycle so we can broaden our adventure radius together. I love that we can do so many things together, and it really touches my heart to know that Pablo also loves bikes as much as I do!

They say you find love when you aren't looking. I wasn’t dog shopping or going to shelters, but just by sharing my story and love for dogs on Snapchat, Pablo found a way into my life and I am delighted he did. In due time, I can't wait to continue our adventures and travel around my home country and Europe together. Maybe on a motorcycle…the open road awaits.