Intrepid Pup

Thanks for the adventure, Tavish

Vizsla on wooded trail

Friends, the moment we knew would inevitably arrive has happened. Friday evening with our beloved vizsla Tavish was our last.

What many of you may not have known was that in March, Tavish received a serious diagnosis. In putting him first—and considering with our veterinary team his quality of life and all possible options and outcomes—we concluded that his medical issues were unfortunately beyond the power to fix.

So, we concentrated on sustaining Tavish’s best life. The commitment to take each day as it came and to make the most of each one, made all the difference in how Tavish (and we) approached the past nine months, surpassing all prognoses. Together we created many more happy memories, logging countless additional miles on hikes and visiting eight more National Park sites—his enthusiasm transmitted up the leash.

This week his body ultimately betrayed him, but his sweet personality never wavered…not once. It was a final blessing that his end came swiftly and peacefully—within a matter of hours—and that we were at his side for mutual comfort.

Tavish was a 14½-year gift who changed our lives in ways we never could have predicted. He effortlessly collected friends and unique experiences, and we’re grateful to have shared in them. Tavish visited more than 500 historical attractions, natural wonders, and cultural events in 19 U.S. states, the nation’s capital, and in Canada. He touched 400+ lives as an AKC-certified therapy dog making over 230 visits, mostly with children and the elderly. He’s won awards and been featured on Hungarian television, in a Voice of America broadcast, in a book about dog travel, in the Washington Post, and in Northern Virginia Magazine.

Everywhere we look there’s evidence of his impact and influence on our family. And that makes his loss (and our grief) all the more profound. But it’s also a powerful legacy. For those of you who have followed our Intrepid Pup via our website and social media, we’ll see what happens…. In the meantime, draw your loved ones closer. And if Tavish’s path has intersected with yours, please share memories with us as we try to find solace that he is now smiling on a trail free of discomfort, sorrow, and partings.

The coming days will be hard. Already we have opened the car door expecting our co-pilot to bound out. Pulled into the driveway, listening for a welcoming bark. Thought of a place we wanted to take him. Sat down on the couch and automatically left a spot for our friend to join. Reached out for the confidante who isn’t there. And, in the too-quiet, anticipated the clicking of Tavish’s nails on the floor signaling the Intrepid Pup’s trademark entreaty, “Come! Adventures await.”

Farewell, pup. Thank you for everything.

(June 6, 2005 – December 20, 2019)

Calling all Intrepid Pup Fans…

Happy new year, Intrepid Pup fans!

Full confessional mode: we’ve got a great big blog backlog of adventures we’ve been meaning to share with you and some pretty snazzy photos to go along with them. While we’ve been good about being intrepid and adventurous in the first place; posting on our social media channels; updating the Intrepid Pup map, and keeping up with our weekly “Where in the World Wednesday” (#WITWW) and #ArtfulPup features. . . the fact of the matter is that we’ve not been quite so diligent of late in writing up our longer articles. Yep, it happens.

But we’re hoping to change that. Really! And here’s where you come in. Based on the four options below (Toronto, Great Smoky Mountains, the Adirondacks, or Boston), weigh in on the adventure YOU would most like to see featured first by leaving your choice in the comments section. Over the next five days, we’ll aggregate the “votes” from this page and our various social media channels and let that be our guide. Thanks in advance!

Blog Poll

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Not All Dogs Chase Mail Carriers

Tavish at the National Postal Museum

Intrepid Pup Tavish made a treasure-filled visit to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum to encounter a peripatetic, 19th-century celebri-dog named Owney and also to learn a bit of postal history—from the days of Benjamin Franklin to the onset of airmail! Tavish even donned his Doggles® and cultivated an aviator look for posing with the Stinson Reliant and deHaviland DH-4 (on loan to the Postal Museum from the National Air and Space Museum).

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed Intrepid Pup Tavish from the swift completion of his appointed rounds at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. Housed in Washington, DC’s historic City Post Office building, this bastion of all things philatelic and related to postal service history welcomes approximately 400,000 people annually. It’s safe to say that dogs are very much not among the standard visiting public. But, with the goal of viewing and sharing the story of another intrepid pup from the annals of post offices past, Team Tavish was granted special permission to visit. How exciting! So, on a recent Friday morning, we timed our arrival for well before the museum would fill with schoolchildren and tour groups. Tavish was on his best behavior and seemed to know that even though he sees a lot of historical sites, it’s a rare treat to be allowed inside. We were met at a special entrance by a friendly and extremely knowledgeable member of the museum’s staff, processed through security, and ushered into the galleries.

Tavish with Owney

Time Warp: 21st-century Intrepid Pup Tavish meets 19th-century intrepid postal pup Owney.

It was here that we took in one of the highlights of National Postal Museum’s collections: Owney, mascot of the Railway Mail Service (see photo at left). Owney was a mixed breed dog whose escapades began in an Albany, New York, post office around 1888; he was clearly a dog that bucked the caricature of not liking mail carriers! It’s believed that Owney originally belonged to one of the mail clerks, but the dog’s adventurous spirit compelled him to explore first the mail wagons and then the mail trains, and before you knew it, he had logged a lot of miles throughout the United States and Canada. The novelty of Owney happily riding the rails caused a media sensation. Indeed, Owney could be considered one of America’s earliest celebri-dogs. His travels were well-chronicled by journalists of the day, likely fueled by the fact that Owney seemed to be a bit of a good luck talisman in that no Railway Post Office train he rode ever wrecked while he was on board. In 1895 Owney further broadened his horizons with a 132-day, round-the-world trip from Tacoma, Washington. He took mail steamers to the Orient, through the Suez Canal and on to New York City. The final cross-country leg back to Washington state was via train.

Now while Intrepid Pup Tavish has his very own virtual passport denoting his travels, Owney’s “passport” was a tangible (and very heavy!) one in the form of folks attaching to his collar commemorative tags and trade checks (tokens that could be used much like coupons). Owney’s collar quickly got so unwieldy that U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker presented Owney with a custom leather harness to better accommodate all his hardware. Even so, postal workers would periodically lighten Owney’s load and send some of his tags back to Albany. The National Postal Museum estimates that Owney collected as many as 1,000 tags during his lifetime!

When Owney died in Toledo, Ohio, in 1897 he was eulogized in many newspapers. At the urging of mail clerks throughout the country, Owney was preserved by taxidermy and presented to the Postal Department headquarters. Even posthumously, Owney continued to travel the country for various exhibitions, including the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. He was eventually donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1911. A century later, the U.S. Postal Service issued a “Forever” stamp memorializing Owney and several of his tags. As part of the museum’s outreach surrounding Owney, the National Postal Museum has developed a whole suite of online materials, including a free e-book, a map of his travels, an activity guide and educational lesson plans.

It’s hard not to be impressed by Owney’s power to captivate the imagination as well as convey so much about how mail moved about the country in the late 1800s. Tavish then turned his attentions to the rest of the atrium where he was wowed by the Concord-style Mail Coach and the three airmail-related planes overhead. There’s so much more to see at the National Postal Museum: stamp art, philatelic rarities, changing exhibitions. . . you owe it to yourself to pay a visit and get fresh insight on the stamps and mail service you’ve probably always taken for granted. Tell them the Intrepid Pup sent you!

Owney's Tags, Images courtesy of the National Postal Museum

Just a few of the custom tags bestowed upon Owney during nearly a decade of traveling with the mail. Approximately 90 tags can be seen on Owney’s harness. Images courtesy of the National Postal Museum.

Dogging the Details

Click to see what a "1" on the Wag-a-meter means

38°53′51.24″ N,  77°0′29.39″ W
National Postal Museum
, Washington, DC

A stamp of approval and a “1” on the Intrepid Pup wag-a-meter—the National Postal Museum really delivers! It’s relatively easy to get to by multiple means of transportation. It’s Metro-accessible, plus (unlike its sister Smithsonian museums on the National Mall), nearby street parking and all-day paid garage parking at Union Station next door are ample and convenient. The museum is open 364 days a year and has free admission. While entering the museum with your dog is not an option (unless it’s a service animal), this museum has lots to offer in a space where it’s manageable to see it all without having museum fatigue set in.

Should you wish to extend your postal-themed adventures and bring a dog with you, here are a couple options:

 

Tavish at Air Mail Marker

38° 52′ 53.11″N, 77° 2′ 36.40″ W
Airmail marker, Washington, DC

If you’re up for a walk in the park and specifically Washington, DC’s National Mall and Memorial Parks, check out this little-known marker on Ohio Drive in West Potomac Park, bordering the Potomac River. Across from the present-day ball field is the spot where on May 15, 1918, the world’s first airplane mail started as a continuously scheduled public service. The 230-mile route accommodated transportation of 150 pounds of mail from Washington, DC to New York City via Philadelphia aboard a Curtiss JN 4-H airplane in approximately three hours.

 

Tavish with Ben Franklin

“B. Free”! Tavish channels postal history giant Benjamin Franklin in both Washington, DC (above) and Philadelphia (at right).

Franklin Court

39° 57′ 0.15″N, 75° 8′ 47.67″ W
B. Free Franklin Post Office
and the Franklin Court Complex, Philadephia, Pennsylvania

As Intrepid Pup Tavish was departing from his specially-arranged visit to Washington, DC’s  National Postal Museum, he spied a statue (see photo at left) of Benjamin Franklin in the lower level foyer. Franklin is essentially the “patron saint” of the postal service in America. He started out as the British Crown Post-appointed postmaster in Philadelphia in 1737 with responsibility for surveying post offices and post roads. In 1775, the Continental Congress made Franklin the first Postmaster General with oversight over all post offices from Massachusetts to Georgia.

To be “frank,” seeing Franklin jogged Team Tavish’s memory about visiting the B. Free Franklin Post Office in Philadelphia a few years ago, and you can visit it, too (see photo at right)! This fully operational U.S. Post Office branch is open Monday through Saturday and is within the National Park Service’s Franklin Court Complex (part of Independence National Historical Park) that includes the Franklin Museum, a museum shop, and the Franklin Court Printing Office and Bindery. The B. Free branch is a colonially-themed post office and the only one in the United States that doesn’t fly a U.S. flag—because there was no United States yet when Franklin was serving as its postmaster. You can still get your letters stamped here with “B Free Franklin,” which was Franklin’s not-so-subtle way of signing a letter in support of American independence from England.

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Intrepid Pup Bracketology: 2017 Edition

Intrepid Pup Tavish

The swami in repose: Intrepid Pup Tavish after a vigorous session of divining his brackets.

For the sixth year running, Intrepid Pup Tavish has brought his sixth sense to making his NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament picks. If you’ve followed along in previous years, you know the drill: Tavish works his way through the brackets, indicating his preferences by snarfing treats ascribed to each of the teams. Past Intrepid Pup bracketologies have been fueled by kibble, bits of MilkBone™ or kernels of popcorn. This year Team Tavish went with a new find: PureBites® Freeze Dried Bison Liver Treats. Single ingredient, made in the USA…what’s not to love, right? That’s what Tavish thought, too (*YUM*), and we compiled the 2017 edition over the course of three evenings. While you may not agree with some of Tavish’s choices, you can’t fault the process. He wields lightning-quick verdicts on some match-ups and then really mulls over others, so you know something is going on in his head.

Out of much excited barking and dizzying darting about our kitchen, what we’re left with is a soupçon of inspiration mixed in with a hearty dose of cray cray.

So, without any further adieu, may we humbly present Tavish’s picks:

Intrepid Pup Bracketology 2017

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Tavish for President

intrepidpupforpresident_72dpi

Decision 2016: Tavish for President! Left? Right? Something in between? Intrepid Pup is a new breed of candidate to make America sane again. What do you think of his qualifications? Vote November 8, 2016.

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