Remembering Our Buddy And Best Friend Monty 😂

Hi everybody, I'm Randy. And I'm Diane. And we're Zephyr Travels. And we've got a little bit of a sad video today to share with you. Yesterday we lost our younger child Monty. I'm sure many of you know him and yesterday was a sudden unexpected thing that happened and like Randy said unfortunately we did lose Monty yesterday. Yeah and we just thought today that we want to and for this week's video that we wanted to share some of our memories of him. He's been in a number of our videos so if you follow our channel along you know who we're talking about and hopefully you appreciate him as much as we appreciate Monty. But we just want to talk about you know him and Zephyr because they were kind of inseparable right from the beginning. Right. We brought Monty home. He was 10 weeks old. He was 10 weeks old. Zephyr was probably a year and a half. And right away he you know adapted and connected with Zephyr really before he connected with us. They became best friends and you know at 10 weeks old puppies have a lot of energy. So and Zephyr cooperated and played with him and ran with him and kind of taught him the ropes around the house. Yeah yeah they they were inseparable from day one. They've always been with each other and there for each other and like Diane said he warmed up to Zephyr before he even ever warmed up to us. I always kid and say that you know him and Zephyr bonded day one and it took about six months for him to get comfortable with us. And that's typical for a child. You have to earn their respect. They don't warm up to just any stranger. In fact Monty did not like strangers. We probably could say that there were about less than 10 people that he knew and liked enough that he would be comfortable with in his life. Yeah that he would let pet him and that he wouldn't bark yet. Right he he you came up if you come up to Monty and many you probably did when you've seen us travel and try to pet him and he would just shy away. And we always told people that Monty's just a shy dog and he just didn't like people he didn't know. And you had to put the effort in to get on his good side. You weren't going to be his buddy in five minutes. You had to spend a day with him. It took some time and his friends will tell you. But I think early on Monty showed us his sense of humor. There was a early video of him where we were defighting the backyard and he decided he had to help. And he got into all the thatch and threw it around and played with it and he was just a riot. Yeah he enjoyed gardening and yeah so he he really was one of a kind. I know many chows and most dogs like to play with toys. Actually our two even Zephyr they did not play with toys. Just a little bit when they were really little. Yeah but it when they got older that kind of went away. Yeah they were each other's entertainment and where we were their entertainment. And so that we were you know our dogs are our family. Yeah and as many I'm sure you will agree that whatever pets you have they become part of your family. And once we started to travel they traveled with us. And that they were really the real reason we got the Airstream so that we could take them with us. Right. And there was very few times in either of their lifetimes that we actually left them alone. And but for 99 percent of the time they were with us 24-7. And they brought us a you know both of them really brought us a lot of joy. But especially Monty when we traveled in the truck and we probably told this to many of our viewers and many of our friends that when Monty was in the truck he would jump up on the center council and kind of check out where we were and his surroundings. Especially and for whatever reason he got to know and really like cows. And whenever we traveled we saw cows we said Monty cows and he would jump up on the center council and we showed him where they were and he would check them out and and kind of whimper. And in fact at one of the campgrounds we stayed at in Florida, not Florida, I'm sorry California, we were able to let the dogs run loose. And there was a herd of cows close by and not so much Monty. But Monty we couldn't trust to be loose off of those. Right. You would totally get distracted. Yeah we kept him on a long rope but we were able to let Zephyr loose. And of course she took it upon herself that she had to herd these cows and she took them and chased them across the hill and was gone for you know a little bit. But you know. And Monty was right there at the end of his leash wanting to be with her barking. But do you remember the campground where there was the cows right next to the campsites in California? Yes. And you know we walked down it was just the end of the road that our campsite was on and there was no one in that particular campsite. We'd walk down there when the cows were next to the fence and he just thought that was the best. Yeah. So yeah that was you know a highlight of him and we used to you know get a kick out of and just love that he you know got so that he did like the cows. Monty was very easy to train. He was an extremely smart dog. Extremely smart dog. He would pick up on you know things that we taught him of course you know shake and lay down and go get the mail. Go get the mail was one of his favorites. That came up during the pandemic and you know we were all kind of stuck in the house and every day Monty and Zephyr and I and you would we'd go get the mail. That was our going out really. Right. And Monty got to the point where because there was really nobody out to distract him he walked without a leash from the front door out to the mailbox and then walked back with us and he ever since then you know anytime you know we said go get the mail he'd perk right up run right to the door and you know we usually put a leash on just to make sure he didn't get too far but he was totally under control and he just loved that. Yeah. And one day he actually got mail. Monty you got mail. Come on look. Look you got mail. You got mail Monty. Look at that. Come on let's go. Monty. Zephyr come on. Hey come on let's go. Let's go. Come on let's go house. Come on. Monty look. Monty you got mail. Look you got mail buddy. Right here. Yeah. Yeah. What could it be? Do you think it's from Perina? They send you treats in the mail? Look it's another envelope. What could it be huh? Hey come here Monty. Hey come here. Look look it's a card. Monty you got mail huh? It says Monty here's a pinata for you to destroy but going forward you have to be a good boy and realize that when other people get a birthday card that doesn't mean you should get one too. Now you have to let me pet you next time we meet. Love, Auntie Anne. See that? How cute. Another thing that he learned actually within the past couple years is when we would give him treats to spin and I mean he learned that like within a day or so. Oh instantly. I mean he you know he loved treats. Both of them do. Actually most dogs do right but you know he had his treats that he really liked. He had his treats he didn't like too. He didn't like milk bones. Yeah he was very selective about the treats and sometimes he would eat the milk bones but one thing he especially liked that he also learned is when we would go to certain campgrounds a lot of the attendants at the at the entrance would have milk bones milk bones for the for the dogs and he got so he knew that and he learned that if we went to a campground multiple times and we had him with us that he would perk up when we went through the entrance and he would gladly accept a bone from the attendant. Yeah yeah but the the spin yeah that was only just a few years ago and he's just so attentive that you know I knew I could teach him how to spin and it like you said just within a couple days and he did that right to the very end. Yeah because you didn't after a while you didn't even have to tell him he just associated that with getting a treat. Right and he wouldn't just spin if you told him to you know obviously the treat had to be part of it. You had to have the treat. But it became a ritual with him and he was you know just again I think as part of it he was just a very very smart dog. He was a very smart dog and if you were talking to him he would just stare at you like he understood what you were saying or he would probably think are you kidding me and you know just kind of give me that side eye like really yeah but for the most part he would sit there and he would or he'd stand there and he'd look at you like he would understand what you were talking to. He was absolutely the best listener yeah and I do think he understood a lot more words you know than we even knew he did. Yeah he was you know he just seemed to understand things when we said things and sometimes you were saying things to him about him and he understood. Yeah he did he did. Yeah and another thing that he liked both of them liked but you know it got to be a thing with us is when we traveled we'd stop and get him ice cream. Yes. And our center council in our truck has two cup holders at the very end of it for the people in the back seat and that's where their little dishes of ice cream went and he loved that. I mean even right up you know we had a day just a couple weeks ago where he had to go to the vet multiple times during the day and get blood work done and he doesn't like going to the vet and he he was smart. I mean you know most dogs would probably figure out you're going to the vet when you pull in the parking lot. Not Monty. If you're going to the vet or you're going to the groomer he knew where he was a block or two away and he would get anxious. Yes. And about going there and so I knew that this wasn't going to be a great experience for him so on one of the trips on the way back I pulled into the local ice cream place and picked him up a thing of ice cream to you know enjoy and kind of make that trip not so bad. And he probably enjoyed it a little bit more than Zephyr. And what Zephyr didn't eat she shared with Monty. Yeah yeah well the other thing that was kind of unique to Monty was rattlesnake. Oh yeah well if you visit the southwest or anywhere in the west. Yeah well we learned one of our trips to the southwest at one of the state parks we were staying at that they mentioned having your dog's rattlesnake trained and we'd never heard of it but you know we like the southwest and wanted to be able to go there and not worry about our dogs if they came across the rattlesnake if we were on a hike or something. Because what you would be concerned of is your dog would you know attack it or bark at it or something or you know agitate the rattlesnake which would turn into a bad situation. So we heard about rattlesnake training so we took Monty and Zephyr to rattlesnake training one day and Monty did really good. Yeah we were we were surprised how quickly this is taught to dogs and Monty and Zephyr were trained right away. Monty more than Zephyr. Yeah that's true but I was going to say at the same time yeah oh yeah at the same time which we were kind of surprised we we really knew nothing about it but uh Monty picked up on it right away. Yeah yeah he did and there was multiple things that they did and then there was a final test and he aced the final test. He noticed that there was a rattlesnake there and leaped backwards away from it without any prodding from the instructor. Zephyr walked practically walked right up to it. But it took her a little longer. Yeah but even after that it was a few weeks later I was on a It was just him and I and it was in the warmer months in Arizona and we came around a corner and there was a rattlesnake on the path and we didn't see it and I was probably inches from stepping on it. Monty had already passed it and when I heard it you know make noise and shuffle off the trail but he did not address that rattlesnake or growl at it or anything he just kept his distance and walked by it and so he he learned that and I honestly believe if you're in the southwest or you travel in the southwest this is really something that if you're gonna spend any time there you need to have your dogs trained for this. Yes yes it was definitely well worth it. I'm hoping for me not to come across the rattlesnake with Zephyr. You haven't been I hope she remembers. We were going to take him back last year for a refresher course but then things happened and we didn't get that done. We couldn't get it done. We you know we may hopefully next time we get back to the southwest do a refresher course with Zephyr. Yeah yeah. Monty loved the beach. That was I would say the we're in our backyard and this was Monty's happy place in his life. He when we went on a road trip or went anyway when we came home you know he made a beeline to the backyard every time because he just wanted to be here. This was his life. We're sitting on the deck he would literally sit right here and survey the backyard. He had his spots. We have a fenced in yard and we have a area over there where our neighbors have dogs and he would go over and sit because that's where the activity was and run back and forth with the neighbor's dogs and bark at them and share stories. Then the dogs on the other side would come out and he'd run over there and be with them and there were when he was younger there were times we couldn't get him out of the backyard. He would be here until dark. Yeah yeah he wanted he wanted to be outside and you know that was like Randy said this was his happy place but back to the beach. Oh yeah. He liked the beach and usually when we took the dogs especially to Myrtle Beach I believe it is that we would put them on a long rope you know if there wasn't a lot of people around and just you know kind of let the both of them run but they they both liked Monty. He might you know get his paws wet a little bit but not not so much as Zephyr. Zephyr was Zephyr would walk into the water a little bit but he was no but he liked the beach I think more than Zephyr. Yeah he did. He did. I mean our first time we took him to the beach you know he was just less than a year and you know he just fell in love with it and I'm actually so grateful that you know we planned to stop at Myrtle Beach on our way back for a week that he got to go to the beach again you know before the end of his life and you know that just makes me feel good because it was such an important thing for him. Yeah we stopped we stopped on this last trip back and fortunately we got there before the dogs were not allowed during the day on the beach and so yeah we had a great time with that both of them on the beach and one particular time we were in Myrtle Beach at a different campground and he was fascinated with the sand crabs. Oh yeah. He would look at and you know if they had a hole he'd go over and take a look in the hole. And that really was with anything. Another campground we were at there was a tortoise that was there and had a hole not far but it was just far enough from the end of his rope. You need to share the campsite. Face in the hole and just you know kind of wonder what the heck this thing was. So he is very. What do you mean you were here first? They were here first. Yeah and cows were his main you know animal that he was interested in. He also liked smaller dogs yeah and when we were in Florida this past winter they liked him as well yeah and they were separated by a fence but he would go over and he'd run with them and bark with them and just have a grand time and he even liked to be around smaller dogs. Yeah there was one dog that would come into the that liked Monty and Zephyr and would come into the big dog pen with them and he was just a King Charles terrier. And the Beagle. Yeah the Beagle. There was two dogs that the owners felt comfortable letting loose around Monty and Monty was just great with them so he you know he had his tolerance. Yeah and I think one of the last videos that we really did featuring them for the whole video was when they got their wagon you know behind the bike. Right. He rode in it. I don't think Zephyr cared for it that much. She would ride it but Monty got into it. I kind of think he got into it a little bit more than Zephyr. I'm not saying that this was a go-to for him. He would want to he would rather go for a walk but it was kind of fun to see him and his head stuck out. He looked like the giraffe on the circus. Yeah I think he liked it more than Zephyr because he could sit down and he could still put his head out where she wasn't she's not big enough or tall enough to have done that. So I think that was a little thing why she didn't enjoy it as much as he did. And so yeah we thought because they were getting older especially Zephyr that that would be a good way to you know take him around. In fact we were thinking about getting another one for this winter so that you know we would have one for both of them. Right because Monty was losing some of his mobility and we thought that that might be a better way to get him to the dog park. So we were considering getting another one but we have the one now. You know Zephyr doesn't need it but we'll take it with us. We'll take it with us. I mean it'll work out fine when you know we do want to go with the bikes and we want to take her with us because she just I mean she's still mobile but she does. She's doing really well for her age. She gets tired. Her energy level is not as high but yeah but she she's doing very well. Yeah so someone said the difference between Monty and Zephyr is Zephyr has no fear. Monty was afraid of everything. Yeah Monty was afraid of everything. Yeah I mean when the the last few trips that we had with him this summer you know we had to get a ramp and unfortunately we don't have any video of this but Monty was afraid of the ramp. Zephyr adapted very quickly. Zephyr right up the ramp like nothing and I think Monty saw that. Yeah. And said I should be able to do this and so he would go up the ramp but at first he would run up the ramp and that caused him some pain and so we had to tell him Monty you know walk slowly up the ramp and it got to be funny because his slow walk was like. And he would do it. He would do it. We'd say Monty slow and he would slow very deliberately up the ramp and down the ramp but it didn't cause him any pain and after using that for a week at the Airstream International Rally he got comfortable with it and wasn't afraid of it as much as he was before. Right. So we have a lot of videos from you know from him from both of them from us with them and so we. I will make a playlist that you can if you are interested in watching the whole videos there's a bunch of them you can you can watch them. Obviously we've shared some clips as we were talking here in this video and so I hope you enjoyed that. We will miss him but we have our memories and if you've gotten to know Monty you'll you know you'll have some memories of him as well. Right and you know I think you know I'm going to kind of enclose this you know instead of asking you to subscribe or everything just go hug your dog if you have a dog or a cat. Whatever your pet is. Whatever your pet is share some time with it you know you just never know. Right. They're very precious and sadly their lives aren't as long as ours but I think they get the most out of the time that they have and yeah. And we'll end this video showing one of our favorite pictures of him when he was a puppy. Yes. See you everybody. Thank you.