Kamper Profile: Utah Manel-Jarvis
This month’s Kamper has got to have the longest
name we’ve encountered: Utah Four Pup Pup Double
Rainbow Manel-Jarvis. The story of his naming is
a tale unto itself. It begins with Dana Manel quitting
her job and spending the summer hiking around the
US, and thinking it was time for a dog. In the Southwest
Navajo & Hopi country, in Utah, the locals told
her to look around because often there were dogs
available for adoption. One day she pulled into
a reservation tourist stop called The Four Corners,
and as she was looking around at the jewelry and
food, a friend told her that she has to come see
a stray dog. She went over and saw this scrawny
little guy sitting down with his leg off to the
side, tongue out, panting and begging for food.
They whistled and clapped to him, and he followed
them to their truck. They had her friend’s dog with
them, so they set him up with his water bowl and
food. The stray ate and sat under the truck in the
shade, with no particular place to go. It was decided
that Dana would take this little guy with her. At
first she called him "Four" for the Four Corners,
but that didn’t seem right. She tried out "Pup Pup,"
which a young girl at Four Corners who had wanted
to take him home called him, but then when they
pulled out of the Four Corners, a beautiful double
rainbow appeared over their road…and Dana couldn’t
let that go un-remembered. In the end he got all
four names; and as in Native American culture, his
name tells a story.
According to Dana, Utah has come a long way since
then, both physically and emotionally. She guesses
he was around six months old when she found him,
and he was not very well. He had no idea how to
handle cars, leashes, or even the inside of houses.
She feels that it was good for him that she spent
much of the next several months outside camping
and hiking, calling it "the perfect way to bond
with an animal." First baths were a challenge, and
walks on a leash were dicey, with him diving into
the bushes whenever a car came by. He barely ever
relaxed, and would always run wherever they went
until he was too tired to run anymore. He struggled
once in an urban setting, so Dana took to walking
him after midnight when the streets were quieter.
Over time they bonded, and he learned to trust her
and adapt to life outside of the reservation.
Eight years later, a move to Maine, and a marriage
for mom, he lives happily in Maine, is a regular
at Higgins Beach, can ride in all cars (with or
without roofs), and is not afraid to come indoors
or take a bath! He has a family with a mom, dad,
and 15-month-old girl, plus a cat (but don’t tell
his dog friends that part!). According to Dana,
"He’s a real dog’s dog, so he loves hanging with
Luc at Kamp K9. It’s nice to know that there’s a
place that really gets him, and lets him be himself."
We can happily return the sentiment, as we love
having Utah around. He’s a sweet boy who seems to
appreciate everything he has, and who’s simply happy
to be around!
In
Other News
Maine Cocker Spaniel Rescue is having
a raffle; all proceeds go toward defraying the medical
expenses of rescued Cocker Spaniels who have not
yet found their forever homes. The prize is a magnificent
hand-made quilt; here are some details from the Maine
Cocker Spaniel Rescue web site:
The Lewiston/Auburn group of the
Southern Maine Chapter of the Embroiderer's Guild
of America crafted and lovingly stitched the quilt
for MSCR to raffle in 2010. The quilt is done in
the "redwork" style, though it is not in
the traditional red as the group felt that blue was
a better choice. The cockers are line drawings by
Denise Pratt from actual dogs she knows, and are
painstakingly stitched in stem stitch with floss.
There is a label on the back of the quilt that every
single person that worked on it signed. The quilt
measures 4'-8" x 5'-9".
The raffle will be going through
November, and Kamp K9 has tickets available for printing
and mailing in with your donation. They’re $1 for
one, or $10 for a dozen.
www.mainecockerrescue.org/quiltraffle.html
« Back Next » |
