I got an e-mail from a lady yesterday that told me she was heartbroken because they had just lost their beloved eight month old Jack Russell terrier when a coyote came into their campsite in northern California and made off with it.

She said her husband had yelled and thrown rocks at the coyote, but it just ran off with their puppy in its jaws, a sight that would haunt them forever. She said the campground hosts had warned them about coyotes, but they never dreamed that they would be so bold as to snatch their puppy while they were sitting outside in their lawn chairs.

We have seen this happen before in campgrounds. At the Verde Valley Thousand Trails preserve in Camp Verde, Arizona a couple of years ago, a couple put two little Shih Tzu dogs outside their fifth wheel in a fenced enclosure about eighteen inches high, and the local coyotes walked right into their campsite, jumped into the pen and grabbed the dogs.

While I’m very sorry for their loss, they have to understand that to the coyotes, these weren’t pets, they were just lunch, and their owners delivered it right into the predators’ living room.

You can’t blame the coyotes (or bobcats, foxes, and occasional mountain lions). They are just doing what comes natural to them, preying on something lower on the food chain. We brought our RVs and our pets into their territory and made them easy to devour. It happens all over the country, though it happens most often in the west. However, coyotes can be found from the deserts of Arizona to the forests of Michigan, and no matter where they come from, they have one thing in common; they all appreciate an easy meal.

And those are not the only critters that are standing in line to eat your critters. Bill Graves, in his America’s Outback column in this month’s Trailer Life magazine, writes about Central Florida, where the locals say the favorite food for the alligators in the region is small dogs. Eagles, hawks, owls, and even feral dogs will not hesitate to snatch small pets given half a chance. It’s all about survival of the fittest.

That doesn’t mean you should avoid the great outdoors and confine your RV stays to urban campgrounds. Especially since I have personally seen coyotes in city parks in downtown Seattle and Portland. Just use some common sense.  

If you love your pets, do not leave them unattended outside at any time, whether tied up or in a pen. And as the folks who lost their puppy yesterday can attest, even being outside with them is no guarantee of safety for your pets. Wild predators are fast, smart, and ruthless when it comes to filling their stomachs. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Or in this case, a Fifi or a Mr. Rags.

Thought For The Day – You have to at least try to live your dream if you want it to come true.

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Spending time in an RV park is similar in many ways to living in a small town a generation ago. There is a sense of community, especially among the people who stay for a few weeks or a month at a time.

We find that we interact much more with our campground neighbors than we ever did with our neighbors in our old hometown. When we go for our evening walk, we say hello to our neighbors who are also out for a stroll, or who are relaxing in their lawn chairs. We’ll stop and chat with folks here and there, maybe comment on the weather, or visit with a friendly dog. It is not uncommon to welcome newcomers, ask where they come from, and get acquainted.

Living in the close confines of some RV parks can take some getting used to. We have been in campgrounds with spacious sites and others where when you sneeze while sitting in your recliner, you hear the fellow in the next RV say “Bless you.”

This sometimes requires you to stop and think about how your normal activities may impact your neighbors. For example, Terry and I are night owls, and I do most of my writing after 9 p.m., and seldom get to bed before 1:30 or 2 a.m. When we have RVs parked close by, we make it a point to keep the volume on our television turned down so it does not keep the neighbors awake.  

Of course, not all RV park neighbors are conscientious of those around them. Common trespasses in campground life include smokers who do not want to smoke inside their RVs, so they come outside and let their smoke drift into the neighbors’ windows instead; people who get up early to hit the road and make a lot of noise unhooking, and then fire up their diesel engine and let it idle while they go inside to have a cup of coffee, or whatever they do before they hit the road; taking a shortcut through someone else’s RV site, and not cleaning up after pets; and my personal pet peeve, allowing yappy little dogs to disturb the neighbors.

But these kinds of misdeeds are the exceptions. Most RVers are wonderful neighbors, and a joy to get to know. It’s easy to make friends in an RV park; all it takes is a nod and a hello. If you are sitting outside in your lawn chairs, face them toward the street and just wave as folks pass by. You’ll be surprised how many stop and strike up a conversation.

And anytime a guy wants to get to know the other fellows in a campground, all he has to do is open the hood of his truck and stand there, or start setting up a tripod TV dish. You’ll have them coming out of their rigs to offer to lend a hand, or just stand around and watch.

Many campgrounds have organized activities, and many even have hired activity directors whose sole purpose is to find ways to help campers keep busy and make new friends. If your campground has an afternoon social hour, a Saturday pancake breakfast, or evening card games, show up and get involved. Before you know it, you’ll be a busy and active member of your little campground community.

Thought For The Day – One of the life’s mysteries is how a two pound box of candy can make a person gain five pounds.

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