Roaming with Pups: A Doctor's Journey of Adventure and Discovery

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“This story follows Maria, a doctor who traded in her stethoscope for hiking boots and a life of adventure with her two beloved dogs, Garbo and Fyn. Raised in a multicultural household filled with love and a thirst for exploration, Maria's passion for the outdoors blossomed early. Despite pursuing a career in medicine, her adventurous spirit remained, leading her to embrace a life of travel and discovery with her furry companions.”

Background

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I was born in Sweden and raised mostly in Chicago but travelled back and forth to Sweden with my parents. In Chicago, we lived in the city and in Sweden, our family lives in a 300 year old house deep in the forest. Growing up my parents were both immigrants. My dad was from Mexico and my mom was from Sweden and they both moved to the US when they were 17. My mom was an Au Pair and my dad did odd jobs. They both went to school when my sister and I started grammar school and so in the end, when I graduated High School, my mom was a Nurse and my dad was an attorney for Mexican immigrants. Our house was small, but we always had extended family living with us, so it was loud, somewhat chaotic, and filled with languages and delicious food and love. My parents were really busy, so my sister and I were latch key kids when there wasn’t someone living with us, so we knew how to take care of ourselves from an early age.

My own kids were raised in Seattle with Mount Rainier close by. We immersed them in the outdoors constantly.

Has your love for adventure and the outdoors always been a part of your life?

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I think I have always been extremely curious about everything. That applied to everything from learning how to fix cars to asking my Swedish uncle to take me out to see if we could spot a moose in the forest. I loved animals and it was a dream come true to adopt a little dog from Orphans of the Storm shelter near us. I saved up babysitting money to buy a 28-year-old horse that we kept in a barn just on the edge of the city. Chicago has a really Great Lake, so I was a water girl from the beginning. But I quickly became interested in the idea that some people lived in places where they could see a mountain from their bedroom window. Early on I was looking toward Vancouver Canada and other really ideal locations for the outdoors.

With my love for animals, I thought for sure that I would like to be a Veterinarian but through a happy circumstance, ended up training to be a doctor. I did my residency in Salt Lake City and we definitely had many, many mountains out our windows there though not much time to explore them. It was though my first exposure to true wilderness and my husband and I learned to snowshoe and tried snowboarding and did extensive hiking in beautiful alpine wilderness with our 3 young kids.

Looking back, I can definitely imagine having pursued a career that would have taken me into the Amazon rainforest as a scientist or photographer or perhaps into outer space. It is just that those were not tangible dreams I think because I had never met or known of any other women or man for that matter that pursued such a career.

Introduce us to your furry travel companions, Fyn and Garbo! How did they become part of your life, and what makes them so special?

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Sushu was my first family dog and she taught us what it means to be loyal and loving. She was perhaps the most sentient dog I have ever known. She has passed now but Garbo is her spitting image. Garbo came to us as part of a Canine Companion job to raise a service dog puppy for it’s first year of life. I applied and was accepted to this role and we were trained every week in how to teach a service dog 24 different tricks. When she was 15 months, she was taken for professional training. Most service dogs are trained formally for another 6 months and then placed with a handicapped child in this case permanently. Every now and then a dog does not get placed sometimes due to health issues and then first dibs are given to her puppy raiser to adopt her.

This happened to Garbo so now we have this exceptionally well trained service dog not in service. She is amazing and really is as smart as a young child. We never need to leash her ever and she knows many commands including how to press the button for the elevator and to open our fridge.

We adopted Fyn when we heard that Garbo was indeed going to progress on in her training. Fyn was an extremely tiny pup from Chula Vista. When we adopted her we had heard she was an unexpected litter from a family with a young Golden Retriever. When we went to pick her up, we were not allowed to see the family or her mom but instead basically handed a much too small puppy and sent on our way. So, actually, we do not know much about Fyn except that our vet says she was only at best 6 weeks old. When we first got her, she did not know how to eat and even with bottle feeding her, she was woozy and passed out so off to the emergency vet she went. Being taken from her mom so early really led to a lot of health issues for her so I think that is why she is very small. Perhaps she is not a Golden.

Garbo is a serious and loyal pup and extremely interested in being my service dog so she follows me everywhere we go just a few feet to my side. Fyn is a completely wild, life loving, free spirited little pup with a fair amount of energy. She loves people way too much and where Garbo can seem reserved, Fyn has absolutely no filter. If you even so much as hint that you want to pet her, she will be your best friend forever. I really understand now that the service dog industry creates dogs that are so intelligent that training them is actually quite simple. This is by way of contrast with Fyn who is quite hard to train but, we are working on it.

What inspired you to take your furry companions on the road with you?

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During the pandemic I worked in a Paediatric Urgent Care and my life went on as if there was no change. I was one of the only cars on the road at one point on my ride in to work. We were extremely busy and after 20 years of doctoring in settings that left me really inspired and fulfilled, my experience during the pandemic was really challenging. I think all of us doctors were pushed in ways that we never expected to be and as such, I looked to the outdoors to achieve some rest and relaxation. I have always been fascinated by stories about the outdoors. I have always dreamed of Van Life and walking the Pacific Crest Trail. I have had a photo of a couple on that trail on the inside of my kitchen cabinet for as long as I can remember.

As a kid I devoured the “I Survived” series in the monthly Reader’s Digest. . I am an avid reader of Outside Magazine and listen closely to their podcast and The Wild out of Seattle as well. I have read extensively the accounts of explorers from the past such as Shackleton and also books about the Everest Mountain Climbers and Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold. I also have had an interest in Wilderness Medicine and study books outlining the mistakes that can be made in the wild and how to avoid them or recover from them. There is a whole series of such books-the last one that I read was for Yosemite. It is absolutely amazing what can happen to a person and I think vital to realize that every situation is unique but having the experience and having read about others’ experience in the outdoors is invaluable.

Can you share with us a particular trip that sticks out in your mind?

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A particular trip that is on my mind is a recent one. We travelled to Norway this spring. Norway is, as a fellow content creator’s kid says- “like a giant Yosemite”. That is such a great description of it. Thank God they have what some might consider challenging weather because if it were not for that, the entire world would move to Norway. It is a magical place filled with thousands of mountains, cliffs, lakes, miles of coast abutting the ocean on two sides, the Arctic Circle up north, and fjords throughout. The fjords are what I think are the most beautiful. They are green or blue ocean water that has seeped inland surrounded by bold, stark and steep mountains. These can be narrow or wide, long or short, deep or shallow, but they are everywhere. It is like every neighbourhood has their own set of fjord and mountain. Exploring these involves serpentine roadways and tunnels and when you think you have seen the most beautiful place ever, you turn a corner and there is another.

The pups and I went to Lysefjord which is where Preikestolen is-that is the overhanging cliff that Tom Cruise jumped off of in Mission Impossible. We swam in as many freezing cold Glacier runoff as possible and climbed to as many peaks as our legs could survive. We also went to Sunnfjord and Sognefjord. Each of these regions is in the middle of Norway. We still have so much more to explore including the idyllic islands of Lofoten up on the Northern Coast.

What are the biggest challenges and surprises you've discovered when it comes to traveling with dogs?

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Dogs are accepted differently in different countries. In the US, it is completely ordinary to see a service dog and for most people to have a dog. It is though acceptable to not allow dogs in certain places-trails, hotels, apartments etc. Here in Europe, I have yet to see a service dog, but dogs are welcomed everywhere. Restaurants, trains, subways, airbnbs, hotels, trails and apartments. In fact, when I asked if an owner allowed dogs in an apartment rental they looked at me funny and said-that is up to you to decide if you want a dog.

Travelling between places can be challenging when it is not possible to drive. My flight from Los Angeles to Stockholm Sweden took so much planning and really was quite stressful. Mostly for Fyn who had to travel via the Cargo Hold underneath where the pilots sit. I hope not to need to do that again. Equally stressful was having Garbo in the plane since with a 11 hour flight, I needed to train her to use a potty carpet in the tiny airplane bathroom. Not the easiest thing to do!

What are some of your favourite travel destinations with dogs?

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I have loved travelling the West Coast with my pups. We visited Yosemite (limited trails for dogs though) and Mammoth and Idyllwild as well as Big Sur and Santa Cruz. California is a dream come true for outdoor adventures. There is a whole world left to explore there for us. Sweden where I am living now is also ideal in that there is this thing called The Right to Roam. This is a Swedish and in fact Norwegian Law that says that as long as you do not disturb people, you have the right to roam anywhere including on someone else’s property. What this means is that there really is no where that you cannot go. No ocean front, no lakeside, no forest. They are all in bounds for exploration. That is huge. Even if there is a fence for keeping animals in-you just need to close that fence after you enter. So Sweden with it’s extensive forests and lakes has been really fun for us. Who knew that you could just pull up on any day and have an entire swimmable lake to yourself!

For aspiring dog travellers, what are some must-have items to pack and what can be left behind?

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I would definitely advice people to take there dogs with on any and all adventures. All trails.com lists whether a trail is dog friendly and any particular rules that exist and is available for trails worldwide. There are many websites with information for Dog Friendly travel-we have one at Roamingwithpups.com. There are also many content creators specifically showcasing dog friendly outdoor adventures such as instagram’s @wanderlustwithdogs.

Things to think about are bringing a safety kit-you never know when your dog will be stung by a bee and swell up for example. Also bring lots of water and start slow with shorter one hour or less hiking trips at first to acclimate yourself and your dog and to learn what their interest level and abilities are. I keep my pups on leash since coming upon a hare or deer in Fyn’s case would require a lot of yelling to keep her from running after it.

A leash could also prevent dangerous animal encounters as well. Unfortunately, having a dog during a bear encounter can worsen the situation. I bring Bear Spray and research all trails before heading out. Make sure to have sufficient water and to stop for water breaks. I carry a treat pack always whether just walking around the block or on trail. This allows me to constantly train-training becomes like a habit this way and my pups are attentive to me always since they know there may be a treat coming.

Finally, protect your pups from heat-the car is never safe. What may have seemed like a liveable temp can change very quickly so protect them by taking them with. This causes difficulties when it comes to bathroom breaks when on a road trip. Start hiking early with your pup even if it means carrying them for some of it. This makes it second nature for them to love hiking. There are dog back packs that work for some breeds if needed. Consider putting a bell on your dog’s collar because it is always better to let wild animals run off because they hear you coming. We use a GPS collar for safety reasons and I cannot imagine not having that in the case of our pup’s getting lost.

Have you had any particularly funny encounters with your dogs while traveling?

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Some recent funny things that have happened to us are when we were checking in to an Airbnb in the mountains of Norway, somehow while we were just entering the home, our dog pushed the door shut and it self-locked. We were locked out and had to go to another Airbnb. So thankful that our pup was not still inside! On that same trip we were on a short hike near our Airbnb and heard bells clanging and turned the corner to meet up with an entire flock of sheep. Both my pups and the sheep had a very long staring contest which the sheep won. We backed off and went another way.

If you could travel with your dogs anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

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I would go back to visit my kids in California. My pups love my kids and my kids love the pups but it is really overwhelming to contemplate the plane flight. There is a ship that goes weekly between London and New York City and for the price that is not much more than the flight so perhaps this might be something we try. There are also Dog Airlines such as Bark Air that fly to select destinations including internationally but the price is really out of reach for us. I would also go to New Zealand!

What's the most memorable moment you've shared with your dogs while travelling?

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Every moment is better with the pups. Imagine having your best friend with you always and you never have a disagreement and they think you are just the best thing since sliced bread. Pretty hard to beat those moments. We travel comfortably, happily, and it feels like such a joy to have them by my side.

Do you have any travel tips or resources you recommend for other dog owners?

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I have so many travel tips for dog adventurers. I am working on doing more blogging on this. Upcoming blogs will include US to Europe Travel, What’s Essential for your Dog’s Emergency Kit, Hiking Equipment for Dogs, Paddleboarding With Dogs, and many location specific guides to dog friendly travel. These will be on our website.

Where to from here Maria? What are your future aspirations?

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My present aspiration is to learn to provide useful, fun, funny, inspirational and educational Instagram Content. This is what I am concentrating on first. Creating content is actually very hard. There is so much to learn about how to film well, how to edit, how to provide information that people can relate to and enjoy consuming. We are taking a course called The Creator Passport that has been essential for teaching us how to do this. I believe that getting better at this will open up many more opportunities for me to transition from working as a Doctor remotely almost full time to possibly decreasing to Part Time. That will really give me the freedom to continue to explore and photograph and enjoy the outdoors. I really look forward to that!