Doogie Dog, as you may guess from his name, is a canine cacher from Omaha, Nebraska. He’s the companion of Rotorootie and very frequently accompanied him while caching. Although many cachers bring their dogs along on an occasional cache hunt, Doogie and Rotorootie were dedicated to the search for hidden containers, whether street side nanos, rural ammo cans, multi’s or Wherigo’s. Doogie’s official find count is 5,595 caches, found in four years of caching, however he had cached quite awhile before a friend suggested he set up his own account on geocaching.com. He enjoyed every one of those finds, because of the companionship and adventures he shared, not only with Rotorootie, but all of their friends who joined them in the hunt and the people and fellow canine cachers he met at events.

He enjoyed freedom and the road; his favorite ride was the Harley motorcycle. Long caching trips or short hops across town, he could be seen wearing his goggles, the wind whipping his ears, looking like a biplane pilot trailing a fringed, white, silk scarf. He was a dashing pioneer, in search of new and exciting adventures, as he traveled over the country.

When arriving at a cache location, his safety harness would be unclipped and he would join in the hunt and explore the area. He didn’t locate the caches or sniff them out, but he was there, off-leash mostly, without wandering off… except for the occasional sidetrack for an irresistible scent. Some of his good friends would bring treats for him and he might be just a bit more interested in exploring the bag they were kept in. For most of the time though, he was right there with everyone else. A real trooper, even on the all day cache runs, he was always willing to stretch his legs and join in the fun. After the log was signed, he would be just as eager to get back on the Harley and hit the road for the next location.

He was small in stature, however his accomplishments are great. The first and only dog in our Nebraskache group to reach the milestone of 1000 caches, he was awarded a glass container filled with milk bones and etched with his name and the date of his thousandth cache, “Frog Park” GC1CDRQ , found 5/31/2008. For his 2000^th cache, “Mingo“ GC30, found on 5/23/2009, he was awarded another etched glass container. He completed and logged both the Nebraska 93 County Challenge and the Nebraska Delorme Challenge. He had completed the requirements for the Iowa 99 County and Iowa Delorme also, but had not signed the final logs for those challenges.

He was a member of the Elkhorn Valley H.O.G.(Harley Owners Group), The National H.O.G. acknowledged his 40,000 miles in the saddle of the Harley, with a presentation of a pin that he wore every day as he added more than 10,000 additional miles to that total.

At events, he was always the gentlemen, quietly making his rounds visiting friends and never raising a fuss or causing any problems. He became a fixture at outdoor events, free to roam at will, never underfoot or begging for attention or food. When there were indoor events, where he was not allowed, he patiently waited outside for his after-event road time. He accepted the attention he got as “that cute dog on the bike” in stride; he was always down to earth, dignified, Doogie.

Doogie Dog departed for the Rainbow Bridge on February 4^th, 2011, after sharing his fourteen years. He will be greatly missed by his many friends. I’m certain that, while he waits to be reunited with Rotorootie, he’ll be in on the search for the caches hidden along that bridge. He’ll be happy, exploring that world, as he was in this one.

By catsnfish

A couple of empty-nesters who caught the caching bug not realizing it was incurable. So if we’re found in the woods waltzing with Garmins, lifting lampskirts while tying our shoe or looking for “gum” underneath benches, be sure to stay away... it’s contagious and the only temporary relief can be found in finding bison’s, ammo’s, nano’s, or passing coins and spreading travel bugs!

Publisher's Note: Catsnfish write the periodic column The Adventures of Catsnfish. Subscribe (free) to The Online Geocacher to get an email alert when a new article is published.

Comments(2):

1. I am sure there are caches in doggy heaven!

   Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Ulla

2. An inspiration...

   I have to say even as a newbie with just under 840 found, I found Rotorootie and Doogie such an inspiration. I hope to gain my motorcycle license in the next few months and work on teaching my little pups to be as adept and pleasurable for all as Doogie was. Thank you Rotorootie for the inspiration and faith we can travel and geocache with our canine family! Best Wishes!

   Saturday, May 21, 2011 Nicole