I forget when it broke. Near the end of our last outing I think, but it was “Oh, that again”.
I was able to fashion a kludge fix which could open and close the bedroom slide, but waited until we were home to do something permanent.
Opting for simple, the bedroom slide out controller was replaced with just a 12V fuse which supplied power to a wall switch which in turn was connected directly to the slide out motor. Two wires instead of five. It works, that’s all that matters.
Since the new switch takes up more room . . .
. . . a mounting plate was added so the switch would fit
Ta da!
The slide controller is now just a fuse (however, 15A fuse replaced with 25A one)
After Flirt died we were dogless for only about 3 weeks. We have lived with one or more dogs since the 80’s, and living without one was unbearable.
Under my desk . . . loves that squeaky toy
So . . . we didn’t want to raise a puppy in our 70’s, so we started searching for a rescue Golden Retriever.
First attempts were disappointing. One shelter only served the greater LA area and another never got back to us.
However, third time was the charm. Jan contacted Homeward Bound (https://homewardboundgoldens.org) near Sacramento and they had two Goldens we could look at.
So on August 7th we adopted four-year-old Lucy. What a sweety. Her previous owner had died suddenly and there was no family to take Lucy.
At first we were afraid she was a “velcro” dog – a dog who would never leave your side and suffer from separation anxiety if you did. However, after two months Lucy has adapted very well. She eats, poops, and walks just fine, gets along with people and is very approachable. She does bark at small dogs and every cat is her nemesis.
Jan and I knew this day would come. This is our 4th Golden retriever . . . Wrigley was our first, Jack our second, and Ellie our third. All four died from cancer – the golden curse.
Over the last couple of years we could see Flirt age . . . she couldn’t jump up on our bed anymore, long walks became difficult, and so on.
However, her death was so sudden. The morning we couldn’t get Flirt to get up to eat. A bad sign as she loved food. Since none of local vets would see her, we ended up going to the Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialty Center, a 24-hour emergency center, in Medford, Oregon. They were great, professional and very sensitive.
Flirt could no longer walk, so the vets lifted her into the center. After an ultrasound scan, the doctor gave us her diagnosis – Flirt had a large mass in her abdomen near her spleen and fluid in her lungs. All of it probably cancerous. Because of her age, treatment was not an option.
So we’re cutting short our summer trip and heading home in a few days.
We’d like to share a number of movies and photos of Flirt over the years . . .
2012
After our dog Jack died, we decided to get another Golden Retriever. We visited a golden breeder in Wisconsin in June 2012 to put our name in for an upcoming golden litter.
In the following video, Flirt’s father is the last dog on the clip, a 10-year-old male, who melts in Jan’s hands . . . just like Flirt did.
2012 – Flirt’s father is the last dog on this clip
2012 – Flirt and Ellie playing (Jan is worrying in the background)
2014
After getting Flirt in late 2012, we adapted another 7-year-old golden, Ellie, a short time later.
The following video was taken on the porch of our park model in Lake Havasu, AZ of the two girls playing:
2014 – Flirt & Ellie in Lake Havasu, AZ
2016
When we lived at the Crazy Horse Campground in Lake Havasu, AZ, Flirt met two dogs who she played with from time to time . . .
2016 – Flirt and Katie
2016 – Flirt and Ollie
2016 – Flirt loved fetching
2016 – South Lake (elevation 9,000′) outside Bishop, CA
2017
During our summer 2017 trip, we stayed at a seaside campground in Port Aransas, TX. From there, we could Jeep along the miles long Padre Island and play in the Gulf.
This was Flirt’s first time off leash in the water. We’ve never seen her happier. Her tail wagged continuously. Flirt was so excited that soon after running into the water, she took a poop in the waves.
2017 – One happy golden
Flirt loved air conditioning . . .
2017 – Lake Havasu park model
2017 – Lake Havasu park model
2018
2018 – Flirt watching “Isle of Dogs” on TV
2019
Flirt loved the porch on our Lake Havasu park model. From it she could look down on the park and watch . . . everything.
2019 – The porch of our Lake Havasu park model
2019 – Flirt loved everyone
2019 – Flirt loved taking off-leash walks on the old airport runway near Crazy Horse Campground
2019 – The consummate beggar during an off-road Jeep trip
2019 – Swimming in the Virgin River in Zion National Park’s Watchman Campground
2021
2021 – Watching TV in Mariposa, CA
2022
2022 – Sleeping in Mariposa
2022 – Taking a walk in Barrett Cove Campground
2022 – Flirt walking me
2023
2023 – Barrett Cove again
2023 – and again
2024
2024 – after a hard day swimming in the Rogue River at Lucky Lodge Campground, OR
2025
2025 – Flirt’s last swim in the Rogue River, a few days before her death
Most of our trip so far has been up Highway 395, but now we take a left turn off 395 towards the coast.
The geology along Highway 395 has been remarkable in its beauty and variety.
Click to enlarge (it’s huge)
Juniper’s Reservoir campground is about 10 miles west of the town of Lakeview on Highway 140. The campground is reached by traveling a few miles along a dusty road off Highway 140 . . .
Almost every campsite, including ours, has a birdhouse nearby . . .
Our birdhouse is in front of the tree above
The birdhouse is about 3 feet away from our front window
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