Overland Expo Staff Adventure Dogs

It’s the Dog Days of Summer, and to celebrate we thought we’d share quick bios of some of our staff adventure dogs. They range widely in age, breed, and size. But each is an adventure dog extraordinaire in the own right. In alphabetical order, here are some of our overland adventure pups.

Amanda Devore

A dog has his paws on the lip of a small boat
Remy

Our two-year-old Golden Retriever, Remy, is quite the adventurer. If he were in charge (which he is most of the time), he would live outside in the snow forever. Remy was born in Sacramento, California and has spent his first two years of life hiking the forests and coastlines of the West Coast. He has chased balls on the beaches of Santa Cruz and Mendocino, hiked snowy trails in Lake Tahoe, and he’s ridden in his parents’ Jeep across the country to their new home in Connecticut. Now that Remy lives on the East Coast, he’s enjoying swimming in rivers, finding sticks in the woods, and is very much looking forward to his first Northeast winter.

Anthony Sicola

Dog rides in motorcycle sidecar with woman and man
Astrid, Anthony, and Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Sir Digby is a posh adventurer, when he’s not “heckin’ proteckin’” at home, he’s out on the trails with my wife Astrid and me – making sure that our campsite remains free and clear of “squeaky and chirpy things” like squirrels, chipmunks, and other rodents.

Digby loves going out for adventures on my inflatable SUP with his little life vest – and a decent supply of treats, though he absolutely HATES swimming or getting wet in any way, shape or form. He prefers home-cooked camp meals over cans of stinky dog food and can’t go anywhere without his cushy bed and binky.

His favorite pastime on the road is searching for cows in pastures and losing his little mind when he sees them. Astrid and I have no idea what he thinks they are, but we’re pretty sure it’s just his Asiatic Wolf tendencies making their way out of him. He’s a beast.

READ MORE: Dog Days of Summer Adventure Dog Contest

Eva Rupert

I have a whole fleet of adventure dogs! Ace and Sophie are both 14 years old now and have logged countless miles on the road with me. Their claim to fame is that they’ve been to all 48 of the continental United States, traveled through Mexico, and swam in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Sea of Cortez. The rest of my dog pack includes Norman, who likes long hikes, van trips, and cuddling so hard that you fall off your sleeping pad at night. Sprocket is the newest addition to my team. He is a one year old rescue who showed up at my doorstep out of the blue just a couple months ago. He is gearing up for his first big road trip and will be traveling with me in my Tacoma to all of the Overland Expo events this summer.

Maggie McDermut

Dog on a run during a camping trip
Bomba Dog

BombaDog is the ultimate adventure pup.  She joins me for backcountry skiing, hiking, trail running, days at the barn, walks on the beach and of course all of my off-road/overland excursions, no matter how long.  Bomba is a desert dog at heart though, born on the Navajo Reservation and then she found her second home at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT.  My perfect pup was adopted and returned twice before seven months of age.

That’s when I met my little buddy, and she’s been stuck with me ever since, but I don’t think she minds her life of adventure.  Like a lot of shelter pups, Bomba is a mix, my best guess is a golden retriever-Belgian Malinois mix.  She will turn 6 this year, but she hasn’t changed a bit since I picked her up.  Maybe a bit more coordinated compared to those first few months, but the same mellow when need be, energetic when adventuring, awkward gumby dog who is the cause of much laughter.  

READ MORE: Bring Your Dog to Overland Expo

Nick Jaynes

My first adventure pup, Ruger, passed away last November, but not before he could impart some outdoorsy wisdom to my new pup, Arlo. After 12 years of Ruger as my sidekick, Arlo has taken the reins as my overlanding partner.

Arlo is a one-year-old Golden and Labrador Retriever mix — the Internet calls this a “Goldador” (I don’t). Arlo is 67 pounds of pure, unadulterated puppy energy, which is great for an adventure pup. That is, during the daylight hours.

Arlo loves to run, hike, swim, and generally get into (and try to eat) everything he’s not supposed to. He’s a riot.

At night, Arlo’s energy rears its ugly head at camp. If there is any sort of noise outside of the tent, Arlo is up to investigate — even if that means walking on me in the process. Then as soon as the sun comes up (around 4 a.m. in the Pacific Northwest during the summer months), Arlo is up and at ‘em. That means, I am usually the first man up and on coffee-brewing duty.

Arlo has been with me on every trip since he was old enough to travel (12 weeks). And he’ll be with me on all the others for the rest of his life.

Rick Stowe

We have two very different adventure pups. JoJo, our five-year-old French Bulldog, is a total clown. She loves to ride in the truck, as long as the AC is blasting and she can see out the window. Even though she isn’t the most athletic dog you’ll ever meet, she tries to jump in the Tacoma anytime the door is open. She attended Overland Expo East a couple of years ago and was absolutely in her environment. The more people to meet, the better, and she’ll never turn down a belly rub. Unfortunately, her Achilles heel is the heat, so her outdoor adventures are limited to cooler temperatures. 

Our other dog is Mora, a two-year-old Beagle. She’s not a huge fan of riding in vehicles, but she absolutely loves the trail. You can’t hike enough to tire her out. When she’s on the trail, her nose is in overdrive, and everything requires a good sniff session. Even though she isn’t a big fan of riding in the truck, she loves to hang out in the back so that she can get a higher vantage point and watch everything around her. Those Beagle senses never turn off. 

At the end of the day, they both dive under a well-loved fleece blanket for a deep snooze, but not too deep to wake up and bark when something goes bump in the night.

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