A bucket list for my dog

I decided to create a bucket list for Ace, and to keep it to 10 items.

Most of these are actually more about me than my dog. Ace is happy with a 20-minute walk and a tennis ball. He probably doesn’t care about a bucket list.

Still, I decided to create a list of 10 things I’d really like to do with my dog in his lifetime.

A bucket list for my dog Ace

1. Road trip to Wisconsin.

We moved from North Dakota to California a few years ago, and it would really mean a lot to me if Ace could visit my parents in Wisconsin at least one more time. This is definitely more for me than him, but I would love to see him running on my parents’ property again, swimming in their lake and jumping off their dock.

Obviously, this will depend on our budget, work schedules and Ace’s health. It’s a 2,000-mile drive.

2. Sign up for an obedience class.

I know! It sounds so basic. But since we moved I haven’t taken the time to find a club or trainer I really like, and I haven’t budgeted the $200 (yikes!) for a class.

Training classes are something Ace and I really love doing together.

3. Plan a photoshoot.

This could be professional or it could just be my husband and I with our camera. Either way, I’d like to get some solid, high-quality photos we can save forever, including action shots of Ace chasing his ball, portraits of us with our dog and one of Ace with the cats.

4. Take Ace to a nursing home.

Ace visited my grandma in the nursing home back in 2008. I’m grateful for that, but it’s something I haven’t done since. My dog has the perfect energy and personality for visiting people in nursing homes, and I’d really like to take him somewhere locally if possible.

5. Take more videos of my dog.

This would be to capture all his tricks and goofy traits like howling.

6. Plan a “perfect day” for my dog once a year.

I did this for my senior foster dog Dora because I knew she had limited time, but let’s face it, we all have limited time. We should all be planning lots of “perfect days” for ourselves and our dogs.

7. Spend half the day at the beach with my dog.

You’d think we would’ve done this by now since we live within walking distance of a great beach. Nope. All our visits are about 20 minutes to an hour or so.

8. Go camping with my dog.

Yes, we’ve done this before, but not often enough. It’s been over two years since our last camping trip. Thankfully, we have a camping trip planned next month in northern California!

9. Road trip to Texas.

My brother lives in Texas, and it would be a lot of fun to take Ace to see “Uncle Peter.” For several years, Peter lived in Grand Forks, N.D., while I lived 70 miles south in Fargo. During that time, Ace got to take several road trips to see Peter. It would be fun to do that again, only now it’s a 1,500-mile trip.

10. Visit Montana.

My husband and I have plans to eventually move to Montana where we have a dream of owning a ranch. I’m not sure if this will happen in Ace’s lifetime, but either way I would like to take Ace to that area to check out some property. He’s never been to Montana, and it would mean a lot to me to get him there at least once.

So, as you can see, it’s important to me to be out and about doing things with my dog!

What’s one thing you would include on a bucket list for your dog?

I read about this great idea first on The Lazy Pit Bull. A bucket list for your dog!