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How Many Hours Does It Take To Get One Fruitycake Three Miles? And Will Pizza Be Involved?
This is Fruitycake. How long does it take to get one Fruitycake to a veterinarian who is only three miles away? If you answered approximately ten minutes, you have clearly never lived with Girl Person and Boy Person in this Portofino place. The correct answer is TWO HOURS. Two hours to travel three miles. And that is just to get there! By the time we walk down the mountain, wait for a bus, ride the bus, walk some more and locate the veterinarian, I may need an entire pizza just to recover from the journey. And possibly a second pizza for emotional damages.
Tomorrow is Thursday. The day of my very important veterinarian appointment. Girl Person has been preparing for this appointment as though we are launching a spaceship. There are documents to gather, vaccination records to check, microchip information to organize and questions to write down. I need my rabies vaccination updated, a complete examination to make sure I am healthy for our upcoming travels and the proper documentation to help us prepare for the next chapter of our lives. Apparently, being an internationally traveling dog requires more paperwork than being a human. I would like to know who decided this. Was it a cat?
And because we do not have a car, there is the matter of actually getting me there. Three miles. TWO HOURS. Girl Person keeps looking at the route and the bus schedule as though staring at them long enough might make the journey shorter. Boy Person is preparing to carry whatever we need. I am preparing to carry the enormous responsibility of being adorable in public. Everyone has a job.
But there is something else we must prepare for. THE SHARPEI PERSON.
Do you remember the old lady in town last year who tried to steal me? We call her the Sharpei Person, and I have not forgotten her! Girl Person has not forgotten her either. Tomorrow we will have to keep our eyes open because apparently there are people in this world who see one handsome Fruitycake and decide they would like to take him home. I understand the temptation. I really do. But I already have two People, a very important job helping rescue animals and a pizza schedule that cannot accommodate an unexpected kidnapping. So tomorrow we will be watching for buses, watching for traffic, watching for the Sharpei Person and, most importantly, watching for pizza.
Girl Person says we need to concentrate on getting through the appointment first. I say that if we are going to spend four hours traveling round-trip for something only three miles away, we should at least investigate the local pizza situation. I am willing to cooperate with the veterinarian. I am willing to have my microchip checked. I am willing to be brave for my vaccinations. But I would appreciate some consideration for my personal interests.
There is something Girl Person has been saying lately that I want to talk about. Our resolve is thin, but our purpose is strong.
I think that describes our lives right now better than anything else. There have been so many obstacles, so many forms, so many unexpected expenses and so many things that take much longer than they should.
And we actually have to climb the mountain.
I see how tired my People are. I see them trying to figure out how to do what needs to be done with the resources we have. I see Girl Person worrying about whether my appointment will go well, whether we have everything we need and whether all the preparations for leaving this place will work out. She wants so badly to get everything right because she knows that what comes next matters. Not just for us, but for the animals we want to help when we begin the next chapter of 2 Traveling Dogs.
We did not come this far to stop helping animals. Brickle and Digby helped build this purpose long before I became the Chief Executive Pizza Officer. They showed my People what could happen when one rescued dog was given a chance to live an extraordinary life. Now it is my turn to help carry that work forward. We want to tell more rescue stories, help more shelter dogs be seen and remind people that every animal deserves a chance.
But having a strong purpose does not mean we have unlimited strength.
Girl Person is learning that she cannot make every obstacle disappear. She cannot make the bus arrive sooner, make paperwork process faster or make every person understand what we are trying to accomplish. She cannot make depression disappear just because there is important work waiting. What she can do is prepare what she can today, get up tomorrow and take the next necessary step. Even when she is tired. Even when she is scared. Even when the journey takes two hours instead of ten minutes.
And that is why today’s affirmation from our November Affirmations Book feels especially important.
November 4 — I Will Thank My Body For Getting Me Here
Will you say that affirmation out loud with us today? And if you have your November Affirmations Book, open it to November 4 and follow along. If you have not gotten your copy yet, you can still join us! Every day this month we are practicing gratitude, learning how to make changes and finding ways to appreciate the lives we have while preparing for the lives we want. The book also includes rescue animals to learn about and three dog-friendly recipes. Every purchase helps support our work.
Girl Person says this affirmation is a reminder that our bodies deserve appreciation too. They have carried us through so much. They have climbed mountains, walked miles, survived difficult days and kept going when our minds wanted to quit. We can thank them by taking care of them, by resting when we need to and by appreciating how far they have brought us. We do not have to demand that they keep doing everything exactly as they have before.
I would personally like to thank my body for having four excellent legs, two magnificent ears and a stomach that remains dedicated to pizza. I also think Girl Person should thank her feet before tomorrow because they have a lot of walking to do.
And that brings me to a very important question.
When our resolve is thin but our purpose is strong, which one wins?
I believe our purpose will win. But I also believe we need to take care of the People who are carrying it. Girl Person and Boy Person cannot help every animal if they forget that they are living, breathing creatures who need rest, encouragement, food and kindness too. They have carried me up and down these paths, through storms, through disappointments and through days when getting out of bed was an accomplishment. Their bodies have brought us this far. And tomorrow, those same bodies will carry us another three miles toward our future.
Maybe the victory tomorrow will be getting on the right bus. Maybe it will be hearing that I am healthy. Maybe it will be having all my paperwork in order, or simply learning exactly what comes next. We do not have to solve our entire future in one afternoon. We just have to keep moving toward it.
So today we are preparing. Checking the papers. Planning the route. Making sure we have everything packed. Trying to give ourselves enough time for the unexpected. And remembering that even though our patience is running low, our reasons for continuing have never been stronger.
Tomorrow, one Fruitycake will travel three miles in two hours to see a veterinarian. He will try to be brave. His People will try not to worry. We will keep an eye out for the Sharpei Person. And if the universe has even the slightest sense of fairness, there will be pizza afterward.
Because sometimes the road to your purpose is long, exhausting and inconvenient. And sometimes it is only three miles. But every mile we travel now is bringing us closer to the animals waiting for us to help them.
Please say today’s affirmation one more time before you go: I Will Thank My Body For Getting Me Here. Then do one small thing today to show your body that you mean it. You have come a long way too, and I think you deserve to be proud of that.
Fruitycake
Chief Executive Pizza Officer
2 Traveling Dogs
P.S. We Really Need Your Help Right Now
Friends, we are doing everything we can to get Fruitycake ready for our next chapter, and Thursday’s veterinarian appointment is one of our most important steps. We need help with his examination, updated vaccinations, travel preparations, paperwork and the everyday necessities that keep us going while we work through all of this. We are also continuing our rescue mission, and your support makes it possible for us to keep helping real shelter dogs find their people.
Here are the ways you can help us right now:
● Help with Fruitycake’s vet appointment and our everyday necessities — Our most immediate need as we prepare for Thursday and the journey ahead.
● Sponsor a real rescue dog through This Is…Me — Help us share a verified shelter dog’s story and give that animal a better chance of being seen.
● Get the November Affirmations Book — Follow along with our daily affirmations, rescue features and dog-friendly recipes while supporting our work.
● Get the 2027 Under The Crow Calendar — Our final calendar celebrating this extraordinary place.
● Get the 2027 2 Traveling Dogs Calendar — Another way to support the rescue mission ahead.
● Join or increase your support on Patreon — Starting at $5 a month, helping us continue our weekday blogs, audio stories and rescue work.
You can also listen to my free Fruitycake’s Pawcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We are creating it for dogs everywhere, including those waiting in shelters.
If you have been waiting for a time to help us, this week would mean so much. We are tired, we are stretched thin, and we are trying our very best to keep moving forward. Every contribution, purchase, sponsorship and shared story helps us get one step closer to helping more animals.
Thank you for believing in our purpose even on the days when our resolve is thin.
Love, Fruitycake
