Welcome to my doghouse on the net!  Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Dickens and I am a Welsh terrier, born near Sacramento, California, on May 3, 2003.  I had two sisters and one brother.  In July, 2003, my brother and I were flown to our new home in  Newfane, Vermont.  We were named Dickens and Fenster after a TV show in 1962 starring John Astin as Dickens, but most people think that I was named after Charles Dickens.  That is okay; in fact I have Great Expectations that you will like this new website.

My plan is to show you some pictures of my home and the hikes that I have been on and make a few helpful hints to humans about good places to visit with your best friends of the dog variety.  You can click on the word "photos" to see pictures of the hikes and click on "journal" to read about them.  One (Oliver) twist is that my photos are mainly in chronological order, but the journal is in reverse chronological order.  Don't blame me for this mystery (of Edmund Drood), blame Our Mutual Friend, Bartleby the Scrivener.

The photo section is in several parts starting with "My Friends" and then going on to other titles such as "Tankerabogus" and "The Pruneface."  The older photos are in the top sections and the most recent photos are in the bottom sections.

The journal entries are listed in reverse chronological order.  Therefore, if you would like to read about my early hikes, you need to go back into the archives.   Just click on the calendar in the archives where the earlier hikes are stored.

My home is in snowy Vermont.  My human parents are Bruce and Carol Hesselbach.  Bruce is the author of High Ledges, Green Mountains:  My Section Hike of Vermont's Long Trail (Bondcliff Books 2005).   You can get more information about this book on Bruce's website (see lower right of this page for the link).

On the trail to Mt Moosilauke there is a sign that says good canine citizens are allowed but prohibits many others including llamas.  I feel sorry for the hikers who traveled all the way from Tibet to go hiking here and had to return home unsatisfied just because of the past naughtiness of a few thoughtless individuals.  Don't let this happen to you!  It is up to dogs and humans to be good ambassadors of hiking and help keep trails open to the public.

Too many people these days  have a shocking tendency to become couch potatoes.  Hiking is the perfect remedy for this and the companionship is a bonus.   As I always tell my human, anytime you are out in the wilderness, and you are bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake, I will always be right there by your side with the anecdote.

People have asked me why there are more photos of me on this site than there are of Bruce.  That's because when I go to take his picture, the sight of him makes me happy, and once I start wagging my tail I often end up shaking the camera and the picture comes out all fuzzy.

HERE'S A RECENT UPDATE:  As of May 2011, I am now eight years old!  On July 5, 2011, I had surgery to remove four calcium stones in my bladder.  Until I am back in hiking form once again, Bruce will post descriptions of hikes that he goes on.  The hiking spirit lives on! 

 This site including all content and photos  is copyrighted © 2006 by my owner, Bruce Hesselbach.  It has to be that way because dogs can't have copyrights.  I wonder what Mr. Peabody would think of that.