Traveling is a joy, however, nothing’s more enjoyable than traveling with someone whose company you thoroughly enjoy. To get to share different experiences and sights to see with someone else is one of the best feelings in the world. Experiencing it all on our own is only half the fun.
Cedar Wright and Alex Honnold, grantees of National Geographic, sure had a blast biking 800 miles and climbing 45 different mountains in the American Southwest together during their expedition, the Sufferfest 2. But when they discovered an abandoned puppy in the desert, it changed their entire trip for the better.
The black-and-white puppy was initially spotted by Wright.
“Sometimes you’re in the middle of nowhere and you gotta go, so you just pull off and pee behind a bush,” explains Wright. “I have to pee, so I just stop on my bike randomly in the desert, and all of a sudden I hear this whimpering sound, and at first, I can’t figure out what it is, and then I look, and there’s this little puppy curled up on an old tire hiding from the wind. I quickly realized that he had been abandoned.”
That’s when he and Honnold decided to bring the puppy, who they named Sufferpup, along with them on the remainder of their expedition. They also made Sufferpup the mascot of their trip!
While many would find it exciting to come across a furry friend during a trip, Wright and Honnold not only enjoyed the company of Sufferpup but found him to play an important role in their journey.
“[I]t’s really heartening at the end of the day to come down and have this adorable little puppy to cuddle with. Without Sufferpup, I don’t know if we would have made it,” Wright admits.
Surely, Sufferpup may not have made it either, that is if he were never rescued.
According to Wright, “[Sufferpup] went from being this shivering, close-to-death creature to being filled with energy, and his coat started to look all rich, and he really became this happy little puppy.”
But Sufferpup wouldn’t just be temporarily cared for by the two men during Sufferfest 2. Wright and Honnold found a forever home for the sweet dog with a friend of theirs. Today, Sufferpup is being spoiled with organic dog food in gorgeous Boulder, Colorado!
Meet Sufferpup below. His cuteness is too hard to resist! Be sure to watch until the very end to see how much the dog has grown since being rescued.
