“Hana shared with The Dodo, ‘He brings his most beloved companion and treasured toy, Shrimp, with him everywhere he goes. He just loves showing off Shrimp and their bond.’
Gumbo and Shrimp have been inseparable since Hana acquired Shrimp from IKEA in 2017. Although Shrimp wasn’t initially intended for Gumbo, it quickly became his closest friend.”
In high school, Hana would go on occasional hikes with friends, but it was Gumbo who encouraged her to do it regularly.
“We moved to the Pacific Northwest and met some dog friends who brought us closer to hiking,” Hana said. “So you could say we discovered our love for hiking together.”
Just as Gumbo is Hana’s hiking companion, Shrimp is Gumbo’s cheerleader.
“We take Shrimp on basically every hike,” Hana said, noting that Shrimp is usually hanging out in her backpack while she and Gumbo are on the trail because Gumbo doesn’t like to carry Shrimp if he’s busy paying attention to the hike and panting.
“Gumbo is usually pretty close to me,” Hana added. “If he walks off-leash (where allowed), he’ll grab the zoomies and run up and down the trail.”
“But now that he’s 8.5 years old,” she said, “he’s slowed down a lot and is usually right next to me when we walk together.”
And Gumbo likes to celebrate his accomplishments along the way with his best friend.
“Usually at the end of the hike, [Gumbo’s] favorite thing to do is to take Shrimp and show him off to everyone else at the end of the trail,” Hanna said. “He’ll show him off to my friends that I’m hiking with or even strangers who want to come up and say hi.”
“I think he really knows that Shrimp is a ‘special toy,’” Hana said. “Usually if we have or bring shrimp, he knows we’re going to have an adventure.”
There was one time when Hana and Gumbo accidentally left Shrimp on a hiking trail. They had already driven about an hour and a half from the hiking spot when Hana noticed that someone was missing.
“So we came back, I looked and it was perfectly positioned at the trailhead sign,” Hana said.
For other pet owners hoping to take their dogs on hikes, Hana suggests researching pet-friendly trails near you and making sure you understand your area’s leash laws. And when it’s time to hit the trail, she says a first aid kit is a must-have in your pack, “for both you and your dog.”
And if your dog loves his toys, take a page from Gumbo and Shrimp’s book and definitely add a travel companion to your plans.
“Shrimp is part of the family,” Hana said. “It’s gumbo and shrimp. You can’t replace it.”
