• Surf Dog Diaries - dog blog
  • The ride of life with a dog
  • HANG 20 - DOG BEACH, CA
  • HANG 20 - DOG RIVER, OR
  • ABOUT US
  • BarbAyers.com
  • GIVING BACK
Menu

Dog Diary

The ride of life with a dog
  • Surf Dog Diaries - dog blog
  • The ride of life with a dog
  • HANG 20 - DOG BEACH, CA
  • HANG 20 - DOG RIVER, OR
  • ABOUT US
  • BarbAyers.com
  • GIVING BACK
×

Dogs ride the ups and downs with us. Real life Surf Dog Diaries

Meet writer dogs. Rider dogs. Best dog friends. Surf the couch, the www, or a wave. Wave back at us!

It's all about the ride. The ride of life with a dog.

Don Benton - why I give Horiz2 THUMBNAIL_edited-1.jpg

We lost one of our own - Don Benton. Dog lover, people lover, volunteer, donor, community leader. He gave to everyone and every cause, every day.

Barbara Ayers September 1, 2017

There are those people

that come along,

quite by accident

or maybe no accident at all.

 
Don Benton - why I give better.jpg
 
 
They change your life
and the lives of all you know.
No fanfare.
Just there for others, helping them on their way.
 
They are selfless,
the soul of the community.
Giving is what they do.
Giving - not for credit, but for joy - for the gift of giving.
They walk not with pride, but with humility.
They are the people we long to be.
 
 
 
Sometimes they have life challenges
though we don’t think of angels facing challenges,
and they’re always helping others
so we miss that they’re actually human.
 
And so you think you have all the time in the world
to tell them how you feel.
and maybe a couple of times you did
but maybe you couldn’t form the perfect words today –
    in a room full of people,
    at life’s most private moment.
Or maybe you didn’t get there in time.
Who knew we only had a few moments left?
We always think there is more time…
 
And yet Don knew.
He knew how much we loved him.
Every one of us – and everyone we know.
So did his family and friends.
And God above.
Everyone knows how much we loved him – and always will.
Don had a soft spot for four legged kids and was on the board of Hood River Adopt A Dog. Here's his best friend Dieter. Don and Bonnie suffered the heartbreaking loss of their dog son this spring. Now Don and Dieter are reunited again.

Don had a soft spot for four legged kids and was on the board of Hood River Adopt A Dog. Here's his best friend Dieter. Don and Bonnie suffered the heartbreaking loss of their dog son this spring. Now Don and Dieter are reunited again.

In Hood River and every Gorge community –
he was our own,
he was selfless,
he gave everything he had to every moment,
to every person,
to every cause.
 
 
 
His wife Bonnie and daughter Lea Ann
were gracious - courageous -
they shared their deepest hearts,
and darkest moments this week
with us.  
They invited us in.
No place like home. Left to right: Dog Dieter, wife Bonnie, granddaughter Lily and Don. 

No place like home. Left to right: Dog Dieter, wife Bonnie, granddaughter Lily and Don. 

We are all family – related or not.
Bentons- every one of us.
Shoulder to shoulder.
In the room with Don - or caring from afar.
Don was an active in Hood River Lions and Rotary clubs. Here he is at this summer's installation of the Rotary Peace Pole at Jackson Park.   Photo by Chelsea Marr

Don was an active in Hood River Lions and Rotary clubs. Here he is at this summer's installation of the Rotary Peace Pole at Jackson Park.   Photo by Chelsea Marr

I was there,
proud witness to your life, Don
and your amazing family
and the hope you built and blossomed in our community.
 
And in that moment,
shoulder to shoulder,
all of us Bentons - here and everywhere -
wanted you to stay.
Yep - he was a wise cracker. We loved that about him. With Lily.

Yep - he was a wise cracker. We loved that about him. With Lily.

And so the Don Benton reminder of life is this:
 
There is no moment - but this moment.
Not a moment to waste.
Say what’s in your heart.
Show up. For each minute of life.
For each other.
And give. Don was such a giver.
 
Dog River is the original name of Hood River, Oregon. Dog River Coffee was Don's favorite hangout. Here, he surprised people with free coffee and the gift of his time. He had many young friends, old friends and community leaders that he helped and s…

Dog River is the original name of Hood River, Oregon. Dog River Coffee was Don's favorite hangout. Here, he surprised people with free coffee and the gift of his time. He had many young friends, old friends and community leaders that he helped and supported from this, his unofficial board room.

 
Because
there are those people
that come along
quite by accident
or maybe no accident at all.
Don was active in Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Next Door, Helping Hands Against Violence and so many other organizations that help people. He loved people and pets in equal measure, and helped all of them.

Don was active in Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Next Door, Helping Hands Against Violence and so many other organizations that help people. He loved people and pets in equal measure, and helped all of them.

Don married later in life and attracted the most amazing woman - Bonnie. His life was rich with family - daughter Lea Ann, Son in Law Eddie, granddaughter Lily and best friend Phil Thaler (not pictured.) And all the rest of us in the Colum…

Don married later in life and attracted the most amazing woman - Bonnie. His life was rich with family - daughter Lea Ann, Son in Law Eddie, granddaughter Lily and best friend Phil Thaler (not pictured.) And all the rest of us in the Columbia River Gorge - we were his family, too.

Read more about Don here

Tags giving back, community service, Don Benton, Hood River Adopt A Dog, Dog River Coffee, coping with pet loss, overcoming grief, Columbia River Gorge, The Next Door, United Way Columbia Gorge, heartfelt story, blog diary, dog diary, the ride of life, volunteer, poetry, Barbara Ayers, Don and Bonnie Benton, helping others, I love dogs, stray dog, diary memoir, celebration of life, Barb Ayers, loss of close friend

Nonprofit Hood River Adopt-A-Dog asks for help funding sweet Phoebe's surgery

Barbara Ayers March 25, 2017

One of our favorite charities needs help - Phoebe the sweet little rescue dog had major leg surgery. They set up a fundraising site to help. 

Read More
Tags rescue dog, pet rescue, giving back, dog friends, Hood River Adopt A Dog, veterinarian, community service, Hood River OR, dogs helping, I love dogs, i luv dogs, must love dogs, dogs are family, helping dogs

Surf Dog Diaries.com

Featured
The smell of the river at sunrise will change your life
Jul 15, 2023
The smell of the river at sunrise will change your life
Jul 15, 2023

Dogs and people on the river. At dusk, coyote swims by as you zig jag turns through river glass, reflecting earth and man and sky. River bamboo swallows your wake - as if nothing ever happened.

Secret spot. Shhh! Don't tell....

 

Read More →
Jul 15, 2023
Celebrate your indy spirit on Independence Day with Doodle!
Jul 9, 2023
Celebrate your indy spirit on Independence Day with Doodle!
Jul 9, 2023
Read More →
Jul 9, 2023
TwinsRETOURCHED_edited-1.jpg
Jul 7, 2023
From Cat House to dog house. Cat takes over the dog blog (Part 4 - last in a series)
Jul 7, 2023

So there I was, living at Cat House, surrounded by 25 felines of every size, sense and sensibility. Waiting to be rescued. Elvis stopped by. In 13 seconds, my life forever changed. I was picked out - picked up - by the basset alpha of Surf Dog Diaries. In no time, I was in the car in a box, on my way to my new home with my new surf dog family.

Read More →
Jul 7, 2023
Elvis & Tiapsretouched.jpg
Jun 24, 2023
I met Elvis at Cat House and he took me home. Based on a true story.
Jun 24, 2023
Read More →
Jun 24, 2023
Doxie Doodle's ear flapping windsurf ride. (GoPro video)
Jun 17, 2023
Doxie Doodle's ear flapping windsurf ride. (GoPro video)
Jun 17, 2023
Read More →
Jun 17, 2023
Cat takes over the dog blog (part 2)  Based on a true story. By me, elegant tabby cat.
Jun 10, 2023
Cat takes over the dog blog (part 2) Based on a true story. By me, elegant tabby cat.
Jun 10, 2023

Dear Dog Diary - In the Beginning - 1991… I remember the day She first picked me up. It was in the Cattery at the jail with all those other kitties.

Actually, it wasn’t bad, it was San Diego Humane Society – but it was still jail. That place in between. For homeless kitties.

Read More →
Jun 10, 2023
The secret surf dog handshake! Our new rescue pup steps on board!
May 29, 2023
The secret surf dog handshake! Our new rescue pup steps on board!
May 29, 2023

A new rescue pup, a chiweenie, adopts us on Mother's Day.. He mastered a surf board faster than all four generations of low rider rescue dogs before him.

Read More →
May 29, 2023
Kihei on a hot stove.jpg
May 12, 2023
Mod Squad of cat’s 'n dogs - based on a true story. By the tabby cat. (Cat takes over the dog blog, part 1)
May 12, 2023

Elvis, the big ol’ droopy eyed saggy basset hound, swayed around the house, scraping against the walls of the dinky beach cottage. Walking for any length of time ate up his one-big-energy-surge-of-the-whole-day, and he used it to find just the right spot in the sun to plop down for his daily nap. I guess if I carried 70 pounds and a massive square head with neck flaps bearing down on two inch legs, I’d be a super mellow stoner dude too. 

Read More →
May 12, 2023
2022 Gaslamp Xmas Pet parade.jpeg
Jan 12, 2023
Christmas spirit is inside us - every day - we crazy dog people!
Jan 12, 2023
Read More →
Jan 12, 2023
Dad n Doodle snooze-small.jpg
Mar 13, 2022
Dear Grandpa, I love you - from your grand dog.
Mar 13, 2022
Read More →
Mar 13, 2022
Boomers - remember the Flying Nun? Doxie Doodle's ear flapping windsurf ride. (Surf board GoPro video)
Aug 20, 2021
Boomers - remember the Flying Nun? Doxie Doodle's ear flapping windsurf ride. (Surf board GoPro video)
Aug 20, 2021
Read More →
Aug 20, 2021
I love my dog. You do, too. Together, we go - surf dog summers are here!
Jul 29, 2021
I love my dog. You do, too. Together, we go - surf dog summers are here!
Jul 29, 2021

Windsurfing is our first passion as surf dogs. We love to sail the Columbia River, right in our Oregon front yard.  My three dogs sons - Elvis, Dude and Doodle sail with me in Hood River, Oregon, the windsurfing capital of the world.

Read More →
Jul 29, 2021
OB Law license plate in the bookshelf-small.jpg
Apr 24, 2021
O.B. Law - throwback to another surf dog place and time
Apr 24, 2021
Read More →
Apr 24, 2021
Mar 28, 2021
First day of spring. In spite of COVID.
Mar 28, 2021
Read More →
Mar 28, 2021
blue sky pekks out_stretched best small.jpg
Feb 14, 2021
Hi, my name is snow. Remember me? Snowmeggadon, in words and pictures
Feb 14, 2021
Read More →
Feb 14, 2021
Feb 7, 2021
Snow dog day - Snowmeggadon in Oregon's front yard 2017
Feb 7, 2021

Snow day in the Columbia River Gorge - a DogDiary photo essay

Read More →
Feb 7, 2021

Surf Dog Diaries  |  Barb Ayers, San Diego, CA and Mosier OR.  |   All content and images (c) Barb Ayers, copyrighted, all rights reserved