Bud Nelson
Although there are exceptions, for the most part dogs love riding in cars, especially with the windows open or, for those with the good fortune to be owned by someone who owns a convertible, with the top down. While most dogs have the good sense not to sit in their owner’s lap while their owner is driving some do not, but even they enjoy a trip in the car. The earliest automobiles were noisy, noxious, bone-rattling, horse scaring horrors, but there is ample evidence that the dogs of the day enjoyed riding in them. Take the case of Bud Nelson as an example.
Horatio Nelson Jackson was a physician and automobile fan who argued with those who protested that the car was a mere passing fad. In 1903 Jackson accepted a bet with friends that he would not be able to drive an automobile across the United States. Jackson accepted the bet despite not owning an automobile. Other obstacles included the scarcity of places which sold gasoline, the scarcity of paved roads, and the non-existence of useful maps. Jackson solved the first problem by purchasing a Winton, an open top 20 horsepower vehicle, and convinced Sewall Crocker to accompany him as a second driver and mechanic. They departed San Francisco on May 23, 1903.
By the time they reached Sacramento Jackson was lamenting the lack of a canine companion, and in Caldwell, Idaho they acquired one, a Pit Bull, which was named Bud, either by its previous owner or by Jackson. Like most dogs, Bud enjoyed open air riding, but the air was dry and dusty, and his eyes were soon irritated. Jackson modified a pair of goggles for Bud, and as they progressed – slowly – across the country Bud was photographed in his goggles for the local papers.
To say the trip was eventful is an understatement as big as the problems they encountered. The car broke down almost daily, and Jackson had to wire the Winton Company for parts, forcing them to remain where they were until they arrived and were installed. They became so lost in Wyoming that they went a day and a half without food, until a sympathetic farmer fed them. Jackson lost his coat, containing most of their money, and had to wire his wife for more. Once past Omaha, Nebraska, paved roads became more prevalent, but the Winton remained unreliable, to use the most generous descriptive.
It took them 63 days and a little over 12 hours to complete the trip to New York, but they made it. After reaching their destination, Jackson drove the Winton to his home to Vermont, it broke its drive chain as he was approaching his house. Bud Nelson remained with the Dr. Jackson for the rest of his life. He was not the first dog to ride in an automobile, but he was certainly the first to travel such a distance, wearing goggles.