The Drive to the Airport

Dogs always create drama.  It's a given. 

The day started off good.  I got up early to give Suzie her bath, got her under the blow drier, then got myself cleaned up and ready to go.  My kids helped me put the crate together, I gathered all the paperwork, the leash & collar, got the food sample for the top of the crate, and we headed out the door.

Because Suzie gets so carsick, I had originally planned to have my oldest child drive, while I held her and cushioned her from the bumps and turns, but we were running late, and I felt I should be the driver to be sure we got there on time.  I had the oldest hold her instead, and I should have listened to his fleeting words of "can I have a real pad in case she throws up?", to which I responded, "we have plenty of paper towels, we'll just catch it with that if it happens".  Whenever we travel with the puppies, someone is on "throw-up duty", and not usually very happy about it.

Our drive to the airport includes 30 minutes of curvy, mountain roads, which are at the very beginning of the trip.  We got about 10 minutes down the road, and Suzie began to lick, lick, lick.  This is the very, very first indication of an upset stomach to come, as their mouth begins to salivate.  We were doing pretty well, my son was holding her up so she could see the road, which often helps, and I was trying to take the turns as gently as I could.  But pretty soon, the tell tale full drool began to show, and I was trying to take a paper towel to wipe her mouth, while still trying to maneuver the driving.

I reached over several times to wipe her mouth, simply so she didn't get too moist and gummy looking.  As a breeder, we always try to send the puppy out clean, pretty, smelling good, and a cute ball of fluff.  I knew we were going to struggle to send anything fluffy out today, in spite of the fact that I DID give her a bath and blow dry this morning.

Without warning, Suzie threw up.  I say without warning because often they'll have a couple dry heaves first, that then turn into the actual disgusting act, but Suzie just vomited, a very watery, brown, grainy substance that shot out on my son's lap, completely saturating the paper towels on his lap, and running down his leg, onto his computer, onto the floor of the car, and onto my purse.  During this episode, I was frantically figuring out where I could pull over, while at the same time, shoving as many new, clean paper towels under Suzie, to help absorb as much of the wetness as I could.

In the middle of all this, I was also giving my other two children directions on what they needed to do when I stopped..."Kaelyn, you come around and get the dog from Darien"..."yes, you can put her on the ground, but just hold onto her so she doesn't dash away from you"..."Kendrick, you need to get the laundry basket in the back, so we can put the dirty clothes (that the dog threw up on that were on the floor) into it"..."then you need to help Darien clean the throw-up off his pants"...the smell of vomit filled the car, and there are at least 2 of us in this family that have a hard time handling disgusting things like vomit and feces, without it sending us into dry heaves ourselves (and I am one of those people).

I pulled over, and we all stepped into high gear.  We cleaned as much as we could with baby wipes, put Suzie in her travel crate, and got back on the road as quickly as we could.  I've learned the hard way that if you are late to the airport with the puppy, they WILL NOT let it fly.  The clock was ticking and we had to keep moving forward.

The ride was uneventful for a while, and I made good time down the road until I remembered that the new crates, don't come with a food/water dish, and I had not grabbed a food or water dish to attach inside the crate.  This is another requirement that will prevent a puppy from flying, no exceptions.  I had no choice but to stop at PetSmart to buy those items.

My mind was now churning on how I was going to make it to the airport AND get my daughter to her 11am orthodontist appointment.  The whole point of waiting a WEEK to ship this puppy was so I could combine trips, and save a little gas money.  We are 1 1/2 hours north of Spokane, and do the best we can to make our trips into town COUNT.  The original idea was to drop off the puppy at 10:30, and then head back to the ortho by 11.  With us leaving a bit late, and then stopping to clean up vomit, and now needing to stop and buy crate cups, this plan was not going to work.  I was not going to make it back in time for her appointment, so I had to come up with plan "B". 

So I rushed into PetSmart, grabbed my item, purchased it, got back in the car, and then DROPPED MY KIDS OFF ON THE STREET, a couple blocks from the orthodontist.  They are 16 & 14, the older one the brother, so I thought this was an OK thing to do.  We've lived a very sheltered life here in the country, so my children have not had a lot of experience just walking the streets of a city.  I knew they'd be fine, but I did send them both, so it wasn't just a girl walking alone.  I gave them instructions to email me when they arrived so I could relax, and I headed to the airport.

Things went well again until I exited on the wrong exit.  It has been a while since I've been to the airport, but I have come down to Spokane to deal with my son in boarding school, so I accidentally took the exit that goes towards his school.  I screamed in the car because I was dangerously close to being late, and past the point where they would extend grace to me.  I couldn't believe I made the wrong turn and was mad at myself for doing it.

Once I finally got turned around, we arrived with just moments to spare, and I got the puppy checked in.  I asked the kind lady if I could please, now that the paperwork was done, take a paper towel and clean up Suzie, because by this time, she had continued drooling, there were remnants of vomit on her fur still, and all the shredded paper had begun to stick on her like a paper mache' project in school.  I did the best to clean her up, and hoped that with the two hour wait before getting on the plane, and with the smooth ride in the plane, that she would have some time to dry, and maybe some of the paper will fall off of her before she arrives.  It was the best I could do, under all the circumstances, so please be forgiving when she arrives possibly smelly and wet.

This may sound like an over dramatized story.  To make it even better, add snowy, icy roads to the picture, and you have an idea of the challenges we often face in getting a puppy to the airport!!  We have had trips that were "perfect", no vomit, no wrong turns, and everything needed for the crate, with 15 minutes to spare after we've checked in.  That is always our goal.  But life happens, and dogs are not robots, but living creatures often with an agenda of their own!!