Flight & first day

The morning of the trip started at a reasonably early wakeup at 7.30. We arrived at the airport around 9.00 and I took Dracu to get checked in right away. My first sweaty and nervous moments were when the attendant looked at her papers and then went somewhere to copy them. She took forever and I was sure there was something wrong! But luckily everything was in order and to my astonishment the kennel box passed the inspection without any mention of the rusty bars or wrong size! So they wheeled Dracu away with me holding back tears. Just a few days ago there was a story in the paper about a dog that escaped at the airport and I just hoped they would look after her!

The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful but I had quite a short time to change planes. The time my airplaine landed was the same time I should have already been at my next gate! Luckily I found my gate easily enough and because the security is so tight they were still checking people and I ended being right on time. The nice people at the gate informed me that Dracu was safely on board and I could "relax" for the next 10 hours until we would arrive in Memphis, Tennessee. The flight was loud, cold and really long. I just hoped Dracu got to sleep more than I!

The first real panic I got into was in Memphis. A security person came up to me looking all serious and said "Mam, would you please come with me, I need to discuss the situation with your dog." I was sure something awful had happened to Dracu or at the very least there was something wrong with her papers! I followed the officer and was nearly hysterical when she started to ask me questions! But she told me everything was fine and she would just like to ask me some standard questions about Dracu's health etc. She even let me take a quick look at Dracu (who was sleeping soundly in her box) before wheeling her off.

Even though I had plenty of time before my next flight I was last at the gate because the US security was crazy! Bodyscans, questions, luggage checking (we had to get our big trunks and wheel them 20 meters and then they were taken back) and everything. The last flight to Knoxville was soon over and I ran right away to luggage claim to find Dracu. Man was she happy to see me and I her! Everything seemed fine with her and she even had some water in her bowl. She peed for ever and the cage seemed clean. My grandparents picked me up from the airport and we drove to their house about 1,5h. When we got there it was 11 PM local time so about 7.00 AM in Finland the next morning. With zero sleep during the travel I can say I was pretty tired as was Dracu!

Of course the damn time difference made me sleep real uneasy and I woke up bright and early 6.30 in the morning. I took the dogs (my grandparents have a jackrussel) out for a long walk and we did some shopping & golfing! I've been really tired all day and just counting the hours until I can go to bed! Hope I get used to the time difference soon, being jet lagged is such a waste of time!

Hopefully I'll have some more activities this weekend with Dracu! I'll post pictures as soon as I get my laptop up and running, can't believe I didn't remember to get an adapter before the trip!!

Last night in Finland

Well it seems like I'm leaving tomorrow! Most of the packing is done and I think I did all of the (important) travel arrangements! Dracu has now got her health stuff in order, or most of it. The airline just can't seem to figure out what it requires from dogs! If I can't fly Dracu tomorrow, I have a backup plan that will be a) try to send Dracu alone by an other airline or b) have Dante sent afterwards if I can't get Dracu over! Also I'm not a 100% sure the travel box I have for Dracu is okay but the backup plan is to drive to a close pet shop and get a new one! The one I have is really old an borrowed from my sister but it should be still meeting with the regulations...

So I have a bunch of stuff to worry about but on the bright side, I found a few more aussie breeders from close to the place I'm flying to and will go visit them this week or next. I'm staying about 2 weeks with my grandparents in Crossville, Tennessee and while I'm there I'll go visit at least kennel Coosawattee and Four Mile! There are also a few kennels up north in Kentucky that I might visit before heading for Texas, or maybe I'll visit them at the end of my trip (I'll spend about a week at my grandparents also before leaving home).

I'll try to update what places I'm going to beforehand so if somebody wants me to keep an eye on a special dog you can email me (shanti.karinen@gmail.com) or post a comment!

Oh and BTW, I bought a amazing, spanking new camera: Sony NEX-5 . It was a bit pricey but how could I resist... So soon you can enjoy some nice pictures as well!

As the trip gets closer (way close!)

I now understand how people can die of stress! For the last week I have had this stomachache and feeling that my guts are all twisting and nausea from all this stress! I'm not stressed about the actual trip, but this whole booking flight tickets has been a total nightmare!

I won't go into the details (as it will get me really mad again) but the bottom line is I fly in 5 days and the airline still has not confirmed Dracu! Also I'm getting different health & crate info from every person I speak with from the airline. One says I need a special crate brand and a other says I don't. One says the dog needs tick treatment & tape worm treatment and an other says I don't!!! I will never ever again fly with KLM and recommend the same to everyone else!

Hopefully I will know more today or Monday if my head does not explode before that...