Maggie's Attic: The Big Trip

Did you ever realize there is no name for the relative who is the parent of your child's spouse? In order to refer to this person you have to go down one level and back up, as in, 'my daughter-in-law's father.'

It was just this person, (father of DIL) with whom I spent most of the day yesterday.

DS2 and his family moved to Japan, I guess it was 6 months ago, and learned in the process that their dear sweet doggy had to remain in quarantine for 6 months. DIL's parents took him in and yesterday was the day for him to travel back to his family.

The task fell to DIL's dad and, as her mom was working, I was asked to go and assist. Such a trip might be manageable if the dog were 8.5 pounds, as ours is, but Nigel is 110 pounds, and it is difficult to say the least, to do anything else while holding on to him.

So PopPop-in-Law came here to small town from the Capital City and had a bite of lunch. Nigel discovered the Pet Mat in the corner of the kitchen and cleaned up both bowls, cat and dog, and drank about 2 liters of water. We walked him. Surely he knew something was up as we had Conversations of Concern while casting sidelong glances in his direction, then petted him much more than normal.

We left in separate cars, PIL and Nigel in one and me in another. PIL wanted to go together to the cargo terminal, but also wanted to visit with his brother at a town in-between here and there, afterward. So we trailed each other to said in-between town, where I parked my car at Target and got in his car to ride with him to the cargo terminal. We chatted and I navigated from the Yahoo printout while he drove. The road to the terminal was circuitous and dotted with all sorts of cargo terminals, DHL, UPS, FedEx, and so on. We had to find just the right one.

When we got out of the car, he wanted to unload Nigel so I held him on the leash while PIL did all the necessary paperwork -- and there was a ton of it.

Finally, we got the kennel out of the car and put it on the freight scales. The fellow reset them to zero and we loaded Nige in it. 110 pounds.

He was an amazingly good sport about it all even though I know we gave off vibes of worriedness, upbeat faces and "attaboys" notwithstanding.

Our concern arose from the length and complexity of the trip. The sheaf of papers attached to the kennel in which he traveled included (in triplicate) records of his recent vet visit, certification from the USDA? (I am pretty sure), contact information for PIL on this end and for DS2 on that end.

After leaving nearby big city, he was going to Chicago, San Francisco (where he would be boarded by a pet hotel), Osaka (another pet hotel) and finally Okinawa. I hope those pet hotels put a mint on his little doggy pillow. I saw the bill. Hoo-ey.

After the paperwork, the weighing, the calling HQ and asking for the correct bill of lading (they couldn't find theirs), the fixing the rabbit-type water bottle, I asked if we could go in and kiss him one more time. A young guy agreed and led us through the locked doors with "ATTENTION: STAFF ONLY" on them. We went to his kennel, still on the scales, and gave him love words. His tail thumped inside the kennel.

I asked about 10 times if all the paperwork was in order. They assured me it was. It was hard to believe that all the people at all those places in between will do what they are supposed to do, and that he will arrive at Okinawa safe, sound and happy. Man, does he love his family. I KNOW he will be happy when he sees them.

So we got back in the car, sans dog, and drove back to Target where I picked up my car to travel home. PIL scooted across that town to see his brother. Update: DS2 reported to DH via Skype this am that he made it safely to San Francisco where he had a good night. They have gotten him back to the cargo terminal there for the next leg of the trip. If all goes well, he will be reunited with his family tomorrow morning.

I cannot find the pic of Nigel that shows his big round nose, but here is an oldie that shows he truly is just one of the kids.