Now that Mac is completely healed his social calendar is filling up very quickly. If you don’t know Mac, I found him hit by a car on Division in February.
Mac’s summer vacation was extremely eventful. He met a bunch of extended family--humans and animals.
First, he flew to Georgia with my husband and I where his human cousin Katherine taught him how to climb a slide and then ride it back down. He also joined in a doggie and human musical parade around the living room where he and his dog cousin Winston barked and trotted in circles as well as bickered over a very large chew bone.
After leaving Georgia, Mac ate lunch in Asheville N.C., hiked the Tallulah Falls trails and rode through the Smokey Mountains on a drive up the east coast from Georgia to New Jersey, which included a night in a dog friendly hotel.
The website was incredibly helpful in finding the Red Roof Inn in Virginia for us to stay on a last minute notice. Mac was not too fond of the hotel and was very quick to jump back into the rental car after one night there.
In New Jersey, Mac’s human friends Paige and James and his human cousins Maddie and Will taught him how to “herd” his sheep cousins Colette and Pepe. Mac ran into their pen and chased the sheep around and around. It was incredibly funny watching a Dachshund mix practically buried in the tall grass of the pen leap like a dolphin after the sheep.
Finally, we drove to New York, where Mac was spoiled by his human Grammy and Pop Pop. He basked in the sunny backyard with his second cousins, doggies Tyler and Smoochie.
No family get together is ever complete without some type of dispute or bickering which occurred while Mac was chilling out in his dog cousins Jeffey's and Bikini’s bedroom watching T.V. and sizing each other up. In true dog like fashion Mac lifted his leg and “marked his territory” by urinating on a garbage can in the bedroom, which was filled with dog wee pads.
On the flight to the East Coast Mac was a little whiny, but on the flight back he didn’t whine at all. The only “issue” I had was when I went to retrieve something from the overhead compartment I heard the dingling of Mac’s dog tags and there he was chasing me up the aisle. He had somehow nuzzled his way out of his bag and decided to follow me. I scooped him up, put him in my seat while I got what I needed and then tucked him back in his bag by my feet leaving room for his snout to poke out.
I have to say that before this trip, I’d never flown with a dog. Since Mac is only 17 pounds we were able to carry him onto the plane where he was safely tucked under the airplane seat ahead of us. Each airline has their own price for an on board animal. Mac was $125 each way. This is a lot, especially since it’s considered one of a person’s two carry-on bags. However, for us it was cheaper than boarding him.
Since Mac does have a metal plate in his leg from his accident we did have to take him to the vet for a travel certificate and a note of explanation in case he set off the security metal detectors. He did not, but we did have to take off his collar and leash and carry him through.
If you are planning a trip with your dog, a great resource is http://www.bringfido.com/, which I mentioned earlier. In addition they also have customer service reps available around the clock via phone.
