I decided to take over mom in writing this blog... at least today. My poor mom is really, really trying to do what comes natural to me.. that is: to say YES to all that comes her way. However, this is proving to be a bit more difficult for her right now. So, I thought that you guys would like to know about our long ordeal (that's what mom calls it) and that we are all safe here in Cuenca, Ecuador.
I have grown a lot this past month. Mid May mom started to tear our home in Asheville apart. Every day it got worse and worse... thank God for At Play with Sparky ... Mom took me there more often during this time so I could play and relax. I loved it there and I miss my friends.
One day mom picked me up and we didn't go home. I was so scared! Then we went to the homes of each of our neighbors and mom was crying as she hugged everyone. I knew something was really wrong, but had no idea what was about to happen. We had a new car, they called it a van and it was white and big. I really liked it because it had lots of room and I could see outside much better than in our old car. I'm glad I liked it because unbeknown to me I was about to spent 3 days there! Now, I've never been crazy about car rides, but all I knew is that we were all together and that was good.
After three days we ended up in a place they called Texas, but I'm sure they were wrong because it was so hot that we must have been close to hell. But we were all happy and we adapted. Mom had her computer and Internet connection and so she was in a great mood... I have no idea what the Internet is, but I know it makes mom happy when she has it, and not so happy when she doesn't.
After being in this nice little house we got in the white van again and I was ready for another long drive, but just hours later we got to our new home. This was much smaller than the other other one and I knew we had not left hell, I mean, Texas, because it was as hot as it was before. Mom said we were in Houston.
Mom called our new house a Suite; I just loved the fact that I could lay in the bed and the cool air hit me just right. We did a lot of walking in the heat, so I really loved that cool air when we got back.
Houston is the first place I saw a plane fly right over my head. Boy, are those things big and noisy, or what? Mom would point them out to me, as if I could miss them, and then she would say the craziest things like "soon you'll be in one of those" or "see Star, there's a plane and it will take us to Cuenca." No way... I was sure she had lost her mind. How could I get inside that big noisy bird? Well, as it turns out, she wasn't as crazy as I thought.
A couple of days later we lost our white van somehow and we got a yellow one for a short ride. Neither dad nor mom seemed to want to drive this yellow van, they had found this very nice fellow to drive us. We didn't have to go far, within minutes we got to a building and got out. There was another doggie there. It was a Border Collie and she was so very scared and making a real fuzz. I was watching the whole thing feeling bad for her. Her family finally put her in her crate and left her there. She started to cry and I got the message; that was also going to be my story, but I was not going to embarrass my parents. No way. I'm a big girl now, so I'm going to get in that crate and pretend all is honky dory... and so I did when it was my turn. I could sense mom was a mess so I didn't want to make it any worse for her. I was very calm. Of course, the Rescue Remedy mom gave me helped me, but I'm a good girl and I had the opportunity to show it to everyone.
And so I was in my crate for about 3 hours until they put me in another van, but this one didn't have any windows. They drove me to the big loud bird and put me there. Was I scared? You bet, but I sensed mom had sent some angels to take care of me so I was OK. After what seemed an eternity we arrived to a new place where everyone was speaking a different language. I stayed calm and collected. They took me to a dark and scary place, but by now I was so tired I didn't care. Now the only thing I remember is that there was a very nice man there who spoke to me with a lot of love even though I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying.
The following day all the noise started. I would have been terrified just a month ago, but now I'm a big girl and I know that the noise is just that: noise and not something that's going to hurt me. I knew my parents must have been in another crate somewhere and that someone had to let them out so they could come and get me. I wondered if they too had peed in their crate. I knew they had to because they go to the bathroom more often than I do, especially mom. If I couldn't hold it, I bet she couldn't either. Thank God they had put some blankets and each of them had forgotten a shirt of theirs in my crate. I made sure I peed on those and then pushed them aside as far away from me as I could; but I still could smell my pee and that was not fun!
Eventually they must have let mom and dad out of their crates because they came and got me out and fed me... I was starving! The nice man had given me water and some food but it was not nearly enough. I have no idea why we had to be in this big crate they called a warehouse. We were stuck there. Mom would talk with people in a language I didn't understand and she would be allowed off the big crate from time to time and run somewhere. Then she would come back and be angry or started to cry and tell dad that they wouldn't let us out. I had no idea what was wrong, but I stayed cool and collected, especially after mom gave me a bit more of that Rescue Remedy once I started to lose my patience. Overall I was happy. I had my pack together again even when we were in this dingy, noisy place.
It was close to 4 PM and mom started to cry like a baby. I have never seen her crying so much. She left us in the big crate and when she came back she told dad that she had made a fool of herself crying and begging these people to do something so we could leave. I had not understood before then that there was a possibility that I would get to go back into my small stinky crate and spend another night in the dark, noisy, dirty big crate!
Mom explained to dad that the inspector wouldn't clear me in the computer and until he had not done so we couldn't pay and go; and, that at 4 PM all offices closed. She told him that she had made a spectacle of herself (whatever that means) in an office full of people and that everyone thought that she was crazy; she had begged this one man who promised her that I would be cleared in 10 minutes. Mom was convinced that those people at customs wanted the crazy lady (that's mom) out of their offices. Mom confessed to dad that she was exaggerating a bit. She was distraught, but she played it a bit. Dad said: "well, you didn't make the rules, you just played them well." I have no idea what he meant, but it made mom feel better and so I was proud of dad for saying that.
At 3:59 PM I walked out of that big crate into a busy street with noisy trucks and people with my mom, dad, two people who mom had introduced to me as my agents, and a man who was carrying my stinky, small crate on his head so he could get by the trucks. All six of us were almost running away from the big, dark, noisy crate. We'd been freed!
Next was a short ride to a nice house mom called Vieja Cuba Hotel where I was greeted by many folks in a strange language. Everyone at this hotel loves dogs; that was obvious. Mom and dad put me in the shower and gave me a bath. All was well. Mom went away for a bit and came back with half a Chicken she bought at ... guess where? ... Texan Chicken!!!!! It was just fantastic. I slept that night like a baby between mom and dad. All was well.
The next day we got up and I ran around the garden and then we went for a walk. It was wonderful. The sun was shinning, the temperature was perfect... we were all happy.
Around 8:30 that morning another van came and I knew the trip wasn't over.
They put all the luggage in the van, and we all sat in the back seat which I normally have all to myself. We started our 7 hour ride with this very nice driver whose name was Jaime. The ride was beautiful. I was in the middle between mom and dad. We started to climb and climb and as we did the road seemed to shake us around. I soon learned that there was no laying down for me. I had to go with each turn towards mom sometimes, and others towards dad.
We stopped twice because mom drinks too much water and has to go pee. I'm smarter and know that if I drink I have to pee. If I can figure that out, I wonder why she can't. Dad is smart like me, but he takes advantage of mom's stops, and to be honest, so do I.
After 7 hours we arrived in Cuenca. We were safe. The next few days were not easy, but that's for another time.
