Love Those "Tails"

Stories and anecdotes from our extended "family".

He's a Good Boy - Gremlin Arrives Home

Well, we've only had a couple of accidents, more our fault than his, but he is doing very well. Of course, I am still recovering from the whole trip back, but he seems to have adjusted very well!
After you left me Pam, I tried several times to get the little rascal to go pee, but he was so anxious about all of the traffic, and of course the roar of the planes that he would have nothing to do with it. And I had to laugh; I only realized AFTER I got through security that they had not even asked me for my boarding card! They didn't even look at Gremlin, just went through my carry on to ensure my wine was sealed! As I left the screening area, a flight crew came through and merged in with me, and all I could here were "5A" and Vancouver, and they were wondering if they should check to see if it was the same gate as always. I commented that if they were going to Vancouver that they were indeed at 5A, and that it was my flight . . . and then they noticed Gremlin. Well, they were all ooohing and aahing, and as soon as I got on board, one of the attendants came right over and looked him over. She had worked on some flights with cats, but never a dog (and she hated cats!) and she certainly looked after him. Not that it much mattered, the beggar slept the whole way! I managed to sit in the wrong seat; had to uproot the poor guy, and settle him in beside a nice business man, and he had been hearing the explanations about a puppy on board, and was really excited to see him. Just before we landed, I unzipped the corner so he could see him, and he took two pictures of him, upside down and conked out. I guess the fellow had been away for two weeks, and these were the only two pictures he'd taken, so that he could show his wife. When I got in, I bee-lined it for fresh air, and poor Gremlin just didn't know what to do with all of the traffic and people, and no snow! I went back into a handicap washroom, and let him run about on the floor, and he piddled there, so I tidied up (thank you for the paper towel idea Jocelyne!) I warmed his lunch and put it in my juice cup, and he just snarfed it down. Then I went and found a cart, so I could better manage the load, and we wandered a bit so I could find some grass. Oh, was he scared! It took a lot of coaxing, but he managed to have a pooh, and then he really started to warm up to the whole idea . . . . he even started to do a bit of a spaz out on the leaves, trying to play with them. I then gave him the bone you gave me in the morning, and that kept him busy enough for me to get some lunch, and then we went back down to the arrivals, and I found a quiet corner a little out of sight and away from the traffic. Every half hour or so, I would run him out for a romp on the grass, and then we'd move back in to sit down (the ground was soaked, so sitting outside was not an option). I just let him sleep in my arms, and a few people came along and commented on how cute he was as they made their way to a phone. One pilot even came by and initially thought I was breast feeding (Good Grief!)! He just laughed, told me what had run through his mind, and then he hopped into his taxi. Another fellow checked to make sure I was OK, wondering if I was waiting for someone.
As our departure time approached, I did the big supper warm up in the washroom again, and he scarfed that down too. Outside for a pooh, and we were off through security. Being an idiot, it didn't occur to me to be realistic and expect the flight to be delayed . . . which it was . . . many times over. We were supposed to leave at 1750, then it got bumped to 1825, and then we didn't even get to go on the plane until after that time, so we didn't hit the runway until 1900hrs. In the mean time, he slept in the Sherpa, upside down, and all of my friends and even my neighbour kept an eye on him and laughed. He slept all the way on the flight, and by the time we got to Fort St. John, I did a quick grab, and out the door for a piddle. Of course, Tony had to give him a quick hug before hand! We travelled him in the Sherpa to the house, so that Gizmo could sit on my lap, but already she didn't really want anything to do with me . . . . I had brought something odd back with me, and she was not impressed at all! But, she is slowly coming around.
This morning (yes, it's taken a whole day to get this done!) I put my peppermint foot cream on, and Gizmo came over to lick my toes as usual, and Gremlin came over and had a quick lick of the other foot; Gizmo just moved over a bit, without growling and didn't move off completely. So she's getting there.
I made up my first batch of food, and it looks pretty good. He scarfed it down no problem, so I will take that as a positive! I will try to set up a vet appointment for Saturday and get his shots taken care of. I notice that his pooh is a little soft, so I'll keep an eye on the portions I am giving him to make sure all is well. In the mean time, so far so good, and we'll keep you guys posted on the progress.

Beth Hunt

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