First! Since this was to be our last flight we decided to fly first class. We wished our pups could too but they were assigned to cargo. But, we must compliment United Airlines. They not only took care of our two precious puppies with such unbelievable care, but they took care of Scott and me too.
We dropped two terrified pups at cargo crying and wondering what in the world was happening. Not sure ourselves, Scott and I were pretty stressed about them the whole flight. But not because of United!
Immediately, upon being seated the United airlines staff (not sure if you call them stewards and stewardesses these days) asked if there was anything they could do to make our flight more comfortable. We told them we would like to be assured our two puppies were onboard our flight. They turned, went to the phone and called down cargo to make sure Mr. Ems and Happy were on board. Not only that, but the handler who had put them on board came to the cabin and told us he had put them on board himself. We were delighted! You would think that would have alleviated our concerns, but did it? No! Though we had lovely warm blankets in a very cool cabin, we knew our babies did not have blankets. And, after all, they are puppies that have lived in the Islands their whole lives. So the whole flight though we were warm and toasty,we were concerned they were shivering.
As far as Scott’s and my flight? It could not have been more delightful… Our seats were welcoming and spacious. They could be adjusted just about any way we could imagine… reclining with legs up or down or sitting up with elevated legs… and to top it off the seat became a fully flat bed, if we wanted to sleep.
We ordered vegetarian meals. We started with a beautiful strawberry salad with balsamic vinegar and a lovely roll, then they brought out a gorgeous hot pasta loaded with veggies… broccoli, carrots, corn, peas, beans, and onions and another roll. Later in the evening they brought by biscuits and pastries to tempt us. And, of course the standard hot nuts to munch on.
We could watch movies, television, play video games, or be part of a guided mediation. Eight hours that were our active time of day we flew East to Illinois, losing hour after hour after hour… by the time we landed we had lost five hours of our usual day. Did we ever achieve sleep? No…
But as the plane landed all we wanted to do was pick up our rental car and find our puppies. The temperature in Chicago was a chilly rainy 46° and though the terminal was dry, it was very chilly. All we could imagine was our puppies shivering uncontrollably.
We rushed to Budget-Rent-A-Car to pick up the rental we had prepaid through AARP. It wasn’t the Ford Edge we had ordered but a “similar” model… a Toyota Sienna. Did it have the bench style seat in the back we had expected? Of course not! So our plan to use attachments to the seat belt to secure the puppies went out the window. But, all we cared about at the moment was holding those two little fellows in our arms.
We programmed the address into Google Maps and “Google Girl” as we have named the voice who directs us guided us toward the “Pet Safe” cargo area. Pouring rain, visibility miserable, but “Google Girl” directed our every turn… but, somehow we still managed to make a wrong turn and ended up on a road closed for repairs. Pouring rain… imagined freezing puppies… a car we did not expect… things were off to a challenging start. Finally we saw a woman at a booth guiding some cars somewhere. Scott went and spoke with her… she told him she had had to direct “a lot” of people to the “Pet Safe” area. She got us back on the correct path. Now to give Google Girl the proper credit… we were on a road so close to the correct road anyone could have mistaken the two. Once back on the correct road Goggle Girl did an admirable job… except for one thing… they had moved the Pet Safe terminal. Fortunately we had their phone number, so after some very careful instructions which moved us less than a quarter mile we found the terminal.
Imagine our surprise when we walked into a delightfully warm terminal to see puppies wagging tales and ready to play. Not a bit of trauma except to their two worried parents…
