May 2006
21 months
2006/05/30
In case I wasn't paying attention to Stitch's regular caloric intake last weekend, we have a horrific trip involving airplanes, lost luggage, missed connections, and an unexpected overnight in a hotel. Stitch performs brilliantly. Her gaiting is correct, her leash is loose, her attention to other people is minimal (she does find the loudspeaker at the airport interesting). There's a well-behaved but rowdy child sitting next to us in the waiting area for several hours and Stitch lies quietly at my feet throughout. She picks up everything I drop, she's unobtrusive, and she manages to appear mildly amused but somewhat bored while the stewardess makes continued coochy-coo noises at her.
It's the end of the second flight of the day when things start to go downhill. We started the day at 5 AM with a very light breakfast. By 3 PM we should have finished a 2-hour bus trip, been picked up and been enjoying second breakfast, but my suitcase fails to arrive, and they can't take it across the border when they do find it, so I elect to stay in a hotel overnight and take the bus the next day - hopefully with my suitcase. By the time we get to the hotel, Stitch is all but comatose. I ask her to pick up her leash and all she can think of is to lie down on it and put her head between her paws. I get settled as quickly as I can and we go down the block for fish and chips. We're the only ones in the restaurant, everyone's ignoring us, and I give her half. By the time we get back to the hotel, she's starting to wake up. I'm concerned about being in a (quite fancy) hotel with a dog who's eating strange food, but apparently she has a cast-iron bowel and suffers no ill effects.
I order a room service breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and a bagel. I get all the orange juice and one egg. She's feeling much better and finishes the trip willing and awake.
At our destination, there are four other Portuguese Water Dogs. How fun and interesting to watch Stitch's incredible language skills as she meets the other dogs - one old lady who needs respect and gentleness, one middle-aged dominant bitch who demands respect and needs some cajoling and kowtowing, one testosterone-poisoned lad who needs teeth snapping in his face on a regular basis, and one teenager who's eager to share a good long race around a huge yard.
It's the end of the second flight of the day when things start to go downhill. We started the day at 5 AM with a very light breakfast. By 3 PM we should have finished a 2-hour bus trip, been picked up and been enjoying second breakfast, but my suitcase fails to arrive, and they can't take it across the border when they do find it, so I elect to stay in a hotel overnight and take the bus the next day - hopefully with my suitcase. By the time we get to the hotel, Stitch is all but comatose. I ask her to pick up her leash and all she can think of is to lie down on it and put her head between her paws. I get settled as quickly as I can and we go down the block for fish and chips. We're the only ones in the restaurant, everyone's ignoring us, and I give her half. By the time we get back to the hotel, she's starting to wake up. I'm concerned about being in a (quite fancy) hotel with a dog who's eating strange food, but apparently she has a cast-iron bowel and suffers no ill effects.
I order a room service breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and a bagel. I get all the orange juice and one egg. She's feeling much better and finishes the trip willing and awake.
At our destination, there are four other Portuguese Water Dogs. How fun and interesting to watch Stitch's incredible language skills as she meets the other dogs - one old lady who needs respect and gentleness, one middle-aged dominant bitch who demands respect and needs some cajoling and kowtowing, one testosterone-poisoned lad who needs teeth snapping in his face on a regular basis, and one teenager who's eager to share a good long race around a huge yard.