THE PUFFIN MIGRATION

The short of it is that we did get home safely yesterday afternoon. There is much to tell about our journey, and I will give details below.

Thursday, January 19
Morning came even earlier than usual with my personal wake-up at 4:00. I put my own morning routine ahead of Puffin and was ready to feed and take her out about 4:30. Then there was time for a quick muffin, last minute packing details and many Good-bys. We left for the airport at 5:30. We students, soon to be graduates, were divided among the five instructors according to flight times and departure gates. Even so, it was a quick trip through security for Puffin and me. My flight was already boarding when we reached the departure gait. The 6-hour flight was rather smooth, but Puffin was not at all impressed. By the time we were ready to take off, I had almost dozed off. Puffin, though, decided to follow suit and tried a take-off of her own. Her leash was fastened to my seat belt and this helped to keep her from escaping into the aisle past the two empty seats in our row. I did manage to entice her back into position under the seat in front of me when something new triggered her and she was up and out again. This time, she almost slipped her collar because she was moving in reverse. I managed to call for help and the flight attendant retrieved my purse where some treats were stashed. With these, I managed to break off small pieces and “bribe” puffin back to me and to shape the appropriate position of “down “. I chose my battles and did not insist on perfect form under the seat in front of me. First she was stretched out full length across in front of the three seats. Gradually, she folded up and pressed against my legs until she was in rather good position by the end of that leg of our journey.

Then it was my turn for anxiety. We heard that our descent would be rough and the runway was being kept open. The airport was closed to through traffic. Some how, though, the pilot managed to make a very smooth landing on the ice and slush of the tarmac.

Once at our flight destination, I learned that the second leg of our journey was cancelled due to the weather. We had an escort who was afraid of dogs, but he was a good sport. He had visions of spending the rest of the day with me because of my long list of needs. Our itinerary was changed to a flight that was to leave for our final destination that same evening. I then went to relieve Puffin. The relief area was in a room and was a litter box arrangement. I have no idea of its size, but Puffin was not impressed and ignored it completely. I asked my escort to find me a place to sit near a restaurant while I considered my options. With that he was on his way.

After making a few phone calls, I learned that the president of Horizon was on TV stating that all flights to my area were cancelled for the rest of the day. A relative helped me by calling to make a hotel reservation for the night. My task then was to find a more suitable area to park Puffin, change my ticket for the following day, and find ground transportation to my hotel. I had only taken a few steps when a restaurant person offered to obtain another escort for me. It took about 15 minutes for that person to arrive and we set off. The outside dog relief area was a very icy patch indeed. Puffin considered it a wonderful place to play while I was in no mood to practice my ice skating maneuvers. The ticket counter was crowded, but I managed to change my flight to the following afternoon. The hotel shuttle took quite some time to arrive in the snowy weather, but my escort insisted on staying with me until it came.

Thankfully I had packed the 8-lb bag of dog food in my carry on and could feed and relieve Puffin once we had reached our room. . A plastic bag does work for giving water and I could feed Puffin from my hand. The door to take Puffin outside was next to my room making it an easy though icy trip each time.

Once settled in our room, I chose to have dinner there instead of venturing out to find the restaurant. It worked so well that I also chose to eat breakfast in my room. Luckily Puffin did not chew her leash turned tie down for the night. There was a small rug in the bathroom that I put beside the bed, It served as her “Place”. When she wakened me at 2:00, I decided that I should respond by 2:30. She demonstrated that she had good reason by producing both a #1 and #2 when we got outside. That room was difficult to heat and they brought in a space heater to bring the room temperature above 59 degrees.

Friday, January 20, 2012
Still wearing the same clothes as the day before, I set out for the lobby to meet my nephew who would take me to my gate at the airport. Puffin did the security routine very well. She sat and waited for me to go first on this and every occasion as if she had been doing it for years. We did board the plane for my final destination and we did arrive above the airport. At the critical moment, the pilot said he could not see the runway and had to abort the landing. He was still unable to see it in two additional tries and said we must go back to are starting point while we had fuel enough to do so.

We arrived at about 3:30 and the process began again. I had to reschedule my flight, relieve Puffin, and make a new hotel reservation. This time it would be for two additional nights as there was not a place on the mid-day flight on Saturday. I decided not to chance any evening flights to avoid the possibility of cancellation or return to find no available lodging. This time, I remembered to request my checked luggage. Puffin would have a toy, her Mutmat from the school, and I would have some clean clothes. Thankfully I had washed them before packing.

I felt a bit less exhausted and decided to strike out for the restaurant. I managed to be helped by a couple who invited me to sit with them. They insisted on paying for my dinner. WE had a very nice visit while Puffin snoozed at my feet. They had returned to the airport an hour and a half into their trip to Hawaii and were waiting for their next opportunity to fly. They were delayed due to mechanical problems.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

This was a quiet day for us as we did not have the possibility of a flight. The flight of the evening before had managed to land and I could have been home, but I chose what I chose. This day, the mid-day flight was full before I had a chance to make a reservation. I could have chosen the Saturday evening option, but chose against it for the reason mentioned earlier. I learned later that the Saturday evening flight was cancelled. Puffin and I had some bonding time together in the room. I spent much of the day sitting by her on the floor.

That Morning and evening, I found the restaurant for breakfast and dinner and enjoyed two delicious meals. Following dinner, I was invited to sit and visit with two flight attendants. It was a nice way to spend some time.

The hotel had 850 beds and two towers. It was sprawling and most difficult to negotiate. I tied two plastic bags to my hotel door as is my custom. Puffin knew immediately that this was a target, but I didn’t have treats or a clicker. She found it wonderfully on the first return and we had a party. However, she missed the treats and seemed less inclined to locate our room on subsequent occasions. I was forever getting turned around and needing help. This was not the way a team should begin life together. Ideally a team should go straight home and begin work together on short, well known routs. We had none of this.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

We had a leisurely morning with breakfast and packing. Then we headed for the airport on the hotel shuttle. The airport security people were much more informed and more pleasant than they had been on Friday making my day a better one. On Friday, Puffin clearly was the one setting off the alarm, but the person said they could not tell because I was holding the leash.

Our plane was late because they had hit a bird at a different airport and had to deal with the paper work and other details related to it. There was no damage done to the plane.

It was a rough ascent and descent. Puffin tried several times to crawl into the seat and get behind me. On the Friday flight, she had been very restless and I let her look out the window with her feet in my lap (her choice). I thought that looking outside might help her. My seat mate was very understanding of Puffin’s issues. On Sunday, she was still restless and shivering at times. She did want to get into the seat, but she didn’t head for the aisle.

Monday, January 23, 2012

What a day for a dental appointment. Knowing that Puffin has had some issues with sounds, I asked that my husband attend my dental appointment and take care of Puffin as needed. He did stay and she needed no special attention. She did well.

It is still very icy here. Our relieving spot is like glass and she wants to work off pent up energy there. The sidewalks are not cleared and we have not been able to walk except to get out of the car and go into places. Friends have estimated that it may be a week before the ice will melt enough to walk outside. Bad news for us.

Still Huffin’ and Puffin