Meet Baby.
Baby the Bassett Hound.
Baby has been looking forward to our big move for the past six weeks (her attention span is actually about 40 seconds, but we remind her a lot).
She had her bags packed, all ready to hop on a flight to St. Louis to join her family in our new life in Columbia. (OK, so her big brother was going to drive her to the airport, give her a generous dose of PetCalm, load her into a crate, and turn her over to the doglovers at USAir....and she's not much of a hopper....but you get the idea.)
She and her sister, Addy -- a dog we bought on the Internet who turned out to be more like a weasle-canine cross than the schnoodle we paid for -- a story for another blog post -- were going to spend four or five hours in the air and voila! home sweet home in beautiful Missouri.
But here's the catch:
It's hot in Missouri. (I know, I know, I said I wouldn't write about how hot it is in Missouri...but this isn't directly about the temperature; it's about what that temperature means to Baby. Baby the Bassett Hound.)
As it turns out, USAir - and every other airline you can name -- won't fly an animal in its cargo hold when it's hotter than 85 degrees at the point of departure or destination. Turns out that it's darned toasty in those cargo holds when the plane sits on the tarmac -- which planes almost inevitably do. Turns out animals began to cook just a little bit -- and then, maybe a lot -- when it gets above 85 degrees.
That means Baby and Addy aren't about to become frequent fliers after all.
It means we're renting a car, we're loading up on what may be the largest purchase in recent history of PetCalm, and we're hitting the highway -- two cars, two parents, two dogs, six suitcases, and an 11-year-old daughter.
It means Baby is about to do a road trip. Her first -- and with any luck at all, her last.
Now if I can just convince her to to try some Dramamine....
I absolutely love this story! I remember when my family moved from Mississippi to Missouri and we had 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a bearded dragon coming a long for the ride...it was crazy, but we all got there in one piece. I hope you have a safe journey and hopefully the PetCalm works! And I really think that Baby the Bassett Hound is adorable!
Posted by: Ashley | 06/25/2009 at 11:45 AM
Safe travels to Missouri! I hope Baby and Addy enjoy the ride! See you soon!
Posted by: Lynn | 06/25/2009 at 02:43 PM
Baby is adorable! Good luck and drive safe! :)
Posted by: Andie Young | 06/25/2009 at 05:32 PM
Baby looks so adorable! I hope you can bring her to work one day! :)
Posted by: Katie Johnson | 06/26/2009 at 11:33 PM
President Lynch,
I am new to reading blogs, yours is the first so I didn't know I could reply directly from a blog, I was trying to send you an e-mail from school but at that time it wasn't set up. Any way I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog. When some one can make me laugh out loud in my office that is a good thing .
Welcome to Stephens, we are all excited to have you here. I look forward to touring you around to see the Interior Design digs.
Posted by: Lee Ann Fields | 06/27/2009 at 12:21 PM
Everyone has beaten me to it. Baby is adorable. I had a friend years ago who had a Bassett Hound. A remarkably singular breed.
I do hope and trust your trip will be smooth and uneventful.
Posted by: Lee Lewis | 06/29/2009 at 02:00 AM
Well, this pass weekend the heat & humidity came to an understanding and gave us a few lovely days. I had a similar experience when we moved back to Kansas from England (yes....England). I had to drive from Chicago to Kansas City with 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Doggie Downers work wonders! Good luck with the journey
Posted by: Kate Howell (mother of incoming Freshman, Olivia) | 06/29/2009 at 08:03 AM