When I first started this adventure with Tonka and Radar people I know said I was crazy. I thought how hard can it be. I love dogs. Then we got the dogs, and I thought maybe they were right. We had the two dogs from October 26 until December 14th. Some of this story is a repeat of a previous post, but I think it is important information.
My daily routine consisted of making sure all five cats where in the house. Which in itself was a fete. Then I had to get my two old dogs Jenny and Ginger, in the house, all the while listening to the other four bark and whine. Once that was done, I let Sophie out to go do her business, put her back in the kennel and fed her. Once she was locked up Tonka and Radar were next. Last but not least, was Harley. The reason he went last you may ask. He did not scream as I like to call it, like he was dying. Sophie and Tonka did. I should tell you though, Harley is the only dog who goes potty in his kennel, the other three didn't. Which explains the desperation to be let out.
Once that was done, I would wait at least one hour, before letting them out again, all the while listening to cats meow because they wanted to go back outside. When the hour was up, Sophie was let out to run around for a bit, then Tonka and Radar, then Harley. The reason you wait an hour after eating before letting a dog play, is to let their food digest. Deep chested dogs such as German Shepherds and Boxers are susceptible to bloat. I did this four times during the day and then once again at night.
If you had asked me three weeks ago or even last week, if I had known how hard it would be, would I do it again? My answer would have been, no. Below is the end of this story. I hope you will see why I am so happy to have helped and why I have no regrets. I would definitely do it again for this family that I have come to know mostly through emails.
On Friday December 14, Tonka and Radar left our home to go back to their owners. When I made their flight arrangements, the agent told me to be at the airport 3 hrs ahead of their flight. I thought to myself, this is a small town, an hour before the flight should be enough time. For three weeks this was in the back of my mind.
On the day of their departure, Tonka played with Sophie for the last time. They played for an hour or so. Sophie is in heat so I had to watch them the entire time to make sure there was no monkey business going on. Yes it was a risky situation. At one point, Tonka was a little too interested until I asked him "Where's your ball Tonka?" He totally forgot about Sophie and went in search of his ball. At that point, I locked Sophie up.
Tonka and Radar were running around when I started to clean up their crates to get them ready for their trip. I happened to look over my shoulder to see Radar watching me with such sadness in his eyes. My heart sank, I called him over to me and knelt down beside him. I gave a hug and told him it would be okay, "you're going home, boy." Tonka, on the other hand was clueless. He kept shoving his ball in my face and against any part of my body that he could, making it extremely hard to clean his crate. At one point, I gave up cleaning the crate and played tug-o-war with him.
It was a crazy day, one that I dreaded. I hated the fact that we had to have the dogs in their crates sitting at the airport until their flight left. It was bothering me all day. That and the sadness in Radars eyes. It was a sadness I had seen before, one that I thought was gone once he settled down at our house. After cleaning the crates, I gave the two boys a good brushing and a waterless bath. It had been a rainy cold day. Had it been a hot sunny day, I would have given them a normal bath.
As I stated before, the airlines suggested we get there three hours before their flight. I pictured us checking them in and leaving. How long would that take 10 minutes at the most. Then the poor dogs would be sitting there surrounded by strangers not knowing what was going to happen to them next. All day I had a nagging feeling, we should take them early like the airline suggested. Then I would think, this is Hilo, it's not like there is going to be a lot of people checking in animals.
Finally, about 6:45, I looked at Harold and said maybe we should go early like the airline suggested. We loaded the dogs up and headed to the airport. As we did when we picked them up, we let Tonka and Radar ride in the same crate.
When we arrived at the airport, I was right no one was there, but, the airline was correct in their suggestion. Two hours had passed by the time we were done with all the paper work. If we had waited the usually hour before the flight left, Tonka and Radar wouldn't have made the flight. By the time we were done, their plane was leaving in an hour. At least they got to be by us the whole time we were there. They were in their crates but, they were still near us. Tonka occasionally barked at someone. It was quite entertaining, several people commented on the dogs. Where are they going? What kind of dogs are they? so on and so forth.
Finally, the ticket agent said the dogs had to go through TSA before they could leave. They took Radar first, Harold went with them to help out. I stayed with Tonka waiting for them to come back. thinking Radar would be with them. When they came back, I looked at Harold and asked "Where is Radar?" he said they took him in the back. I looked at Harold and then at the ticket agent and said "I didn't get to say goodbye to him! I really wanted to say goodbye." I got a blank stare from the ticket agent. When it was Tonka's turn, I went with them. To my surprise, we had to take Tonka out of the crate again. He was so confused, I felt so sorry for him. I was able to hug him and tell him he was going to be okay. Harold helped the agent take Tonka into the back where Radar was. He said they had them face to face so they could see each other.
The next eighteen hours were, I want to say were nerve wrecking. Not knowing if these two were okay was a little bit much. I know they aren't my dogs but they may have well been. I honestly don't know how their owners did it. I didn't get a good nights sleep until I knew they were at home with their Mom and Dad.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well, the following is worth a million!
These faces say it all. Priceless!!!! I would have given anything to hear the sound of their laughter when they saw their dogs had come home to stay.
Tonka and his best friend are back together again.
I mentioned earlier in this post of how I thought the sadness in Radar was gone once he settled in. After seeing the pictures of both Radar and Tonka, I now know better. In the pictures I took of them, their eyes did not sparkle like they do in the pictures of them at home again with their family.
I still am baffled she can walk side by side with him, without being knocked down. He truly is her best friend!
These animals aren't just "dogs or cats" as far too many people like to refer to them. Make no mistake, they are living beings, a member of your family with feelings. You may think you don't have enough time for your pets or your yard is too small, but honestly, your pet doesn't have the concept of time or the knowledge of size. Too many people give up their pets for one reason or another. I happen to have first hand knowledge of what it is like for them when their family disappears. They are lost and a little part of them disappears. Lucky for these two, they are right where they belong, with their family.
Thank you Joella and Curtis, for giving me the opportunity to learn a lesson, I already knew deep in my heart.
May God bless you and keep you and your family safe.
