This specific trip was a few years back when I took Swift home to Ohio. I was a bit worried about taking him on the plane. I had a dog carrier, but at the time, Swift was a little more vocal than Kool, so I was worried he'd whine or bark on the plane and annoy everyone. (Kool had done excellently the year before - no one even knew there was a dog on the plane.) Getting through security with Swift a bit of an ordeal. Luckily, I was checking my bags, so all I had was my purse and Swift's carrier. I had to take him out of the carrier (in addition to all the crazy other stuff we have to do - take off shoes, coats, etc) and carry him through the metal detector with me. This was before the full body scans - I wonder how that would work nowadays?
We got through without any problems, found our gate, and settled in to wait. Swift did a bit of whining because he could see me through the mesh, so I ended up holding the carrier on my lap while we waited. On the plane, though, I wasn't able to do that. But Swift seemed to know it was different and didn't whine at all on the plane. We actually had two layovers (because it was cheaper), and one of the layovers was a few hours long. Swift got really annoyed and kept whining. I took him to the family bathroom, so we would have some privacy and let him out of his carrier. I thought he might have to go potty, but he didn't. I let him wander around for a bit, but I didn't want to keep the bathroom occupied too long.
Eventually, I got sick of the whining and let him out of his carrier. He was doing pretty good just sitting on the floor next to me. I think he was happy not to be in that carrier. Of course, he was his usual charming self and tried to make friends with everybody. He did his little "prairie dog" stance. I was able to keep him out for about an hour until I got caught. Some random airport employee told me to put him away. I, of course, apologized and put Swift back in the carrier. That little bit of reprieve did more harm than good, though. Since Swift knew the taste of freedom, he wasn't having any of this carrier stuff anymore. Finally, we boarded the plane, and he settled down. All-in-all, it wasn't really that bad of an experience. It was just too long of a layover for him to be stuck in that little carrier.
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| Swift being a good boy, sitting on the floor |
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| Swift the Prairie Dog |
One of the most vivid memories of that trip is when I took a nap one afternoon while my mom was at work. I lay down on the couch. I had a zippered cardigan on, and Swift literally crawled inside my cardigan to sleep next to me. We probably napped for one to two hours. I love my little cuddler. I wish I had a picture of his head peeking out the top of my sweater...while I'm wearing it! He has never done that since. Sometimes I try to encourage him, but he doesn't do it. Maybe Swift just needed the comfort and closeness of his mama in a strange place.
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