I agreed to help out the Brittany folks yet again. They seem to be the ones most interested in my services and the ones who keep the number of dogs on a transport to a reasonable level. Several of those who have come through my area recently have had 4, 5, or even more dogs. Far too many for my little vehicle. It would be nice to have a large vehicle for transporting, but that won't ever happen. So I limit myself to no more than 3 medium sized dogs, 2 large dogs, one giant dog, or a handful of puppies/little dogs.
So this time it was for three Brittanies. Nesbit was 6 years old, an orange and white boy who was heading. Abby and Speckle were two 10 year old Brittanies (one liver and white, the other black and white) who were going to a forever home in Vermont. It always warms my heart to see these older dogs getting a home.
I arrived in Rochester a little bit after the folks I was going to meet. I misjudged the time a bit this time. I thought I needed to arrive by 2:20pm and it was really 2:10pm and the other folks were moving pretty quickly. I got there about 2:05pm, but they still beat me by about 10-15 minutes. They had already walked the dogs and were waiting in their car for my arrival. I met Nesbit first and I was amazed at his size! He was incredibly tall and much bigger and stronger than most Brittanies. We all looked at him and thought he was the size of a Springer Spaniel, but clearly looked like a Brittany. He was a bit more exuberant than I expected a dog of his age to be. The other Brittanies I've met who were over 3 were much calmer than he was. I got him into the car and wasn't surprised to see him immediately hop up into the front of the car.
Then I met Abby and Speckle. Amusingly, we all had them reversed as to their names. I was sure that Speckles was the little liver and white one was she was quite speckled. But her name tag said Abby on it, so I guess they were reversed. Much like Nesbit, I was amazed at how active they were. Wendy and Pepper, who I had transported before, were much calmer than these two. I got them into the car, got all the paperwork, and then returned to the car to find Abby on the floor of the driver's side seat with her head stuck under the seat. I guess I missed a couple french fries when cleaning and she managed to find them. Amusing. In order to get her into the back seat, I had to drag her out of the car and get her to go to the back seat. Nesbit, who was now on the front driver side had to be physically forced backward onto the passenger seat.
I got in. Shut the door. And though "how on earth am I going to keep them all under control?"
I started up the car and started driving, and as if by magic, they all suddenly settled down, curled up, and slept! I looked in the rearview mirror a few times and saw that Abby and Speckle (who have been together since they were pups, I believe), were curled up together. Everyone say "awww!"
The ride was uneventful from there on out, except for the lake effect snow and wind.
Oh and the next driver calling to tell me he'd be late because he locked his keys in the car. Well, that was unexpected! It turned out that the battery in his car had died. When they jumped it, all the doors immediately locked (I hate those automatically locking doors!) and his keys were in the car at the time. Just great. I didn't have any major plans, but I wanted to get home to my dog!
I arrived at Syracuse and the folks who were there for Nesbit arrived shortly thereafter. It was easy to get him out and on his way.
I decided that, since I had to hang around a bit, I might as well sit in the back seat with Abby and Speckle. I could give them some attention and take some pictures. Well, I found out one thing. Those poor girls were starving for attention. They were all over me as soon as I got in the back with them. I don't know where they came from originally (they were owner turn-ins), but it seems that their emotional needs were a bit neglected. Speckle was also ITCHY. Seriously itchy. She kept itching her ear for a few minutes at a time (when I checked on it, it was clear that she had a hot spot behind it from all the scratching) and then she would roll around on the back seat trying to get some relief. I'm not sure what was causing it. I didn't see any fleas, so maybe it's the food she's eating or some sort of allergies. Either way, I felt bad for the poor girl. Both she and Speckle seemed to have some issues. Their ears were turned funny (matts or just bad breeding, I'm not sure) and both were really tiny for Brittanies. They were nice dogs, but they need some help to get healthier and happier.
The next driver called me and was on his way only about 10 minutes late. We did a quick transfer of the dogs and then he was off.
A few pictures:
Nesbit
(click for a larger image -- whole image did not fit here)
Abby
Speckle
More can be found here.
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