Flying Puppy Goes to México: ¡olé!

Neko's greatest adventure yet: flying to Sayulita to visit my parents as a Service Dog (in training)!  Wow.  I need a vacation to recover from all of the nerves and anxiety I had with taking her out on such public display, but (as has become usual for Neko), she pleasantly surprised me the whole way!

Waiting in the terminal is boring for humans and Setters

Due to my nervousness (and lightness of pocket book), we had a connecting flight.  We started off pretty rough in Seattle with Neko piddling and pooping in the terminal even though I had taken her for a run and not given her any breakfast (we got to the airport at 3:45am for our 5:15am flight).  I gave Neko "Calm Dog" supplements (a mixture of valerian, tryptophen, ginger) and once we got on the plane she was out like a light!

During our layover in Phoenix, she was pretty talkative (I really, really, want the barking to stop!) and we were warned by the customer service agent that the flight crew would kick us off the plane if she was barking:  

By the time we arrived in PVR, I thought we were home free!  We deplaned (she piddled on the ramp, but not on the plane, thankfully!) and *STOP* there was a 2+ hour line at customs!!  I have been flying to PVR/Sayulita for almost 30 years and I have never seen it like this!  By this time, the humans were all frustrated and totally bummed that their vacations hadn't started yet so I just released Neko and let her charm everyone in line.  Miraculously, there was zero barking during this wait and everyone wanted to take her home with them!

I have never been so happy to see my dad patiently waiting for us!  Once we finally got out of the airport (no problems in customs/immigration - they just asked for Neko's health certificate, made me sign a register/book, and we were on our way) we were home-free to the best "doggie disneyland" experience Neko has ever had:

"smile pretty!"

Being such a good girl in the restaurant

Baby's first haircut (I know, you can't really tell)!

Mexican living is exhausting (notice Tav, the Irish Setter in the background)

Ball, ball, ballllll - don't wash away!

During the trip we gave Neko her first haircut, she learned to get along with Tav (the very alpha Irish Setter) and continued to practice her skills in public: greeting people, waiting in restaurants, "stay" - she was awesome!

The trip home was fairly similar to the trip down: she was much better behaved once inside the aircraft than she was in the terminals.  I, of course, was a nervous wreck until we got picked up in Seattle because I didn't want any negative attention and I wanted to be sure my precious Neko had a positive experience!

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this course (especially not if you have a social anxiety disorder), but now that it's over I'm glad we did it!

This week's challenge is trying to decide what to do with the Lady while I'm in Colorado next week.  I would just take her with me except my sister is going to give birth any day and she has her own pack (2) of Setters to take care of and introduce to a new baby - we don't need to disrupt their lives unnecessarily!

I'm hoping for a call back from a trainer who could board Neko for the 10 days.  Otherwise, she's off to a trusted friend for another week of "vacation"...