Travel Stories!

[N Smith]

So in a recent thread about shipping puppies, a lot of people said they drive/fly to pick them up instead!

I would like to hear some funny/horrifying travel stories, where everything that could go wrong did, but it worked out in the end, and now the story is a super funny one to tell around the training field! LOL

Here is mine, and its long!:

(its for my newest puppy, when I went for Ironhide, I had a cast on from breaking my ankle the week before, I may chime in later with that story!)

In September of this year, my business partner/training friend and I decided to go meet my Shepherds breeders for 5 days of training to work on our protection training. Before we left, I noticed she had a few pups on her site and decided I would take a "look" when we got there.

So when we arrived, I called her and we planned a meeting where she would bring a few puppies for me to work with and see if I liked any of them. After seeing 6 puppies, I had tentatively decided on a solid black male, amazing temperament, superb drives and bites, social and extremely stable. I wanted to think it through - especially having an "on crack" 20 month old GSD currently, I wanted to really think about the extra work that would be required.

So Sunday (we were leaving Monday) was my last day to decide. So after some serious talks with myself and a call to my mentor/friend, I decided I would take this boy home. I called the breeders to let them know and they were very happy their boy would go to a great home!

So they called around to the 24 hour vets to get someone to do the Rabies vax and a health certificate required for travel across the border. They found one near them and our hotel, but we were in the city about 45 minutes away.

So we left Anchorage ASAP and made what should have been a 45 minute drive to the vet clinic. I had a new GPS that had been amazing on the trip and had yet to fail us. So I punched in the address and away we go!

We got to this residential area that seemed really "out of the way" and the GPS just kept saying to turn "right", it took 2 full circles for us to realize, we were just going in circles...LOL. So instead of going right I decided I would go left and decide to let the GPS recalculate. It worked!
So I thought we were back on track, when the GPS told us to make another right. I followed this road up again in a residential area and make it to a parking lot of the college. The GPS (named Gertrude at this point!) tells me to keep going straight, but I can't - we are in a PARKING LOT!

So I turn around, pull back onto the highway and hope this thing recalculates again! It does....only I am going in the wrong direction, urg! So I take quick look, no one coming on either side, so I drive ACROSS the median...at this point my friend and I are laughing to avoid punching "Gertrude". So she tells us to turn left onto yet another "out of the way" road. I listen. We go through a residential area and as we are coming out of it the road abruptly ends at a WHEAT FIELD...WTH??? There is a dirt "path"(I use that term loosely) going through the field and the GPS says there is a road there, so in my fury, I just start driving. It was hard maneuvering as it was completely dark and there was no street lights, but after a few minutes I could see an intersection that litterally appeared out of nowhere! And the pavement is back! Yay! Gertie seems to think that if we go straight through the intersection we will see our destination in 300 meters on the left, I am not hopeful.

So we go through the intersection, look up ahead and in 200 meters I can see a building on my left, then I can see the breeders vehicle, then I can see them outside with my puppy waiting! Yay! We made it just in time. I am so glad we left Anchorage 2 HOURS EARLY!!

The real kicker, is that the Vet clinic is only 15 minutes from our hotel. And when we punch in the hotel address and find our way back, we realize if we had gone back to the hotel first (as we had initially wanted to do) there would have only been one turn to take!

LOL, the things we dog for DOG!

[wildwolf60]

Picking up our new rescue adoptee last year- foster lived in Iowa and kindly suggested he drive half way and I drive halfway- cool- only 3-4 hours one way--ok..
Left right after work, about 5 pm, and it turned into the worst storm we had had in years- drove thru pounding rain, wind, trees breaking, it was like a tornado- weather reports were all on lines being down, roads unpassable, buildings being damaged... I managed to follow directions and it took me longer cause of the downed trees, etc. Roads were being closed, but luckily right after I had passed! Broke thru the weather into the next state and the sun was shining, beautiful weather..
Met the foster, fell in love with GSD in person, lol, and headed back home. Trip uneventful, storm was over. Got home to find no power, it ws about midnight, and one of our trees was blocking the driveway so I couldn't get up it. !!!!
Took a couple days to get power restored, and another couple days to get tree out of the driveway- But all ended well, and i was able to go into my yard to drive up behind my house on the grass until the tree got removed. Adoptee took all in stride!