Dear Readers,

The other day we got word that the U.S. Department of Transportation has passed new restrictions on airplane travel for animals. Naturally, this caught Momma’s and my attention as we have a flight coming up later this month.

It seems DOT was clamping down on (sometimes “fake”) emotional support animals riding in the cabin, and from now on, they would be relegated to cargo. And if I do woof so myself, I get it. Often times these days, they are not even dogs! Really, who wants to be sitting next to an (uncrated) pig, peacock, monkey, snake, squirrel, comfort turkey, or miniature horse? And while the new rules allow bone-a-fide service animals to be in the cabin, it was not clear — were all others (even normally paying customers/animals like myself) now also banned from the cabin?

This would never do, so Momma called the airline. As expected, the representative was just not sure about the new rules, but she thought paying pets (in carriers and under the seat) would be just fine in the cabin. And she assured us, since the rules are not implemented until 2021, I would not be “bumped” from our December flight. Thrilled, Momma dragged out my little carrier so I could get used to it again.

Here I am practicing for our flight!

Then last week Momma and I had another little road bump which caused a quite a bit of consternation at our house. Momma had accidentally dropped a minuscule tube of lip salve on the floor as she hurried upstairs to change clothes. Well, as you might imagine, I was practically duty bound to check it out. Who knows — it might be a new kind of treat!

I had probably only been chewing on the tube for about five minutes, when Momma found me and snatched it away. Actually, to be honest, it didn’t taste that good and the tube was virtually empty, so I really didn’t care. Although Momma could also see that the tube was totally used up, she saw one teensy-tiny little puncture mark and went into her usual panic mode. What if I, against all odds, I had gotten a molecule of it in my mouth? Was it poisonous to dogs (even though she put it on her own lips)? Who would be her (real) support animal on the plane if something happened to me?

After doing her usual fruitless search for the answers on Google, Momma rang up our vet. The receptionist listened patiently to our latest tail of woe and advised us to call the Pet Poison hotline.

After a brief hold, Momma was connected to the hotline nurse, who also listened to our story and asked a few questions. After she had obtained all the pertinent information, she asked Momma if she could put her on hold so the nurse could “analyze the data” (kinda like my favorite Governor Walz would say — I felt better already!). I don’t think there was much data to analyze though, and the nurse was back on the line in almost no time at all. She informed Momma that I would probably be fine and that the charge for the advice would be $59.00 (up from the $50.00 they charged for our last “emergency,” Momma noticed with irritation). Nevertheless, she shook it off and gave me a big hug of relief. I went off to scrounge the floor for more treats.

Here’s hoping the rest of 2020 will be bump-free for all of us!

Lina, Ready for Wheels Up!

WOOFDA!