As the time grows short until our vacation, I am getting a lot of questions from Inky. Most of them are easy to answer, but once in a while he catches me with my brain in "PARK" and it really seems to please him when this happens. He was watching television the other night, along with my wife and, of course, the rest of the mob and he saw a commercial that showed an elderly lady on a plane who had her dog hidden inside a rather large purse (very small dog). I guess this worried him because he cornered me the next night.
"John, I need to talk to you! It's very important!"
Inky jumped up in my lap and gave me his best nose kiss. I could see he was very concerned about something, so I said, "Chill out, little pal. I'm here for you. Tell me what's wrong."
He fixed the evil eye on me and said, "Where are we going to ride on the plane? I don't want to have to hide. I want to see everything!"
This is what I had been dreading ever since the idea came up. I knew that the sensible thing to do would be to let them ride in the baggage compartment of the plane. I also knew how that would go over with Inky - - like a balloon full of lead. There weren't a lot of options so I decided to go on the offensive and lay it all on the table. "Inky, my little pal, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that Mom has given me a qualified "Maybe" for you guys to go. We have to clear it with the folks where we always stay, but they are both dog nuts so it probably will be OK."
He backed off and looked at me. "So what's the bad news?"
A light went on in my head. "You guys are going to ride in a special compartment. It's heated and you'll be in your own pet carriers like the one we have for Perky."
You could see this info whirling around in that little black fur ball head. All of a sudden he jerked around and gave me his worst evil stare. "You mean we are NOT going to be with you and Mom? Where is this compartment, anyway, in the bottom of the plane?"
"Well, you might say that. It's in the luggage compartment."
"LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT! Won't it be dark in there? Are you sure we'll be safe? It sure doesn't sound much like fun to me!"
I was expecting something like this, and I have an answer - - I hope. "Inky, Inky, my pal, don't you know I love you, and Pancho and Spots? Would I do anything to hurt you or to put you in danger? Of course not! I'm your pal, and you guys have to trust me on this one, because it is probably the only way the airline will let us go."
There was a long silence, then finally, he spoke. "We'll have to talk about this again. Right now I have to explain it to my associates. We'll get back to you." With that he hopped down and the three of them headed for the kitchen for a bite to eat.
Be sure of one thing - - I haven't heard the last of it.
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