pet connection

The project coordinator for our fall books, Teri Peluso, is the sister I’ve never had. (I love my brothers, but always wanted a sister.) We just connect on so many levels that we’ve laughed that we must have been separated at birth and sent to crazy Italian families on opposite coasts. I’ve never met Teri in person, and it may well be a long time before I ever do. See, another commonality: Neither of us much likes to travel.

Teri summed it up midway through my weeklong road trip: “Nest is best.”

Amen.

Which is about all the explanation I’m going to bother you with for why it has taken me almost a week just to get enough energy to blog again after taking a 1,300-mile road trip with the dogs to Oregon and the extreme northern coast of California.

Today, refreshed from a day of sleep yesterday — finally! — I’m ready to tackle the laundry.

But before I do, I have to mention (belatedly) the best part of the trip by far, the events in Crescent City and Arcata.

Russell and Nadine Long did an extraordinary job with the “Evening For Pet-Lovers” event at the Del Norte Library in Crescent City (Russell’s the library director), and the turnout reflected their efforts. More than 100 people came out, pet-lovers all, and everyone had a wonderful time, not the least my four dogs, who smooched on everyone they could. The band was delightful, and I have to say that no one could ever ask for a better socialization opportunity for a puppy — dozens of pet-lovers in a room full of new scents and sounds. Otter, the 6-month-old retriever pup I’ve been raising for my friend Mary, now has been introduced to the sound of a washtub bass played by a Methodist minister.

Otter was supposed to go home with Mary from Oregon, by the way, but with the airline situation in full meltdown, we didn’t want to take a chance. So young Otter’s booked on a red-eye direct this week. I am sure going to miss that puppy! (She’s the looonnngggg dog on the left in the top picture, taken by my friend Jill, whose dog Izzy is in the front. The dog on the right is McKenzie.)

The event included a dramatic reading of a story I wrote for this fall’s dog book. I didn’t remember until about halfway through that the end was a reflection on how I would feel after Heather had passed, and I realized I was in trouble, with Heather very much still with me at my feet. Yes, I cried at the ending, and I wasn’t alone. As for Heather, she waved her tail encouragingly throughout and got lots of hugs from the audience, several of whom reminded me that she was a healthy 11 and could be with me for a long time yet.

I’m sure counting on it. After the event, Jenise Axberg of Mellow Mutts Massage gave Heather a good going over as a reward for all her good manners and graciousness during the trip.

Russell and Nadine treated me to a crab omelet at the Chart Room in the Crescent City harbor the next morning, and then I hit the road for the college town of Arcata, down the coast a ways. Susan Fox had set up a great little signing in conjunction with an adoption event, all in front of Arcata Pet, a business I’ve been ordering supplies from for years. (The place looks like a normal little pet store in a grocery store mall, but their selection and service online is super.)

The drive home was beautiful but it goes on forever … from Crescent City down the coast and then inland a little and down the Redwood Highway through all the kitchy drive-through trees and faded lumber towns (I was shocked to see Babe without her head at the Trees of Mystery, but relieved to know she had been repaired within a couple days after I passed her.) Across aptly named Lake County (with voracious half-inch long mosquitoes when we stopped for a break and a bite) and finally hooking up to I-5 for the final sprint home to Sacramento.

The Honda Element couldn’t have been better for the trip. It’s not a big car by any means, but I still managed to fit in four retrievers, four crates (only one set up, the rest collapsed with the dogs wearing seat-belt harnesses), a large suitcase, an espresso machine, 200 books for the signings, a grooming table, a wheeled cart, a dog dryer and other grooming supplies and tools, a week’s worth of dog food, a laptop computer, camera bag and more. Here’s a picture of the Honda before I unpacked. After I unpacked, the mounds of supplies seemed bigger than the car itself.

Plus, it was nimble on all those windy coastal and redwood-lined roads, if a little noisy on the big Interstate. (Honda had thoughtfully installed XM satellite radio, which helped not only with the noise but also with making the 10-hour drive from Crescent City bearable.)

I got home around midnight last Sunday, hustled through a lot of deadlines on Monday, hit the day job the rest of the week and caught up on my sleep yesterday.

Today, it’s laundry time, and after that’s done then I’ll well and truly be home.