- Joined
- Nov 22, 2008
- Messages
- 2,005
- Reaction score
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I just dropped off my cats this morning for shipping to my mother in Oregon. What an adventure! The airline national rep misdirected me to drop them off at an office that was locked, gated, and dark. So I missed the deadline to arrive at the correct office by a good twenty minutes. Then I had to stand in line at the ticket counter for another 10 minutes. The national rep also told me that a photocopy of their health records would be fine ... nope. After a blizzard of phone calls they agreed to take them in spite of these discrepancies.
"Okay ma'm, we'll have to take them out to inspect the crates."
"That's fine, but could we do it in a small enclosed space? If they take off we'll never find them."
"We'll have to take them out to inspect the crates for contraband."
"I respect that. I just want to do that in a small room for the cats' safety so they don't take off and disappear."
"Ma'am, we'll have to take them out of the crates to inspect them for contraband."
"I understand. Could we please do it in a small room? If they take off we'll be looking for them all day."
[Incredulous look] "Can't you just hold on to them?"
"Cats are really squirmy and hard to hold on to. Especially when they're scared."
"We'll need to take them out to inspect the crates."
Thankfully, at this point another agent stopped by, all smiles, and pointed to a back office for inspection. The room was loaded with a random assortment of stacked boxes and loose wires. (?) In other words, a virtual rainforest of guerrilla hidey holes for a freaked-out cat. But it was much smaller than a quarter-mile ticketing area. When I opened the first crate, my 20 year old tried to force her way past me in a panic. The first agent jumped back with a frightened gasp. That explained a couple things ... Agent #2 asked her if she was afraid of cats. Yeah, she said, she had a bad experience with cats as a child. I showed her my 5-pounder and her little blue Soft Paws claw condoms. The agent never totally relaxed, but after that Chick Bonding Moment she was much more polite. Cat Two went much more smoothly - he's a hardcore alpha and completely fearless, so he sat calmly in my arms until I put him back in.
It's one major hurdle crossed in my final Moving Week, and I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry about it - very stressful dealing with security wonks, but rather peculiar at the same time. Now I just get to worry until I know they arrived in one piece. Gawd bless America.
"Okay ma'm, we'll have to take them out to inspect the crates."
"That's fine, but could we do it in a small enclosed space? If they take off we'll never find them."
"We'll have to take them out to inspect the crates for contraband."
"I respect that. I just want to do that in a small room for the cats' safety so they don't take off and disappear."
"Ma'am, we'll have to take them out of the crates to inspect them for contraband."
"I understand. Could we please do it in a small room? If they take off we'll be looking for them all day."
[Incredulous look] "Can't you just hold on to them?"
"Cats are really squirmy and hard to hold on to. Especially when they're scared."
"We'll need to take them out to inspect the crates."
Thankfully, at this point another agent stopped by, all smiles, and pointed to a back office for inspection. The room was loaded with a random assortment of stacked boxes and loose wires. (?) In other words, a virtual rainforest of guerrilla hidey holes for a freaked-out cat. But it was much smaller than a quarter-mile ticketing area. When I opened the first crate, my 20 year old tried to force her way past me in a panic. The first agent jumped back with a frightened gasp. That explained a couple things ... Agent #2 asked her if she was afraid of cats. Yeah, she said, she had a bad experience with cats as a child. I showed her my 5-pounder and her little blue Soft Paws claw condoms. The agent never totally relaxed, but after that Chick Bonding Moment she was much more polite. Cat Two went much more smoothly - he's a hardcore alpha and completely fearless, so he sat calmly in my arms until I put him back in.
It's one major hurdle crossed in my final Moving Week, and I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry about it - very stressful dealing with security wonks, but rather peculiar at the same time. Now I just get to worry until I know they arrived in one piece. Gawd bless America.
