Maggie's departure was delayed again by cold airport temperatures, so Durant flew to Venice with the luggage while Cheryl stayed behind with Maggie while waiting for warmer weather.
When Durant arrived on January 31, he found a set of dog bowls and two cans of dog food in the kitchen of Maggie's new home on the Corte de la Madona, compliments of a thoughtful (and dog-friendly) landlady and landlord.
January 29: Maggie missed her scheduled departure for Venice this morning because of cold weather at our local airport, but Delta is now saying there's no pet embargo tomorrow (January 30), so with luck we'll soon be on our way to JFK and VCE. In the meantime, Maggie is getting used to her crate (photo above).
Watch for our first reports on a Bearded Collie's adventures in Italy during the week of February 1.
ABOVE: A dog's-eye view of a Pet-Mate Vari-Kennel interior. INSET BELOW: What Maggie will see if an airline employee invites her to leave her "den."
Maggie won't be flying first class from JFK to Venice--but then again, neither will we. However, she will have accommodations to rival those of a first-class "pod" on Emirates and a handful of other airlines that cater to upscale business travelers, except for the absence of a laptop power outlet and a personal entertainment system.
Maggie's Pet-Mate Vari-Kennel No. 500 Extra Large crate has a comfortable (though optional) pad with a fleece covering, giving her the canine equivalent of a tiny Tokyo hotel room with a futon on the floor. If we could have booked human-sized crates, we might have been willing to travel in the baggage compartment ourselves.
Although this will be Maggie's first experience with traveling in a crate, she seems to like her portable quarters. We throw Milk-Bone dog biscuits into her "den" from time to time, and she sometimes hangs around in the crate for a minute or so after she's gone in to eat them.