Meeting Noelle and Arthur

The excitement, the worry, the wondering, and the stress over the float is what woke me early Saturday morning. I knew somewhere a thousand miles away, two lives were about to change as someone else rolled out of bed grumbling at the early hour and the chill in the air. The transport was about to begin! I was up and about at 4 AM, and on the way to work by 5. I finally arrived at work at 6 AM, dressed to beat the chill and downpours we were expecting as we worked to prepare the float for parade time (nearly 4 hours later). My first thought as I got out of my car was wondering if B was up as well. Had she picked up Arthur yet? Or was she still at home getting together last minute items for the trip? Was she in the car and driving? Or giving her own pets her goodbyes? I thought of her and the pups frequently throughout the morning, as we prepared the float; stapling, wiring, tugging, covering, and praying for the rain to stop. Around 9AM I got a phone call; B was on her way and was already into her first potty break. Everything was on schedule.

The day wore on, the rain did stop, the float went off beautifully in the parade, and before I knew it, I was back at work. Not long after I got there, I got a call from M, she was on her way to pick up L and than on to meet B and meet the puppers! Things are really moving forward now, and the second leg of the trip was about to begin. M and L, met up right on time, they got a bit delayed since during the afternoon there was some severe weather rolling through, N.C, VA, and MD. There were even tornado warnings out! Needless to say they were about an hour late meeting up with B, however, B utilized the time well and went to purchase toiletries and clothing. In the chaos of her morning she forgot to pack her bag. I can commiserate with how thrilled she probably was when she realized it, however, I did get a chuckle as that is something I would have done.

M, L, and B finally met up at 8PM, and M and L were off to my house, where they planned to spend the night before heading home in the morning. My foster pups were almost here! I couldn't help but wonder what they were like. Messages had been relayed along the way, but there's nothing like meeting them on your own. Despite a minor detour when the GPS was late in informing M of an exit, and M and L touched on the state of WV. They very quickly corrected their route and arrived at my home around 2:30 in the morning! I met them at the convenience store at the top of my road, and I could hear Arthur baying in the back. I couldn't help but smile, ohhh how I love that hound sound.

I quickly got my gallon of milk and led the way back to my house. L needed to use the facilities as M and I quickly unloaded the pups. I got the collie girl, who at that point still didn't have an official name, and M released Arthur from the confines of his crate. Wow! He was gorgeous, and huge! He was a bit excited, but I figured he'd been crated for quite a long trip, and the hound sounds....they were gorgeous!!! M and I quickly pottied the pups and bustled everyone inside, where I prayed Arthur would settle quickly, or at the very least quiet quickly as it was close to 3 AM and I didn't want the whole house to wake up.