The Final Countdown

Europe "The Final Countdown"
The Final Countdown doo doo do doo doo doot doo do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyggY_R3jU8

Cue up the cheesy synth pop 80's classic and crank it up to ten. Ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally arrived.  In six days Buddy and I head to the airport and hop on a flight to Madrid. 

"The Warrior" by Scandal (with Patty Smyth on vocals)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9t5nkZn8I

Yet another 80's classic and a perfect description of what I'm going to feel like when I arrive on Friday morning.  As it turns out, Continental airlines will not fly pets on weekends because of concerns over customs.  This becomes a real problem when your plane tickets are booked for Friday with an arrival of Saturday.  Oops.  Guess we should've booked the flight for the dog before ours.  So $150 later, I'm on flight the day before my family.  I'll arrive, by myself, in Madrid the day before my translator (i.e. wife).

"Mad World" Tear for Fears (although I prefer the Gary Jules version check it out here.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYY-a0_Bb9Y&feature=fvst

The situation when I arrive will resemble a script for an improvisational comedy.  Take small town American to large European capital.  Give him tasks: 

1)Get through customs
2) rent car
3) travel to cargo facility
4) pick up pooch
5) drive to apartment he's never been to.

"Small Town"  John "Don't forget the Cougar" Mellancamp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVLVaBECuc

 Film American as he bumbles through tasks and stumbles over Spanish language.

 Hilarity ensues.

Even once all of these things are done (provided I'm not curled up in a fetal position in a dark corner Madrid's Barajas Airport) I'm headed to an apartment with no food, either human or dog, and only the basic necessities.  No one ever said this was going to be easy.  After Kelly arrives, things will continue their hectic march.  We need to get all of the essentials for a house, furniture, food, etc. We also have to deal with two jet-lagged kids set to start their new school on Monday.

When it's all said and done, I'll survive Friday and the days, weeks and months after that.  I'm sure this blog will be better for all the stories and that's the point, isn't it?  Travel shouldn't be something that is always comfortable.  Travel is about putting yourself in new situations and growing.  It's about seeing and doing and being exposed to new and different ways of doing things.  It's about being open minded and accepting that other cultures may be better at something than Americans are.  While we live in a great country, that doesn't mean that everything we do is better. If that's the case, then why do so many of our great ideas originate in other places?

 If travel was only about floating hotels (cruise ships) and all-inclusive luxury resorts with ten-foot razor wire fences, then I'm not interested.  Travel is about picking a location and exploring.  It's walking into a pub at three in the afternoon or buying something handmade from a street seller.  When in Rome do as the Romans do, don't go to Burger King.

So on Friday my adventure begins.  I'm sure it will be anything but boring.

(As a sidenote, I don't really feel any special connection to 80's music.  Coming of age in the early 90's I find it more nostalgic than anything.  I reminds me of middle school dances, the Lighthouse in Tuscarawas County, and listening to the Hot Eight at Eight on Canton radio.)

A Happy Ending for Buddy

Buddy swimming at Healing Waters

Our family is incredibly lucky.  We are blessed to have the means to make a difference in Buddy's life.

The road to recovery for Buddy has not been an easy one.  After that very first day, Buddy has managed to get better almost daily.  From watching him struggle to stand, to being able to take him for walks again this week, he reminds me nearly every day how resilient and determined our canine companions can be.

From where I last left off, Buddy has made two return trips to the vet.  The first was to get his stitches out exactly two weeks after the surgery.  This visit brought us a huge relief in our home beacuse for the first time in nearly two weeks we were able to leave the house as a family.  Prior to having his stitches out we were scared to death that Buddy would put his determinaton towards removing the stitches himself.  Had this happened it would've meant another $150 to put the stitches back in and another two weeks of watching him constantly.  Buddy's reward would have been two more weeks in an Elizabethan collar. He must have sensed this as well, because thankfully he chose to leave his stitches alone. 

After the stitches were out,  Doctor Owen (Buddy's surgeon) recommended we get Buddy into water rehabilitation.  We took him to Healing Waters in Canton.  At Healing Waters, they specialize in helping dogs deal with the joint pain both before and after they have surgery.  Buddy's 1/2 hour sessions consist of massage and swimming with two therapists in a 90 degree pool.  Not too bad for a mutt born in a ditch.  While not cheap, the cost for these sessions was $120 for five appointments, they certainly have aided in Buddy's recovery.  He will have his last appointment tomorrow and we've learned that despite being mostly Labrador Retriever, Buddy does not like to swim.

That brings us to Buddy's most recent vet visit.  On Monday we went back to see Doctor Owen and he was very happy with Buddy's progress.  In fact, he is doing so well that he has been cleared to travel with us to Spain.  In less than three weeks Buddy will board a plain to Madrid and begin his new adventure. 

We could not have hoped for a better outcome. 

Thanks so much for reading my blog and stay tuned.  There should be plenty of updates and pictures from the land of bullfights, paella and ham flavored chips.

Buddy and Ben