A last hug from breeder John Bosanquet, a last paw on Liverpool soil, and then it's
into the plane, and two hours later . . |
. . . the wolfhound has landed! |
Bran in his travel box - apart from his tail! |
"So this is Guernsey . . . |
. . . and you must be my new dad!" |
One of the problems of living on small island is that of transporting dogs, especially
puppies, to and from the mainland. The usual way is to take them on the car
ferry (where they have to remain in a secure box or alone in the car on the
car deck), a two-and-a-half hour trip, plus an hour's check-in time. But this only
takes you from Poole, on the south coast, and Branigan was coming from Liverpool
(some five hours' drive north). So we were looking at 8-10 hours travelling,
an overnight stay, and then the return journey. Time consuming, expensive,
and stressful for us and the puppy. We'd had a similar problem when we brought Darcy and her sister, Siofra, home from Scotland, and solved the problem both times by recruiting the services of local architect and weekend flyer extraordinaire, Rob Le Page. Rob was an enthusiastic, very experienced and highly regarded private pilot, who owned a share in a single engined Tobago. He was always pleased to do 'errands' for friends, and transported a multitude of passengers, from chickens to wolfhound puppies! The puppy collection team comprised Paul and our friend Nick, and the flight to Liverpool took two-and-a-quarter hours. John Bosanquet, Branigan's breeder, was kind enough to deliver the boy to the airport, and Bran was home with us in just a few hours. |
