Phase 3 Complete.  Gizmo is now in China.

As part of the move, I needed to get Gizmo to China and safely return him to his mother.  I chose to do this, not because it was easy, but because it was too hard for M to do…

With M leading the way I needed to stay behind and get our little man ready for his mission.  Unlike his trip to Japan, this would not involve a trip to grandma’s house and a cushy flight curled at her feet in a bag under her seat.

Nope, Giz was going to have to fly under the plane and then spend a week in quarantine with the Chinese.

Believe me, this wasn’t by choice, as we’ve managed to fly with carriers that allow dogs onboard in the past; however this time I had no choice as the timing of the quarantine offices in Japan and China provided us a small window to fly, with an even smaller number of carriers to choose from.

So I worried, and M…well I cut her off from emails detailing our flight and all the communications between the customs officials and handlers weeks ago.

After getting everything ready we got up bright and early Friday morning and made our way to the airport.  Like I said, I was worried how he would react, but to be honest I think he was better composed than me throughout the day.

Between checking him out of Japanese quarantine and checking him in with the airline, we had some time to burn and decided to make the most of it by running sprints to calm each other down.  Finally after about twenty minutes Giz paused briefly, tugged at his leash, and put himself in his crate.

I’ll never forget that moment as he looked at me and said with his eyes, “I’m ready.”

Leaving him at the check-in was the hardest part and something I pray I never need to do again.

From there I ran to the gate to make sure he boarded the plane, but after being told he was already on board requested proof.  This led to a rather amusing sequence of seeing a half dozen members of the grounds crew taking him off the plane and putting him back on once I gave the go ahead.

Call me crazy, but I explained to the staff at the gate, “If this dog is not on the plane, my wife will kill me, and then she will see to it that you and everyone else you know are dealt with in the same fashion!”

From there I got onboard and a little less than three hours later arrived in Shanghai sprinting to the baggage claim hoping Giz was okay.  But even this proved amusing as the young female customs official proceeded to hold me up for a few minutes as my passport photo and current look aren’t quite in line.

Customs official – “Errr, ummmm,…err” – Looks back and forth between the passport and me

Me – “Yeah, working in Japan can do this to you.” -Gesturing at my bald/shaved head

Customs official -  ”No…no, I think you look hot!” – Trying to recover quickly as she handed me my passport

Me – “Ummm, Thanks?!?” – Sprinting away

Fortunately before I could even get all of my paperwork in order there he was in the baggage claim on a trolley being wheeled towards me by the quarantine official.

I honestly don’t think the two of us had ever been happier to see each other.  When it came time to have our picture taken for his file, he wouldn’t stop licking me.  It finally got to the point that the nurse gave up and kept the best one of the bunch.  (Imagine me holding him as he proceeds to lick my nose as my head reels back.)

Soon after I had to leave him again, but I knew he would be fine as he’d already survived the toughest part.

A week later he was delivered right to our front door with the same look on his face at the airport.

And yet…

Within minutes he picked up her scent.  For the rest of the day he kept waiting for her, leaning up against the windows, and burrowing himself under the covers on the bed.

When M finally arrived home, I knew it was all worth it as the mother child reunion was underway.

Up next, M will get Giz all of his papers and license thus registering him in his 3rd country.  Up to now he’s been a great sport in all of this, but we keep waiting to hear where he would like to retire…

Meanwhile as we always say, “No man or beagle will ever be left behind!”