Arrival -- Crossing the Pond with a Golden in the Hold

I agonized for months. Should we bring Charlie with us or leave him behind? We wanted him, but would he survive the flight? My vet's airline expert assured me that Air France was the best at transporting animals across the Atlantic ("I just shipped the French Ambassador's dog," he explained); but then I worried about the more mundane issues connected with trapping a large beast in a crate for twelve hours during a potentially turbulent ride across the Atlantic. Even the logistics of moving the three of us, the dog, the crate and our suitcases to the airport seemed daunting.

I didn't need to worry. Laura HG drove Charlie and me and his massive crate to the airport while Jeff and Luke took the suitcases in a cab. The Air France reps behind the desk checked us in efficiently, even pleasantly, and told us we could stay with him until an hour before the flight. Charlie was calm when we finally lured him into his crate and turned him over to a kind-faced gentleman porter. "Are there any other animals traveling today?" I asked, hoping for a friendly canine face that he could peer at across the aisle. "Just a couple of cats," the man replied, gesturing to two cages stacked behind us. A mournful mew emitted from one of them. It was going to be a long flight.

On board, a flight attendant informed me that Charlie had made it safely onto the flight. I took a breath, and a sip of the pre-flight champagne that had been brought just in time. (Spending miles to bump up to Business Class seemed a necessity given the extra stress of the situation...)

On the ground at Charles de Gaulle, Jeff touched my arm as we entered the walkway towards passport control. Out the window we could see Charlie's crate being loaded off the plane. At the sight of his black-tipped, prematurely whitened snout sticking out of the meshing, we cheered! "He made it!" At baggage claim, my name was called and I rushed to where two women stood by his crate. When I let him out,they gushed. "Il est tres mignon!" "Magnifique!" I put my arms around him and fed him a couple of treats. " I hope it wasn't too bad down there!" He smiled and pushed against me. "Down where?" I imagine him thinking, perking up as he caught sight of Jeff and Luke across the way. He started pulling towards them. I happily followed.