We always knew this day would arrive. It had been marked on our calendar for a while, probably a giant gold star on my mom's. We were as ready as we were going to be. Got Roo, dropped her off with Qantas freight. Rental car returned. Luggage and people to the airport. A short hop to SYD then the long haul to DFW. I always look forward to my mimosa once we are seated. I know once that happens, nothing else I can do, just sit back and relax. The kids were good on the flight. It was generally uneventful until our arrival in DFW. EL had been complaining of her stomach and I thought it was just the gentle swaying motion of the large aircraft. Just as the seat belt sign is turned off and everyone stands up in the isles, we had a situation. She gets sick, I (being a mom) catch it in my hands. Matt searches for a vomit bag- none to be found. People are just looking at us. I try to get people to move so we can get to the bathroom. No one does. Girl in front of us gets sick. Finally some guy finds a bag, I loudly (excuse us! move it!) make our way to the bathroom with EL. Matt attempts to clean up the damage in our row. A flight attendant brings us some towels and we clean up the best we can. Finally make our way off the airplane and trek thru the airport, customs and immigration. EL and I stink! We have no cell phones bc our phones are Aussie and don't work except for using wifi. Matt doesn't even have one.
Once in Dallas, Matt keeps the girls and heads thru security while DB and I will go grab Roo from Qantas Cargo and switch her to American Cargo. First issue- matt comes running out of the airport- he thinks I have the passports so he can't go thru security. I don't but we unload out of the cab and go back in while he rechecks the carryon luggage and finds them. Back on task- getting Roo. It should maybe take an hour or 2. I hail a cab and tell him Qantas cargo- he has no idea where that is. I get out of the cab and go back into the airport to see if they can point me in the right direction. I go to the information desk, then the Qantas/ American ticket counter, then back to info desk, then to the customs office. No one knows where I need to go. This is off to a great start. Go back out to the taxi rank, ask the nice girl there, get in another cab (who doesn't know where it is either but is happy to drive around) and head off. We finally figure out Qantas shares with Lufthansa cargo and locate that office.
Once there, I run in to make sure Roo is really there, they say yes and I tell them I will be right back bc I need to pay my taxi guy and let him go. They say ok. I walk back in and they ask if I have my customs paperwork stamped- umm no! Well you need to go over to the other side of the airport (20 min drive) get a piece of paper signed and bring it back. Customs closes at 5 and it is already 3:30. I am in the middle of no where with no phone to call to get another taxi.
The nice gentleman that was working the cargo counter let me use his phone to call a taxi. 1st taxi I order, never shows up. 2nd one take about 30 mins and just as it is pulling up a lovely couple offers to take me over to the Customs office (they had just been there to get the stamp for their own dog) and bring us back.
We drive over, drive back. Get my paperwork signed and need to pay $ as well. They neglected to tell me I needed exact cash. Thankfully a man picking up packages had change for a $50 so I could pay. Then I had to call another cab. While we are waiting, we go back and finally see Roo in her kennel. I did ask them to verify she was alive before I paid any $ or got that stupid stamp. Cab arrives and I have to ask him to hang out for a few mins to let Roo run around. She had been in her kennel for over 24 hours straight. No food or water.
We load her back up, DB and I get in and head over to the AA cargo office. Finally get there after the taxi man gets yelled at by a security guard and missing his exit. We unload Roo and I start to fill out the paperwork for her last flight. The man behind the counter informs me that I HAVE to have food to attach to her kennel and a food dish to put it in the kennel. The send the taxi man on his way bc I can't have him just sitting out in the parking lot. I thought it was going to be a quick drop off. I was wrong!
Now for the record- I had prearranged all her flight bookings months in advance. Asked exactly what needed to be done for each company so I would be prepared.
I about lose it. She wasn't allowed to have any food for her flights to SYD or DFW (15 hour flight alone) but she can't fly for 1.5 hours without food?! Poor DB is standing there watching his mom lose her marbles. There were tears, raised voices, voices of defeat, you name it. The staff were all very helpful but after traveling 24+ hours, getting puked on, getting the run around to get Roo, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I lost count of how many times I said I don't have a car, I don't have a phone, I have limited cash.
A very kind and generous man was dropping off a package during this whole fiasco. He watched silently then offered to drive to the nearest store that had dog food and bring it back to me. He wouldn't take any money just wanted to help me out. So while we waited for him to return, the staff finished up the paperwork, inspected her kennel and even made a makeshift food dish out of some Tupperware they had in the back room. One worker said I don't want you to worry anymore. I will make sure your dog gets everything it needs to get on this flight, even if I have to go buy it myself. The nice man returned with a bag of food that we taped to the top of her kennel. Then he offered to give DB and I a ride back to the terminal so we didn't miss our flight. I have never been so thankful for the help of strangers. That day, lots of people helped me out. We made it back to the airport with about 30 mins to spare. We had used 5.5 hours of our 6 hour layover. Matt and the girls were very relieved to see us.
As we loaded up on the final leg, we just had to laugh at the dog that was in our cabin. Seriously, our tiny Jack Russell was flying with the cargo and this huge dog was riding in the cabin. We landed in PIA and collected all our baggage and dog. For all international travels- pay the $ and use a pet transportation company! Lesson learned the hard way.
