If you don't already know this guy, let me tell you about him:
Reese, my chocolate Lab (a.k.a. my husband) for many years, loves getting treats, having car rides, going for walks, swimming, eating treats, cuddling, napping, mooching snacks, going for more walks, napping some more, oh and did I mention - treats?!!
He has his own tag on this blog, as he kept me company for much of my writing time. He was my cancer dog. He liked to photo bomb my posts every chance he got, and he inspired me to keep going, always. I love him so very much!
When I moved to Prince George, he stayed in Ontario, moving from Meaford to Toronto with the girls to their new house. They were good for each other, I got to see him when I visited the girls, and Reese also had his little buddy Diego.
As time went on and the girls got busier and I got Prince George-ier, we made the family decision to move Reese here to a new home where he could enjoy the fresh northern BC air and I could visit him lots. There were definitely stressful moments in this process, but in the end it was infinitely worth it.
A blur of activity finding Reese the perfect home here, booking flights, planning the drive, having a giant kennel delivered to the girls' house (getting Reese used to being in a kennel), vet appointments, a wee bit of doggy sedative (and a lot of human sedatives!) and we were set to go: Reese would arrive in PG on March 20, 2022. Mike and I had even bought him a new collar from our fave brewery here in town!
For the first time, I drove on my own all the way from PG to Vancouver - a full day's drive to arrive at the airport for my red-eye flight to Toronto that night, parking the Jeep there for the few days I'd be away. Had a whirlwind visit with the girls, and prepped for the tearful parting and our big journey home.
In all the planning, we decided it would be best for Reese to have only one flight Toronto to Van, rather than add the second one from Vancouver to PG. Plus then I could spend a couple of days with him coming back, let him recover from the flight and not land at his new home jetlagged, and "show him" the sights driving up the roads I mentioned in my post the other day.
Labs are very intelligent, malleable, and reactive dogs, with human-like tendencies and charm. Knowing Reese's personality so well, I had full confidence he would roll with the trip and it would be fun, so I was looking forward to spending the weekend with him in this way.
A shout-out to WestJet - they were awesome. From booking the large pet flight to the helpful staff at check-in, to the compassionate care they took of Reese while he was in their possession, everything was outstanding. I was a nervous wreck, but the WestJet staff kept my pieces together, and delivered my favourite four-legged man to Vancouver, happy as a clam.
We made our way out of the airport, onto the park 'n' fly bus, and to my Jeep in the parking lot (with MUCH help from random strangers - this dog and kennel combo was veeeeerry heavy) where I could finally release him from the kennel. He was pretty thirsty when he got out but I had brought a bunch of water, and clippers to undo the zip tie locks on the kennel (thanks for the tip Kath!) so in no time flat Reese was free, walked, quenched, and reunited with my Jeep. I swear he looked at me like... what the heck...I know this car!
He waited patiently while I took the kennel all apart and jigsaw puzzled it and all of our bags and stuff into my baby SUV. It must have been a comical sight for anyone who may have seen us! I didn't care, I just wanted to get on the road and start showing Reese the BC sights.
We were going a relatively short distance to our first pet-friendly hotel, as we both needed to unwind after our long day. Reese had never been to a hotel before, or in an elevator, but he waltzed right through all of it like a pro. I had brought his blankets from home so he had lots of familiar smells and padding for the road trip and hotel rooms. Judging by how quickly he settled in, he felt like the royalty he is!
We went for walks, ordered-in pizza, watched TV, and cuddled. It was so much fun! Had a great sleep and a good re-set for the rest of the trip home. Woke up ready to explore and just soak up my brown fuzzy guy.
He sat patiently in the front seat while I re-organized the Jeep, and we decided the kennel just had to go. It was too big to fit, and Reese needed the full back seat to nap between sights and stops. I found a local animal shelter to donate it to, so after a stop for *hashbrowns!* *doggy eyes!!* we offloaded the kennel, re-packed the Jeep again, and headed up the highway.
First stop? Whistler of course!
We got a bit soaked from the March snow-rain, but we walked all around the village and Reese posed for pictures wherever we went. He always was a ham for photos so this was working out just as I had hoped it would. Too cute! Good stretch of the legs, toweled ourselves off, and got back on the road to head north. Over the Duffy Lake road through the scenic - and often harrowing - curvy roads up and down, we stopped a few times for photo ops, to go for walks, and have water and snacks.
He's a mountain dog at heart
(Let's not talk about the dirty shape the Jeep was in, inside and out, by the time I got home)
Destination that evening was our motel in 100 Mile House, about four hours south of PG. We had taken all day to get there, Mike suggested that I had set the family record for the taking the longest to make the drive from Whistler to 100 Mile. LOL - well we had to stop and sniff at every place!!
We checked in to our motel with kitchenette, ran over to the grocery store to get some dinner to make later, and then went to the pet store, for a BATH. Everybody appreciates a good shower after flying on an airplane, right? Hhmm.... turns out no, not everybody does appreciate that....but we did it anyway. Reese needed to be spiffy for his new family tomorrow!
He's always been tolerant of baths, not impressed, but gets the job done.
Got back to the motel, cranked up the heat for the wet-fur baby, unpacked and settled in. Lots of cuddles again, honestly I could hardly believe we were doing this trip together, it was so fun, and funny!
After Reese had thoroughly dried, we went for a night walk around 100 Mile House, which now holds a sweet place in my heart, I'll always think of Reese and the time we spent there. I love that Mike and I drove through it a few times again later this year.
More walks in the morning, and we got all packed up and ready to head up the last leg of our trip.
Lots of tourist stops in this stretch too - and I don't even feel like a crazy person for telling you I wanted to show Reese all the cool places I love. He was about to become a BC dog after all, he needed to know about mountains, gold, and jade!
So we stopped at the jade place I mentioned on a previous blog - the folks from Jade Fever were planning on opening a smaller store south of Quesnel, and had already placed a bunch of their giant jade chunks on the property. We stopped to take a walk around. Claudia wasn't there, but we checked out the place and then went on our way.
And the giant gold nugget pan in Quesnel!
Next stop - Prince George. I was starting to get a bit weepy-eyed, knowing we were getting close to home. I was thrilled to be introducing Reese to his new family later in the day, but it was bittersweet at the same time. I just love him to bits and miss him all the time.
We drove straight to see Mike, gather his supportive hugs, ask him to take our picture together, and then all go together to Reese's new home.
WITH a stop at Mr. PG of course!!
And with that, it was time to take Reese to his new family, who were having a little welcome party for him. I had regaled them with stories, photos, and videos but they had never met Reese in person so I was deeply hoping that they would hit it off right away.
Thankfully, our instincts about this family were bang on! In addition to being absolutely lovely in general, they are very experienced with Labs and understood his personality right away. By the time we got there Reese was a bit tired and worked up from all of the excitement, so Mike and I made a fairly quick exit so that they could all get to know each other, and Reese would be able to calm down without me there. I didn't say goodbye as I knew I would see him again soon.
And I did! I have several times and will be seeing him again soon. It's wonderful! I join his new owner on his morning walks every now and then, and this summer they even invited us to a banquet event for which Reese was the official mascot! It was awesome.
And here he is in all his BC glory, when we went for a walk together on my birthday:
🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎
OK well, two of my family imported here, now two to go... Claire and Cass - PG is coming for youuuuuu! 😉
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