First Flight!

Making tracks on Oceano Beach

For the past few years, we have been taking advantage of the Minnesota Education Association (MEA) fall convention with its two days of no classes to take a fall trip.  This year, we decided to fly to California and revisit the town of Oceano, which is very slightly south of Pismo Beach.  We think is it one of the few beach areas to allow all and any four wheel drive vehicles to drive on it: dune buggies, pick-up trucks, and even huge (really HUGE) motor homes.  Though this steady stream of vehicles parading up and down the beach is odd, it has kept the beach from achieving the kind of popularity that drives prices up and regular, non-extremely wealthy people such as ourselves away.  The vehicles drive slowly and the ocean drowns out their noise.  Call me crazy, but I find this peaceful and a bit of a return to a California past: Beach Boy days, Happy Days.  Throw in the Oeano Diner and the dune buggy store called Kick Sand, and Oceano is the perfect place to get away from the present...a good vacation indeed! 

Visiting the Reagan Presidential Library

Gracie had been with me for a couple months when we decided to go on this trip to Oceano, and thanks to the excellent handouts that IHDI provided, we knew to tell the airlines that we would be traveling with a service dog.  Because of our advanced planning and Bruce's professionalism on the phone, Delta assigned us bulkhead seats both going out and coming back becasue we were to be traveling with a service dog.  I'm not sure what might have happened had we purchased tickets at the last minute.  The bulkhead seats are the ones right behind the business class section and so have no seats that recline into the space.  Delta also told us we would need her shot record from the vet, which I got the day before we left.  We needed to show that when we showed our tickets and our own IDs.  Going out, we were in a larger plane, so there was more room on the floor for Gracie.  Our plane coming back had less space directly in front of us for her.  Of course, she was more nervious going than coming back.  As a result, she spent some of the time going in my lap.  She stayed on the cabin floor on her rug the whole trip back.  I brought the rug (bathmat without rubber backing) that she is used to lying on at home with us for her.  When I put that on the floor of the plane, she got right on it and settled.  Can every IDHI trained hearing dog be as wonderful as Gracie?  If so, I am truely amazed at their ability to select and train hearing dogs.

Hiking the Bob Jones Trail in Pismo

I also followed IDHI's advice about feeding before traveling.  I gave Gracie less food the day before the flight.  The morning of the flight, I took her for a long walk.  Then I fed her a tiny bit (she is used to eating right after a morning walk, I so I fed her) and let her have a small drink of water.  As soon as we got off the plane in L.A., I found a grassy area that the LAX has just for dogs (pretty neat!  I might not have noticed this place otherwise.  And, like much of the public areas that we saw in California, including the beaches, this area had a dispenser of pick-up bags for poop.

We met Bruce at the rental car bus stop.  When the bus arrived, Gracie hopped on, welcomed by the driver.  In fact, we only had one incident in California where Gracie's presence was questioned and that was at a small beach grocery store.  When we explained that Gracie was a service dog, though, the clerk said, "Oh" and allowed Gracie to stay in the store. 

Gracie cuddles with Bruce

Gracie settled right in at the one-room condo we rented two block from the beach and across the street from a state camp ground.  She loved walking on the beach, and when I started picking up sand dollars (the Oceano beach is litered with them--if one gets there before the vehicles run them over), Gracie started to help me by digging them out and then picking them up in her mouth.  She was also interested in catching one of the nimble sea birds on the beach.  The birds were not interested in being caught.  The contest gave Gracie a lot of good exercise...until a bird-loving beach life guard called her out.  "No dogs on this beach, " he told us--we were on our way back to the airport at this time and very close to L.A.  When we told him she was a service dog, he reminded us that a service dog had to be on a six foot lead (she was) and under control (she was...but didn't appear to be).  I reigned her in, of course.  I don't really think she was terrorizing the birds, but rules are rules.

Gracie listening for rattle snakes

I'd like to report that air travel with a hearing dog is a snap.  For much of the trip, it was.  Making travel plans early and alerting the airline to get bulkhead seats, having the dog's vet records for the pass through security (I also had the laminated cards IDHI gave me but no one asked for them.  Still, I am glad I had them because having them eased my mind), following the IHDI feeding before traveling advice, bringing along objects that the dog is familiar with to lay on and to chew, bringing along enough of the regular food the dog eats and some of her treats was also a must (we never would have found a place to buy her brand of dog food easily) all contributed to making Gracie happy, so we could relax and have a good time.  

The hardest part of the trip for me was going through airport security.  I knew from other things I have read that I would have to take off her collar and lead.  I didn't know that I would have to take off everything, including her vest and carry her through the scanner, though.  I am so glad that she is such a clam dog and small enough for me to carry at about 20 pounds.  Still, reassembling ourselves after taking all of our stuff off and out (laptop, cell phone, shoes, watch, etc.) was an ordeal.  Somehow, I was supposed to get all the bins of stuff and the collarless, leadless dog away from the end of the conveyer belt to do this.  Somehow I did.  In L.A., though, they made Gracie and I go though the scanner repeatedly until the only metal I could think of that might be left was the filling in my teeth.  I was so rattled after that ordeal that I almost left without my laptop and cell phone.  One of the inspection crew shagged after me.  This act of kindness successfully removed any resentment I might have been left with.  If you are traveling with a service dog, though, be prepared at the check-in.  You will have to wait in line with everyone else, and you will have to remove everything and get your dog through the scanner without a collar or lead.  I even had to remove my hearing aides, and this made following all the direction that several people were issueing all at one time VERY hard to impossible.

Gracie keeping an eye on sea birds

The trip was worth it though.  California is beautiful and hiking the hills and trails and beaches with Gracie was wonderful.  We even let her share the king size bed with us at night since we didn't have her bed with us.  If we were to go on another mult-day flying trip, I would seriously consider bringing her crate with supplies like her bed, food, bowls, etc. packed inside of it.  I would check this through like baggage.  We were okay without all her stuff, but were we to stay longer, the stuff would be nice to have for all of us.