Life
changing stories may come from seemingly unimportant events. The
internet brings people together, especially Facebook, where those
with interests in common may never meet in person, yet have a
dramatic impact on each other's lives. This is such a story.
It is about a delightful cocker spaniel who needed to get home - six
thousand miles away.
I
have no recollection of how we became Facebook friends – it
seemed as though Paul just appeared in my daily feed one day and I
was taken with his posts. He was British, like me, and a
writer. Perhaps we had met on a writers’ site? That
is probably what happened, but it is not important to this story.
Sometimes
one becomes entranced with a stranger’s history and becomes
embroiled in their drama. That is what happened to me.
I
must have become intrigued with his ongoing saga towards the end of
his stay in California around October or November of 2022. When
I first started taking notice of his Facebook posts, he had decided
that he could not live here any more, and was going to return to the
Midlands of England, to join his sister in the house of their
childhood. He seemed ecstatic at the thought of leaving
his rented room in a mobile home park, where he had lived alone with
his beloved emotional support dog, Pumpkin. He had an
interesting history of being a horror story writer, a chef and an
uber driver, and entertained his fans with many tales of his life
both here and in the UK. However, the one story that drew
me and everyone else in was the drama concerning his cocker spaniel,
Pumpkin.
Paul
had obtained the dog as a puppy and she had been his comfort during
stressful times. Suffering from PTSD and major anxiety,
his life had not been easy since his divorce which had left him
financially bereft. His plan was to leave for England at
Christmas, and take Pumpkin with him. The only problem was
funds and obtaining the necessary shots and paperwork for the dog to
be transported via a pet courier company.
It
touched my heart to read the blinding headlines of his posts –
his despair and helplessness as to what to do. The local
vet had overcharged for a chip, which had turned out not to be the
right one for international travel. The expense of
transporting the dog was exorbitant. Paul was at his wits’
end when friends on Facebook suggested he open a GoFundMe account. I
thought this was a great idea and immediately donated a few hundred
dollars to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately he did not
reach his goal and it appeared as though the initial excitement of
donating funds had waned amongst his followers. I decided
to bite the bullet and transferred a couple of thousand dollars into
the account, hoping he would have enough to make the task easier.
December
arrived and he was ready to leave. Unfortunately, he still
did not have the correct paperwork for the dog to accompany him and
had to leave her with a neighbor in the mobile home park. It
was not the best solution, as the location was several hours away
from the airport and the neighbor did not have the financial or
emotional means to get all the necessary paperwork finalized from the
vet as well as transport Pumpkin to the airport when the flight was
confirmed.
I
could feel the desperation in his posts. He was about to
snap emotionally. The dog was his everything and he could
feel her slipping away. Just getting to England himself in
December was a nightmare, what with cancelled flights and long
waits. The newspapers were filled with stories of blinding
snow in London and people being stranded. However, he
managed to finally make it home to a loving welcome from his sister
and family. Life was looking a lot better but – what
on earth was going to happen to Pumpkin?
I
followed his posts eagerly every day, and on December 31st read,
with an aching heart, that Paul was having a panic attack, believing
he would never get his beloved dog back. There and then my
daughter and I decided to get her. I wrote and asked him
if we could pick her up and take care of her needs until it was time
for her to be transferred to the airport, via pet courier, on
February 1st. He was grateful and happy for the
offer – and so off we set on a two hour journey to Hemet,
California on New Year’s Eve. My daughter, myself
and my twin grandchildren, aged 6 were ready, willing and able to
rescue this pup.
We
finally arrived at the mobile home park, to be greeted by an older
woman and a very friendly cocker spaniel. She was
beautiful, colored white and gold with a stumpy tail that never
stopped wagging. She had the cutest freckles across her
adorable face and appeared very happy to see us, especially the
children. After a brief visit with the neighbor, we took
off for home, with Pumpkin squeezed in the back seat between the
twins.
Life
changed quite a bit having a rambunctious two year old pup in the
house. My small parrots had to be banished out of the
playroom into my bedroom due to interested paws pushing through the
bars of their cage. Daily walks were needed as well as
special food, vet visits and all of us adjusting to piercing barks
whenever the vacuum cleaner was run or a large box was delivered from
Amazon Prime. Trying to get the twins dressed in the
morning became a battleground of children and paws, all intertwined
on the bed between the clothes, and shrieks of dismay from William,
“Stop licking me, Pumpkin!” Still, it was
great fun and we sent daily photos of Pumpkin to Paul to reassure him
that she was doing just great. Naturally he posted my
pictures on the internet, and all his Facebook friends and fans were
following the story with great interest and support.
I
think the daily walks to and from school were the most exhilarating
for Pumpkin. We had to make frequent stops along the way
to listen to band practice at the high school across the street, not
to mention floppy ears coming to attention at the sight of crows on
the playing field. But the most excitement was when all
the children came to the gate, waiting for the school bell to ring at
2:30 pm. Eager hands were thrust through the railings to
pat, stroke and poke Pumpkin, who took it all in her stride. She
gave lots of licks and jumps for every child, and their parents, who
seemed to look forward to her appearance every day.
Our
gentle old cat, Madison, was a little affronted. She was
willing to share her water bowl, but took offense to a 37 lbs dog
trying to sit on her in her basket. Her good nature was
stretched, and we laughed as we saw her furry paw give a back-hander
to our naughty guest.
Today
is the one month anniversary of her stay with us, Monday, January
31. Yesterday, Pumpkin had her final vet visit to obtain a
health certificate, a de-worming and a bath. She came home
clean and fluffy, despite the pouring rain outside. We had
to keep her indoors to maintain her beauteous state. Her
final papers were sent to the USDA for approval and arrived by
federal express at our home this morning. Unfortunately,
they were all wrong! Four visits to the vet later, as well
as a multitude of emails back and forth to the Pet Transport Company,
I finally got everything sorted out and now have to pray that they
will be sent overnight to the airport in time for Pumpkin’s
flight.
Tomorrow
morning my daughter will drive her to a pet resort near the airport,
where a driver from the pet transport company will take her to the
airplane. We have her crate all ready – but she is
reluctant to go inside. Hopefully we can persuade her to
sit in it for a while before it is time to leave.
I
have spent many sleepless nights recently, worrying about the almost
eleven hour plane flight and the many hours in customs
afterwards...and then the two hour drive to her home. I
try to imagine what it will be like for her, crated up in the belly
of an airplane with nowhere to stretch out and no food to eat. I
worry about the heat, the noise, and the scary surroundings she will
have to adapt to. My mind has been put at ease somewhat by
a very lengthy email from Starwood Pet Transport who have allayed my
fears. Apparently they transport pets all the time, and
they assure me she will be just fine. So I plan to just
think of the magnificent reunion Pumpkin and Paul will have on the
afternoon of February 2, 2023. Friends, family and even
strangers who have become emotionally involved in this story cannot
wait to see the videos, the embraces and feel the love. It
is only when she is back in Paul’s arms, safe and sound, will I
be able to sleep the sleep of one who has done something good in her
life.
Au
revoir, Pumpkin. You are loved.
Paul and Pumpkin.
Contact
Valerie (Unless
you type
the
author's name in
the subject
line
of the message we
won't know where to send it.)
Paul and Pumpkin.