Flight to Canada – Beau Discovers a New Land

June 1991 rolled around and the family was almost ready for the return to Canada.  Our four-year assignment in France was over.  John left in August 1990 to begin studies at Harvard University and was working in Toronto for the summer, so we were excited about the prospect of being together in our own country once again.

Glen called Air Canada to book flights for – Eleanor, Elizabeth and himself. Then he mentioned the dog would be travelling with us. “Will he be traveling in the cabin or down below?” asked the Air Canada agent. We hadn’t really thought about it.  We could imagine Beau sitting in seat 21 C, bib tucked in, enjoying his steak and Perrier as we flew over Greenland to Toronto.  Since the cost of that was prohibitive we answered that he would travel below – in his cage rather than in seat 21C. Beau was not consulted in the decision – we knew what he would say and we did not want to go there. 

The tickets were bought, the farewells were said and we prepared for the trip to Canada.  We were heading home.  But Beau was heading to Canada as a foreigner.  We contacted the Canadian embassy to see what would have to be done to bring the French member of our family into the land of the Maple Leaf.  The Canadian embassy spelled out the requirements:  he had to be vaccinated within the last year and at least three months before so the vaccinations had a chance to take effect.  The vaccination certificate had to be validated by the French government.  So off we went with our vaccination certificates from the veterinarian, ratified by the French government’s veterinary service and off to the Canadian embassy to get things set.

Beau had to be prepared for the trip.  Elizabeth took on that responsibility, administering tranquilizer pills each day for the week preceding our trip home.  On July 1 we headed to Charles de Gaulle airport and put Beau in his cage for check-in at the Air Canada counter.  Elizabeth administered the injection of a tranquilizer and Beau headed off for boarding.  Beau, not a fan of needles squirmed as she knelt on the airport floor, holding his paw in her hand, as a result spraying a portion of the injection on the Charles de Gaulle floor tiles.  As we stood at the gate awaiting our boarding, we watched him as his cage was towed across the tarmac to the plane – with Beau, the only canine still awake, standing up observing the entire adventure.  It appeared that the tranquilizer was not having any immediate effect, no doubt due to some spilt drops…

We boarded the plane for the 8-hour flight to Toronto.  After clearing customs in Toronto we emerged to meet our family and collect our luggage.  From behind we heard a familiar sound – the plaintive bark of Beau in his cage, welcoming us to the new land, asking when he could get out.

We were home.  Beau had cleared Canadian immigration.  The family was home and Beau was beginning a new life in a new land.  It was a land of big parks, open spaces, squirrels to chase.  The adventure for our three-year-old rocket was just beginning.

Word Guild Award
2011

Word Guild Award
2009

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Salzburg – Beau visits the land of the Sound of Music

August 1990 brought a significant transition for the family as John left home to travel to Boston where he commenced his studies at Harvard University.  The leave-taking at Charles de Gaulle airport was a sorrowful one.  Fortunately for us there was a diversionary plan – a trip to Germany and Austria with our good friends Geoff and Dot Havercroft, who had come from London, England to join us for the trip.  Beau, of course, had his seat marked out in the car and waited eagerly for our departure.

The German trip was particularly entertaining in that it was necessary to procure a paper from the German embassy in Paris attesting to Beau’s ownership and his vaccination status.  The paperwork was done and Glen went to the embassy, emerging with a duly stamped certificate to allow the noble dog to enter Germany. Despite all the advance preparations, we were not ready for the seriousness of the border guard at Oberndorf in Austria who checked and stamped the humans’ passports and then proceeded to check and stamp Beau’s papers when we came back from Germany.  The dog took it all in stride, appreciative of the fact that Austrian customs was doing its best to keep the country a good place for him to visit.

Beau particularly enjoyed the Austrian restaurant circuit.  He had barely entered the pizzeria (where we ate on three occasions) before the waiter arrived with “wasser fur das hund.” Beau set to drinking the liquid right away as we perused the menus.  He was touched by the attentiveness of the wait staff and perplexed as to why the dog could not enjoy his rightful place in other eating establishments we visited.

Part of the Salzburg visit included a bus tour of the sites of the filming of the movie The Sound of Music in and around Salzburg.  The activities for that day divided on gender lines – Eleanor, Elizabeth and Dot Havercroft took in the bus tour; Geoff, Glen and Beau strolled around town, to the local church.  After a few hours, the men grew tired of tramping around.

Late in the afternoon we met the bus tour with Eleanor, Elizabeth and Dot.  There were a few calls left on the tour and the driver, for some reason, offered to pick us up. He may have taken pity on us because at an earlier stop he nearly drove away without Elizabeth.  It was the shouts of Eleanor that her daughter was not on the bus that averted this catastrophe. 

 

In any case, Geoff and Glen got on with Beau.  The men proceeded, in a dignified way, to find one of the empty seats remaining. Beau, spying Elizabeth at the back of the bus, raced towards her like a rocket as the other passengers looked on aghast, trying to figure out what this furry projectile hurtling past them was.  Once beside Elizabeth he settled down to add to his store of canine knowledge. We never did hear Beau howl out Edelweiss, but the look of the Salzburg Festival and Baron von Trapp was often in his eyes.  And all you had to do was mention apfel strudel and he was right there ready to partake. 

Word Guild Award
2011

Word Guild Award
2009

Beau Stays at Hotel Ibis

Beau quickly established himself as a willing and good traveler.  It was necessary only to say the word “car” and he was at the door ready to go.  Any short hop or long trip did the trick.

He traveled far and wide – to the Mediterranean, to Alsace, to Austria and Germany – complete with border check of his papers to enter Germany.  Other day trips included the chateaux of the Loire valley.  It was here, on hilly terrain Beau almost met his waterloo tearing down a hill when his front feet were going so fast that they gave out and Beau was sent skidding along the ground, his nose almost ploughing up the turf in front.

Beau’s most notable trip was the annual visit to check out the camps with the family.  This particular summer John stayed in Paris to work at the Palais du Peuple, a large social institution in the centre of the city.  After a stop at a couple of camps to visit the staff we left Elizabeth near Le Chambon-sur-Lignon so she could join her friends as a camper.  Eleanor and Glen continued the trip towards Paris, arriving in the Lyon suburb of Dardilly at the end of the afternoon.  It was clearly too late to continue on to Paris, so we stopped and checked into the Hotel IBIS in Dardilly.

The hotel was built on a steep hillside. It was four stories high, with a parking lot and entrance on the third floor level and a smaller lot and entrance at the main floor level.  We parked the car at the top level and registered for our room, taking the stairs down to our room on the first floor – note: in France the first is actually the second floor; the first floor is the ground floor or the rez-de-chaussee (pavement level) in French.

We fell asleep with the windows open to enjoy the beautiful summer night.  Early in the morning we heard some movement as Beau stirred.  Motivated by his need for relief, he went to the window and jumped out to find a place on the hill to do his business.  We rolled over, confident that the faithful dog would regain the room.

About twenty minutes later we heard a scratching at the door. We were a bit slow to recognize the signal and respond.  As we opened the door the pooch greeted us with a stare as if to ask why it took so long for us to open up the door to him.  Unable to come back through the window – the jump up precluded such an entry- he had gone to the entrance, either on the ground or third floor, walked into the hotel and taken the stairs to find our corridor and come to the room.

We were quite flabbergasted by his ingenuity and spoke words of lavish praise to the dog, saluting his intelligence and creativity.  Beau looked at us, a mixture of bemusement and disgust.  The only thing he wanted to know was when breakfast would be served.

Word Guild Award
2011

Word Guild Award
2009