Off to Guatemala--maybe...

This is what overnight accommodations at LAX with 3 dogs, 3 kennels, 4 large suitcases and carryons, after a cancelled flight, looks like. We looked like a homeless couple pushing around all our belongings. But this is only part of the story.


I had a 4 pm flight from Washington DC to LA, with the doggies, where we were going to meet Marlan for an 11 pm flight to Guatemala City. When I got to the airport (with 3 dogs on leashes in tow), I found out my flight was cancelled. Yikes. I was rescheduled. I was informed that my dog kennels didn't meet FDA standards because there were no air holes in the back (?) But, United just happened to have the right kind of kennels that they would sell me--cash only. And each doggie needed his own space so Shadow and Missy couldn't travel together. (Another FDA rule.) All in all, things went pretty smoothly in spite of the problems. I finally arrived in LA about 10 pm and met Marlan (who had been in LA working with Homeland Security ), made our way to the gate...another cancelled flight!

After getting rerouted, we spent about a hour trying to track down our pups. At midnight, no one in the cargo dept was answering the phone and we had NO idea where our friends were. Luckily we were in terminal 7 (United) at LAX, so the area to be covered was much less than if we had been in terminal 1 or, heaven forbid, the international terminal. We finally found them, resting quietly in their crates--until they saw us. Then we hunkered down for the night on some extremelly uncomfortable plastic/metal chairs, with arms that didn't move for lying down. We popped a Foyle's War DVD in my computer and watched a movie, with our dogs, our luggage and kennels surrounding us. It was really fun to try to find a place for the doggies to piddle near our makeshift hotel. What a night! I was glad when 5 am rolled around and we could finally check in. And I must say Missy, Copper and Shadow were good little pups.

At least we got $150 each in travel coupons with United for our trouble. Oh, and United doesn't fly to Guatemala anymore.