Driving Miss Savannah

I had to bring packages to the post office today and decided that it might be the perfect day to take Savannah for a ride. The sun was out but it wasn't too hot, so leaving her in the car for ten minutes wouldn't be a problem as long as I parked in the shade, which of course I did.

Knowing how scared Savannah is of cars (both moving and parked) I put my purse and the packages into the car first, then got her blankets and spread those on the back seat of my husband's car, and only then did I put the leash on Savannah and take her outside to the driveway. She had already been walked, so bringing her straight to the car would be easy. (Or so I thought.)

When Savannah realized she was being led towards the car instead of out to the road, she locked her legs in an "I am not moving one inch!" position and just sat there in the driveway and looked at me. Well, pooh on that. I cannot have Savannah dictating to me where she's going to walk and when, so I pulled at her leash until I got her very close to the open car door, and then I picked up her front legs and put them on that little ledge just inside the door.... and then like magic, Savannah got herself into the back seat of that car. I was out of breath from the pulling and the lifting of this 45-pound puppy, but Savannah seemed to be just fine and ready for an adventure.

As I backed my husband's car out of the driveway, Savannah was sitting up on the back seat, passenger side, looking out the window and just taking in the scenery, and that's exactly what she did all the way into town. She really seemed to enjoy the ride, watching the other cars, looking at some cows in a pasture, watching people going in and out of the little store by the gas station, and just looking at all sorts of people and places that she hadn't seen before.

When I pulled into the parking lot of the post office, there were two spaces which were shaded, so I took the one nearest to the door so Savannah could watch me going into the little building. I left each window open about four inches, enough for plenty of air to come through, but not enough for Savannah to get her head out. I looked back at the car when I got up to the glass doors, and another car had pulled into the spot next to mine. I half expected Savannah to start roaring her disapproval at the close proximity of that other vehicle, but she just sat there calmly on the back seat and watched a man getting out of his car... then he stopped to smile at her and I heard him saying "Hello there dog! How are y'all doing today?"  Savannah just looked at him... the man moved on... and I went into the post office very content. So far, so good.

Less than ten minutes later, I was walking out of the post office door and towards my husband's car, and there was Savannah, in the same spot, looking out of the window. She saw me walking towards the car, her head moving to the side as I walked around to the driver's side, and not a peep came out of her the whole time. When I drove out of the parking lot, Savannah continued to people-watch, and then got very interested in a group of little birds playing in a puddle... left-over rain from the other day that had accumulated in a small pot-hole in the pavement.

Driving back home along the main highway... Savannah just sat in the back seat being very content once again to watch the other vehicles, plus there was a train chugging along the tracks that she couldn't take her eyes away from, and I was wondering why those trains didn't blow their whistles during the day-time. Do they only make that noise in the middle of the night to wake up puppies and get coyotes howling?

When I pulled into our driveway, I wasn't sure if Savannah knew that we were home. I turned off the engine, left my purse in the car, and took Savannah's leash... as soon as she jumped down onto the driveway, I think she knew she was home.  My husband was in the garage, Gatsby was sitting by the walkway, and Savannah must have smelled the odors of her own grass out there by the paved driveway.  I brought her into the house first, to let her know she really was back at home, safe and sound after being in a car that didn't take her to the vet's office. I kept Savannah in the house while I got my purse and folded up her car blankets and put them in the trunk of my own car. I'm sure that Savannah was more comfortable in my husband's four-door Camry rather than my own little two-seater sports-car.

I took Savannah for a walk after that, deliberately walking past my husband's car and out into the road, further enforcing the fact that she was indeed home, that she had survived a car ride just for the fun of it, and if she just gave things a chance, not everything will be scary.