At times this journey has felt immensely selfish. I decided I wanted to go to graduate school in Europe, and without much consideration for anyone else, I chased this dream in a very quick time-frame. While I realize that this has an impact on many humans in my life (my partner, my family, etc) one figure in my life that it has drastic consequences for is my dog Wally (aka "Wiggly Wally")

I adopted Wally three years ago from a local shelter. From the moment I saw his photo, I knew he was my dog. When I went in to meet him, I was ironically assisted by 2 volunteers who are friends with my now partner Joey (Joey and I would not meet for another 18 months). Wally was awkward looking to say the least - but I immediately fell in love. We quickly became inseparable: Wally came to work with me, he split pizzas for dinner with me, and he always curled up next to me in bed after a long day. He was and is my best friend.

When I got into Paris School of Business, what I was going to do with Wally became a daunting question. While picturing my life without him around everyday was impossible to imagine, I needed to think what was best for him. The result is a multi-phased plan, with phase 1 beginning over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

Phase 1 - Wally Moves In With My Mom. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I took Wally on his first plane trip. We took a red-eye from San Francisco to Boston, with a 90 minute layover in Chicago. While we did not get any sleep - the journey went smoothly. No delays! And both San Francisco and Chicago have Pet Relief stations in the terminal, so he was able to be comfortable for both legs of the journey. (To be fair, we spent 30 minutes in each of these pet relief stations, and he was mostly just confused and excited to see other dogs)

We flew United airlines, where I had to simply call in advance to add a pet reservation to my existing reservation for a fee. The booking process went smoothly. As for the on-board experience, it is clear to me that so much of this depends on the attendants on your flight. On our flight from Chicago to Boston, one of the attendants took a real liking to Wally and brought him THREE warm biscuits! He was in heaven, and it occupied his time for at least a good thirty minutes. 

For transport we used the Muttmover bag from Timbuk2. I am obsessed with this bag - it allows me to take Wally everywhere and has proven great for activities like bike rides around San Francisco. I am not sure it was the ideal bag for first time airplane travel for a dog Wally's size (12-13 lbs) as he had a hard time maneuvering and getting comfy. But we needed to bring it regardless, as it is one of his favorite things and an essential in transporting him with ease on public transportation. 

My mom has been an absolute saint through all of this. She has taken on this responsibility with such gusto and grace. I am really lucky to have her support in this process. Wally is now settled at my mother's house where he is enjoying the plush life with a dog-walker and constant attention. I bawled leaving him though. And coming home to an empty apartment has been difficult each time I open the door and do not hear the click-clacking of his paws on the floor running to greet me.

The next phase will hopefully be bringing Wally to join me in Paris later this year.

While I wish I could bring him with me right away, I wanted to do what was best for him and me. On my end, I do not know what my schedule will look like in Paris yet. And for him, I do not know basic things like where the vet hospital is! In bringing him right away, I felt like I would be doing a disservice to both of us. 

Another positive is that with his current position in Boston, we are breaking the flight up even further! I feel much more comfortable with him having to be on a 6 hour flight instead of a 12 hour one to Paris.

Have you ever had to temporarily give up guardianship of a pet? How did you handle the transition?