Trixie's Travels - **She's HERE!!!**

[maherwoman]

Okay, not so good news...

Denise tried to set up the flight, and though there are no weatherrestrictions for CT, the flight would have to layover in Chicago, whichDOES have restrictions.

Argh...so my only other thought is to figure out maybe driving hersouth...and flying her from there...how on EARTH would we arrangethat???

 

[JadeIcing]

Ouch. :XThat is annoying.

 

[maherwoman]

I know...:tears2:

So now I'm torn between trying to drive her south and then flying, ortrying to work with United Airlines to see if they can go another route.

 

[JadeIcing]

I will help as much as I can.

 

[maherwoman]

Oh, GRR...EVERYTHING coming from the East Coasthas a layover either in Chicago, or one or two other places, and allthree have weather restrictions. :X

So, it looks like I'll just have to maintain patience...

:grumpy I don't wanna...:disgust:

 

[TrixieRabbit]

Hi everyone! Rosie, AWESOME thread! I took thetime (precious "I'm sooo nauseous and wanna curl up in a ball onthecouch" time) to read the entire thread and all I can sayis YOU GUYS ALL ROCK!
I have really been hit hard with terrible morning sickness. I mean,it's for a good cause, but I have been miserable for over 6 weeks nowand I was hoping it would have subsided by now since I have entered my2nd trimester....ughhhh....

But enough of my complaining, I just wanted to jump in and say that Iam just as eager for Trixie to get to her new home as Rosie is to haveher. What a WONDERFUL bunny mom she will be getting!
As Rosie said, my poor little bunny is in her starter cage all day, andhas her big bedroom when we are home, but unfortunately, DH is allergicto her and can't spend time with her like I can, and since I have beensick, I haven't been able to spend time with her, either. All I can dois spend 10-15 mins a day petting her and giving her extra specialdinners of kale and carrots and romaine and raddichio and spinach and afew extra Craisins. I think Rosie is gonna end up with a fat bunny bythe time the weather warms up!
(Right now Trix is doing a dead bunny flop and has one front paw in her mouth at the same time...lol. I love that bunny! )

Thanks everyone for your offers to help and your advice. It really isnice to know Trix has so many people who care for her in hercorner!

I really miss posting on here. When this sickness subsides I will be on more often.
In the meantime, Rosie and I will keep doing our best to wrack ourbrains trying to figure out alternate ways to get her home toCalifornia. If worse comes to worse, we will have to wait for theweather to warm up a little. Even though she is in a littler cage thanshe is used to, I would rather her be safe and sound when she arrivesat her new home. If it's too cold to fly, it's too cold for my baby. Isweat at night cause I refuse to turn the heat down so my baby can bewarm at night....lol. Her welfare is the MOST important thing of all.

So thanks again for all your support, and if anyone has any other ideas, we are open to suggestions.

Love,
Denise and Trixie

 

[maherwoman]

OK...on the suggestion of Peg (TinysMom), I checked into Alaskan Airlines. She mentioned that she didn't think they had weather restrictions, so I thought it was at least worth checking out.

So, I called them this morning, and my first question: "Do you have weather restrictions at all right now?"

Their answer? NO

:woohoo

So, I went about asking the rest of my questions, and the answers were all the same, except that the final price she quoted me is actually going to be about $40 LESS than it was going to be with United!! :shock: And here I thought because they had no weather restrictions and were so darn accomodating with everything, that they would be more expensive!! WOW!!

The wonderfully sweet and patient lady mentioned that there will be no more than a 2hr layover in Seattle on her way here, and that the total flying time would be approx 13hrs. I asked her how much time would be shaved off if she were to fly using their premium service, and she said it would really only make a 3hr difference.

She also said that there are flights available both Saturday and Sunday...so we're in business!!!

I'm actually, in the end, going to see my girl this weekend!! YAY!! I'm so excited!!

I can't wait to tell Denise and have the booking made and everything all laid-out and ready-to-go!!

I'll be spending most of today fiddling around to see how we want to configure her cage, as we're putting it in the corner of the L-shape the girls' cages make. I'm going to figure out how to set it up so that I can see a lot of her cage, but that it's right by theirs. (I'm going to leave about a cm between cages just in case. They all have mesh that has about that size of openings in it, to prevent curious kitty paws from entering, but I just want to be sure. I'm not sure how the current girls will react to the new girl, and if any teeth are used, I want to be sure they're far enough apart that nobody gets bit.)

Anyway, I have an exciting couple/few days ahead of me! Thank goodness I've already moved the hay out of that space! It took a lot of moving things around here and there, like a big livingroom-sized puzzle, so it was more work than it sounds!

:bunnydance::woohoo:happydance<WBR>:bunnydance: I&#39;M SO EXCITED!!!

 

[JadeIcing]

Yay.:bunnydance::bunnydance:<WBR>:bunnydance::bunnydance:<WBR>:bunnydance::bunnydance:<WBR>:bunnydance:

 

[cheryl]

That&#39;s awesome!,Trixie sure is one lucky little girl

cheryl

 

[Haley]

Congrats! You guys must both be so excited!

I dont know if you mentioned this already, but what is the weather restriction for and is it safe that Alaskan Air doesnt have one? Like is it still safe for Trix and why dont the other airlines fly her (i know it must be safe or you guys wouldnt do it, but Im just trying to wrap my head around it ).

Again, congrats!

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bunnydance::bunnydance:<WBR>:bunnydance::bunnydance:&nbsp<WBR>;Have an awesome weekend, you guys! :woohooWe&#39;ll anxiously await the final plans!

 

[Michaela]

:colors::colors::colors:<WBR>:colors::colors::colors:<WBR>:colors::colors::colors:<WBR>:colors::colors:

YAY!!! THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!

:bunnydance::elephant::bunnydan<WBR>ce::elephant::bunnydance:<WBR>:elephant::bunnydance::elephant<WBR>::bunnydance::elephant:<WBR>:bunnydance::elephant::bunnydan<WBR>ce::elephant:

 

[maherwoman]

I asked her about that, and the basic idea is that other airlines aren&#39;t willing to temp control quite to the length that they are. Since they fly to Alaska, apparently their temp-controlling has to be better. Does that make sense?

It sounded to me like the other airlines, because they didn&#39;t have to temp-control quite so much, they don&#39;t. Whereas, given having to fly somewhere with such extreme temps, Alaskan Airlines has to do more to keep it properly temp controlled.

I&#39;m actually really happy to have found them, because they actually sound like they&#39;re much better with flying live animal cargo.

I&#39;m excited!!!

Haley wrote:

Congrats! You guys must both be so excited!

I dont know if you mentioned this already, but what is the weather restriction for and is it safe that Alaskan Air doesnt have one? Like is it still safe for Trix and why dont the other airlines fly her (i know it must be safe or you guys wouldnt do it, but Im just trying to wrap my head around it ).

Again, congrats!

 

[maherwoman]

Thanks, guys!! I&#39;m too excited for words. Yesterday&#39;s high and low emotions really got me tired today, but I&#39;m still gonna work on that cage!!

The excitement is building...we live right by Van Nuys airport, and the planes fly over the house. I don&#39;t normally notice them much (in fact, they&#39;re a comfort, since I grew up on air force bases and heard it all the time as a kid), but today...I&#39;m noticing each and every single one! Haha!! I keep thinking..."I wonder if that&#39;s the plane she&#39;ll come home on..."

Hehe...I&#39;m so goofy, I know...but I feel like I&#39;ve been waiting MONTHS...wait, I kinda have!

I&#39;ll be sure to keep you guys updated on our plans.

Love to all!

Rosie*

P.S. Looks like my husband might have to be the one picking her up, and it might be at night, after my daughter goes to bed...so I won&#39;t be able to go with him. But hey, whatever we have to do to get our girl home!

 

[TinysMom]

When I first followed this thread, I thought about AlaskaAir and was going to metnion it. But let&#39;s face it - Trixie is in NY and she&#39;s going to CA. That doesnt&#39; seem to be close to Alaska (although it IS closer than TX is).

I also was under the impression that flying Alaska Air was more expensive....

So I was silent. SHAME ON ME! BAD BAD BUNNY MAMA!

Here is the way I understand the whole climate control issue. I don&#39;t know that I&#39;m right but I suspect I&#39;m pretty close to being on target.

Because AlaskaAir flies to Alaska - the interior of their plane - the cargo area - has climate control like the cabin would have. Well - maybe not like the cabin would have.

But whether they have more or better insulation or built-in heating - or whatever....whatever is in the cargo hold of the plane while it is sitting and waiting to take off - is warm enough for the animal to live.

When we had animals shipped into San Antonio - it was an hour before they got them OFF the plane and to the cargo area. During that hour - in spite of the fact the rabbits had water bowls, etc - if the temp had been 110 degrees like it is in the summer (it was actually fall so it was cooler) - the animals could have died in the belly (cargo area) of the plane while they sat and waited to be unloaded

So while Trixie might be flying into some of the same airports she&#39;d be using if she flew United...she will be SAFE while inside the plane while waiting to be transported to a new plane or the cargo area or whatever. In a plane from United- while she sat on the tarmac...she could freeze.

Make any sort of sense?

I think the mods may be posting a bit of what went into all of this later tonight or tomorrow as there was a lot of trying to figure out options to help out Trixie (and Rosie) as soon as possible...

Peg

 

[missyscove]

Congratulations!

She&#39;s flying into Van Nuys? I know that&#39;s the busiest small airport in the country, but I didn&#39;t know big jets flew into there.

(My brother has his pilot&#39;s license, these facts are forced upon me, though he rented planes out of el monte. Another friend of mine is getting her pilot&#39;s license out of van nuys.)

 

[Haley]

TinysMom wrote:

But whether they have more or better insulation or built-in heating - or whatever....whatever is in the cargo hold of the plane while it is sitting and waiting to take off - is warm enough for the animal to live.

So while Trixie might be flying into some of the same airports she&#39;d be using if she flew United...she will be SAFE while inside the plane while waiting to be transported to a new plane or the cargo area or whatever. In a plane from United- while she sat on the tarmac...she could freeze.

Make any sort of sense?

Makes perfect sense!

 

[maherwoman]

You worded it so much better than I could have. That&#39;s basically what I was trying to say.

I&#39;m happy that things are working out so nicely...

Hehe...not "bad bunny mama"...you&#39;ve just got a lot going on, and it&#39;s completely understandable.

Fact is, despite the fact that I would have given a fortune to have her the day after we decided we could take her, it is all falling into place as perfect timing. If she&#39;d been here sooner, we wouldn&#39;t have had the money to get the things we&#39;re able to afford getting last-minute this week. (My husband got paid a LOT more last week for a HUGE job he&#39;s doing...he&#39;s an electrician.)

Anyway, don&#39;t worry...it&#39;s literally perfect timing.

So...here&#39;s the plan so far...

ON OUR END:

1. Tonight, my husband will be buying another box of NIC panels (since my design for her cage requires about 20 more panels), as well as the wall mount for the TV. We&#39;ll mount the TV tonight.

2. We&#39;ll put the cage together as much as we can tonight, but not fully, because...

3. Tomorrow, my husband will go get the pegboard for the bottom floor and each of the three levels above the bottom floor the cage will have. The cage will be completed tomorrow night.

4. Trixie will arrive sometime Saturday night...and go right into her new cage.

ON DENISE&#39;S END:

She&#39;s three hours ahead of me, so things essentially start for her tomorrow.

1. Tomorrow: Denise&#39;s husband will pick up a larger carrier on his way home, while Denise takes Trixie to the vet after work for her Health Certificate for the flight. She&#39;ll call the airlines tomorrow after she has the exact dimensions (as required by the airline) of the carrier.

2. Saturday: Trixie gets her wings!!

 

[maherwoman]

Lol...no...she&#39;s flying into LAX. She could have flown into Burbank, but we just decided that it didn&#39;t make any difference at this point.

missyscove wrote:

Congratulations!<WBR>

She&#39;s flying into Van Nuys? I know that&#39;s the busiest small airport in the country, but I didn&#39;t know big jets flew into there.

(My brother has his pilot&#39;s license, these facts are forced upon me, though he rented planes out of el monte. Another friend of mine is getting her pilot&#39;s license out of van nuys.)

 

[TinysMom]

Fly baby fly.....

maherwoman wrote:

2. Saturday: Trixie gets her wings!!