teela1342
12-26-2004, 01:56 PM
Merry Christmas all! I have spent the holiday in Nashville, TN with my family and my Jake. Yes, I brought Jake home with me to meet the family. Also, because if I had left him for a week with my roommate he would not have survived. She is taking care of my dog and cats, but that is because you can't really ignore the demanding little pests. :rolleyes: She would have forgotten to turn on his heat and light and would have tried to feed him french fries if she remembered to feed him at all. He would have been covered in poo and confined to the cage the whole week because she doesn't like to handle him.
So, Jake got an airplane ride from Portland, OR to Nashville for Christmas. He was snug and warm in his carrier, sleeping like a log. Everything was going great. Until we got to Cincinatti. All flights were cancelled because of the weather there and we spent the night in the airport. Talk about a long night! But Jake was a trooper and everyone was so nice to us. The McDonalds people gave me a big box to put him in, the store people gave me newspaper to use as bedding, and the Delta people gave me extra blankets to put under, around, and in his box. I ended giving an impromptu nature lesson to the people sleeping around me about hedgehogs. People were feeding him bits of their leftovers which he mostly ignored, but I thought it was nice anyway. I had babyfood for him, so he was not starving. He charmed the crowd and poked around the airport like he owned the place. It was so funny. I was so afraid that he was suffering, but he seemed to be having a great time. He was warm and fed and running around, so he had no complaints.
So after a 4 hour flight from Portland to Cincinatti, 27 hours in the Cincinatti airport, 5 hours sitting on a jet on the Cincinatti airport runway, an hour flight from Cincinatti to Atlanta, and an hour flight from Atlanta to Nashville, we arrived Christmas Eve morning (1am) and were so thankful to see Mom and Dad that we both jumped for joy.
Mom had his place all set up and ready. She had rigged an enclosure in the bottom of a closet for him. A space heater in the room was already running. I had ordered him a new wheel and sent it straight to her, so that was open and ready. I had also mailed his food and some of his blankets and toys, so all that was ready. She is such a great hostess.
He has not seemed stressed, or upset or anything. He is actually suprisingly friendly. He has greeted my family with the same "winning attitude" he shows me. :laugh: He loves the new wheel and is eating and pooping and sleeping like nothing happened. My family made fun of me for getting him, but now that they have met him they understand. The only one who is not totally won over is my Dad because Jake stabbed him good in the finger and he curls up at the sound of Dad's voice! My Dad is a great guy, but he must give off an upsetting aura. Maybe it is all the jokes my Dad was making about the exotic dishes you could make with hedgehogs. :(
SO, we are in Nashville and having a great time. Our flight home is Tuesday morning. Jake and I are both hoping that the return trip is much smoother. I actually think Jake will miss all the attention.
Wish us luck on the trip home!
So, Jake got an airplane ride from Portland, OR to Nashville for Christmas. He was snug and warm in his carrier, sleeping like a log. Everything was going great. Until we got to Cincinatti. All flights were cancelled because of the weather there and we spent the night in the airport. Talk about a long night! But Jake was a trooper and everyone was so nice to us. The McDonalds people gave me a big box to put him in, the store people gave me newspaper to use as bedding, and the Delta people gave me extra blankets to put under, around, and in his box. I ended giving an impromptu nature lesson to the people sleeping around me about hedgehogs. People were feeding him bits of their leftovers which he mostly ignored, but I thought it was nice anyway. I had babyfood for him, so he was not starving. He charmed the crowd and poked around the airport like he owned the place. It was so funny. I was so afraid that he was suffering, but he seemed to be having a great time. He was warm and fed and running around, so he had no complaints.
So after a 4 hour flight from Portland to Cincinatti, 27 hours in the Cincinatti airport, 5 hours sitting on a jet on the Cincinatti airport runway, an hour flight from Cincinatti to Atlanta, and an hour flight from Atlanta to Nashville, we arrived Christmas Eve morning (1am) and were so thankful to see Mom and Dad that we both jumped for joy.
Mom had his place all set up and ready. She had rigged an enclosure in the bottom of a closet for him. A space heater in the room was already running. I had ordered him a new wheel and sent it straight to her, so that was open and ready. I had also mailed his food and some of his blankets and toys, so all that was ready. She is such a great hostess.
He has not seemed stressed, or upset or anything. He is actually suprisingly friendly. He has greeted my family with the same "winning attitude" he shows me. :laugh: He loves the new wheel and is eating and pooping and sleeping like nothing happened. My family made fun of me for getting him, but now that they have met him they understand. The only one who is not totally won over is my Dad because Jake stabbed him good in the finger and he curls up at the sound of Dad's voice! My Dad is a great guy, but he must give off an upsetting aura. Maybe it is all the jokes my Dad was making about the exotic dishes you could make with hedgehogs. :(
SO, we are in Nashville and having a great time. Our flight home is Tuesday morning. Jake and I are both hoping that the return trip is much smoother. I actually think Jake will miss all the attention.
Wish us luck on the trip home!