Boomer and I made the long trek to McChord on Sunday night for his FAVN test Monday. Stayed in a creepy hotel with old pipes that decided to start banging in the middle of the night, and Monday was the day from hell! It all started with a huge delay in getting on base because the insurance card was not in the glove box. And the Air Force have so much money invested in large planes and other such expensive equipment that apparently even if you are military you have to show your military ID, drivers license, vehicle registration, vehicle insurance, blood type, proof of US citizenship, and mother's maiden name to get on base. Well, not really the last three, but still. I have never had such a hard time getting on base. Most of the other bases I've been to I haven't even needed a day pass, I just show my military ID and away I go. The visitor's office also wanted to know every stop I planned to make on base and the approximate length of time I would be there- not kidding.
This was the first time I have tried to take LARGE Boomer to the vet alone. Back when he was small Boomer, it didn't make a difference, but now that he is 60 lbs, its a bit more difficult. So here I am carrying my purse on one shoulder, a file of paperwork in that hand, and a giant hyperactive dog tugging on his leash in the other. The vet tech asks me to weigh him on the scale that does not lift up off the ground....sure, because this dog looks like he's ready to sit still and be weighed! As I'm struggling like a crazy woman in front of the entire waiting room to get him on the scale, he slips out of his collar and goes charging towards a Boxer (because he obviously looks like he wants to play), who turns out to be overprotective of other dogs or people getting "too close" to his owner (as the lady put it while screaming "not a good idea!" and throwing her legs in the air to keep Boomer away. On the verge of tears, I finally wrangle my dog back into his collar. He, of course, doesn't realize anything is wrong.
Getting into the exam room was also not the most relaxing thing, as Boomer pulled out of his collar AGAIN (he is now afraid of the vet after being neutered) and proceeded to bounce and jump on the vet and vet tech. I have trained him so well.
I did find out that to send in the FAVN test requires a payment in check or money order, which I definitely did not have, so I had to go get a money order from the BX and wait the hour it takes the clinic to take lunch before I could go back. Fun.
The ride home was smooth, and on a different note, the Ducks lost! I told myself I would root for them, I really did, but every time something good happened for Auburn, I found myself cheering. Sorry.
We are getting closer and closer to our move, and I'm feeling more and more apprehensive about housing. Turf spoke with a woman in the housing office who said that they are at 95% occupancy, so we will have the choice to move off base. Great- except Boomer is not even close to meeting the 180 day quarantine and I really don't want to leave him in a kennel that long. Which means a long commercial flight for him in 6 months :( Living on base is sounding like a bad option as well because Kinser, the base we will be on, is made up of mostly tower apartments that don't accept animals. Unless by some miracle we get placed on another base in a multiplex or duplex, we are SOL. I am very depressed about it :(
Hopefully this process starts taking off a bit more. I am ready to be there, to start settling down, and to finally have some sort of resolution to this housing/dog mess :(
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