We sit quietly for most of the night beside an on-ramp for interstate 80. Up to this point our day has seen us exit New York City, crossing both the Queensboro and George Washington bridges. I'd come into Jersey with the hope that someone heading west might want to pick up a couple of weather worn strays, but by morning my romanticized notion of how things would play out is pretty much gone. Though someone had kindly offered a Dunkin Donut's sandwich and a hot cup of joe to take the the chill off, there really wasn't the slightest hint that we might find a ride. So with the arrival of dawn we move off toward Newark, hoping to find some other place where a hitchhiker might get a ride.
'Man,' I exclaim to Bud, 'I'm spent. How 'bout a rest 'long side this here river?' Buddy looks back at me with the starry-eyed wonder of a child enraptured by the thought of Christmas, and after receiving permission, plunges into the water. The swim does him good, bringing back some of the youthful zeal that so quickly fades with hard travelin'.
We continue to follow the Passaic River to the town of Rutherford where I see a sign that says 'dog park.' I try pointing it out to Bud.
'What da ya say, my friend? Are you up for a bit of social interaction?'
He's not paying much attention to my query as his gaze has fallen upon a squirrel collecting its nuts.
'Let's go see if we can't find you a play mate,' I suggest, and with that, we head off in the direction of the sign as Bud's spasmodic dashes continue to alternate between geese and squirrels.
The canine area is full of friends for Buddy, so many, in fact, that he appears a bit shy in the beginning, but he soon starts to warm up to the others. As we're about to leave a guy named John offers to give us a ride.
'Where ya going?' he says.
I explain that Buddy needs a kennel in the event that the hitchhiking idea doesn't pan out and we're forced to fly back. John seems to have a pretty good idea of where we need to go, and even though we've got to visit a few different places, in the end, I find a large carrier that meets Delta's guidelines. So, by mid-afternoon, it would seem that the decision to fly back is made. John hospitably offers to take us to the Newark airport where we part ways.
Next, Bud and I enter EWR and approach the ticket counter with excitement. I don't think he's ever been in an airport before cause he appears fully astonished by the volume of travelers with suitcases in hand. I'm just about to book tickets for both of us when the lady behind the counter asks for a letter from Buddy's vet. I give her his immunization papers, but that's not what she wants. I'm told that a specific letter must be issued to verify that Buddy is able to fly.
'Are you serious!' I respond with surprise. 'I don't recall anything about that in the
What You Need to Know section of the pet transportation rules.' But admittedly, I had skipped some parts of the tedious reading. 'Is it the same for all flights?' I ask. 'Pretty much,' the lady replies.
So, with dismay, we leave the queue and take a seat near one of the windows. 'It would seem,' I say, 'that we're back on the streets, at least until some other mode of transportation becomes available.'
We start out of the airport, and an hour later find ourselves right back where we were. This happens several times until I finaly stop in the shade of an overpass.
'I'm not sure there's any way to walk out of this airport,' I say turning to Bud. 'Every road seems to just go in a circle.'
It's obvious from the bewildered expression on Buddy's face that he's just as confused as me, what with passing the same towers and parking lots over and over.
'And this kennel isn't the easiest thing to lug around.' I've got half a mind to leave it right here,' I declare with an exaggerated emphasis on 'RIGHT HERE.'
Buddy just rolls over and bellows a dull moan that I take to mean, 'It's time for a belly rub.'
A little more perseverance and we finally find our way. Moving out of Newark and toward the town of Union, we have negligible success in locating anyone who might want to transport us westward, although, the sight of a three legged dog and a guy carrying a kennel around on his back certainly turns a few heads.
By night time there's little hope of finding a ride, and the temperature's dropping rapidly so Bud and I hunker down in a parking lot behind some buildings. Unfortunately, I'd given away my sleeping bag and a good deal of my gear the day before so to stay warm, Buddy and I snuggle up together in his new house.
It looks like we'll be renting a car tomorrow.
