I’m Ben, Indy’s foster dad. I don’t get to live in South Carolina year-round because I still have a couple years of work left in Ohio until I can retire. But I do travel to our Lowcountry home frequently and I was SO excited for this trip because I got to meet Indy!
I flew in on Tuesday afternoon and Mary and Indy picked me up at the Savannah airport. Indy was a model back seat passenger, but I did notice that he was panting from the time I got in the car. Right after leaving the airport, we stopped for a bathroom break and I took Indy to find a good spot in the grass. As soon as he was done with his business, he tracked Mary across the parking lot to the door of the Wendy’s she went into and waited there until she came back out. The drive home was uneventful and shortly after getting home Indy’s panting subsided.
Long car trips are a regular part of our routine, as we drive between homes in Ohio and South Carolina — particularly when we have a pet. We haven’t flown with any of our dogs in the past, and they always travel with us between homes — they are part of our family, after all. I’m hoping that we can work with Indy to relieve some of his car riding anxiety.
Over the past couple of days, Indy seems to have accepted me as part of his “pack,” he’ll demand belly rubs, howl at me if I’m not feeding him quickly enough and cuddle up on the floor or couch when I’m relaxing. He’s a good boy who knows his name, responds to commands and DOESN’T have the separation anxiety our former Corgi did.
I’m looking forward to getting to know Indy and helping him overcome any resource-guarding issues, socializing him with other dogs, and working on his car trip anxiety so he can live a happy life with his forever family.
