A Husky in the Holy Land

For the past 7 years, we have been the proud parents of the most adorable, brilliant, mischievous, willful pup I have ever known. For those of you who have not been blessed by her company, let me introduce her and summarize her life:

This is Marilyn Monroe. Please disregard this undated photo.  It was taken during what we like to refer to as her "not so husky" years. She has since put on some weight...mostly due to an insatiable appetite for anything edible (or what she perceives to be edible) and a total refusal to go outside when the temps rise anywhere near 60 degrees.

And if I must say so myself, she is also brilliant. She oft outwits most mammals both of the four-legged and two-legged variety. She amazes us with her quickness to learn and knack for stealth and cunning. But then again, we are her parents.

Although she may tell you otherwise (she can be quite the kvetcher), her life is nothing short of comfort and ease. It has been noted that she doesn't adapt to change very well and is resistant to any disruptions in routine. Even the slightest variation in her daily habits results in general pouting, loudly announcing her disdain and/or stress induced fur loss.

God forbid dad miss a feeding by 15 minutes!  Marilyn will let it be known to the entire neighborhood.  Some of you may have even witnessed her prompt bedtime routine.  At exactly 10:30 pm Marilyn will stand in the bedroom doorway and glare at us until either a) we get the point and join her or b) she gives up and takes the entire bed for herself.

The worst comes out shortly after big, life changing events.  We lived in Washington DC before we moved to Atlanta and it took Marilyn nearly a year to adjust to her new home. She would bark, tear up furniture, destroy any personal belongings of her parents, whine, raid the pantry and fridge (we still haven't figured out how she got into the fridge) and cause a general menace to our lives and our neighbor's lives when left alone.

After a few months of coming home to complete destruction, 6 weeks and hundreds of dollars worth of professional dog training, many a late night visits to the vet due to a variety of ingested substances and replacing everything from cell phones and favorite shoes to pounds of chocolate chip cookie dough and couch cushions, Marilyn finally began to settle in her new home.

Fast forward another year. DH and I decide to move to Atlanta to be closer to my family. Just us packing boxes sent Marilyn into a stress induced tailspin. She began losing her fur in clumps and destroying the moving boxes in defiance. I cannot tell you how many times I repacked the same box over and over again.  I don't know how she knew what these cardboard boxes meant, but she did. She was a complete emotional mess.

The actual move to Atlanta came and went smoothly enough.  Mostly because we had learned what a God send benadryl is to parents of a neurotic dog.  A few days in our new home, we watched in horror as the 6 weeks of professional training, hundreds of dollars and years of at hard work slowly circled the drain again. It didn't take as long for her to acclimate to Atlanta as it did in DC and she is now quite a happy, content and well-adjusted dog.

All this brings me to the purpose of this post: Marilyn will never forgive us for this one. As of now, she is blissfully unaware of the 11 hour flight and balmy 85 degrees that await her in a few months. I can only imagine her thoughts after we get her off the plane:

"Really guys? You take me, a highly anxious husky, halfway across the world...to the desert? Mom, I hope you enjoy cleaning out dog vomit from inside your shoes...on a daily basis."

She's gonna be bald by the time the flight is over. Lord help us.