1955 Velvet the World Traveler
When we left Australia in 1955, our flight was a couple of days long. My parents made arrangements to have our dog, Velvet, sent to New York from Sydney on a ship. He would be considered freight, and it was a tough decision. The other options were to leave him behind (which my dad never would have done) or have him go with us by air. At that time, I don't even know if that would have been possible for such a long flight with so many stops all over the world. We were flying to San Francisco with a stop at Canton Island. Then after a night in San Francisco, we were flying on to New York.
Velvet's trip was long; over 2 months. By the time he arrived in New York, we had settled in with my aunt Audrey, uncle Abbey, and cousins Douglas and Paul, in Chestnut Hill, near Boston. My dad and I drove from to New York to pick Velvet up.
But then, a drama ensued. The captain refused to let him go. Apparently, he had not slept one night in the cargo area; he slept with the captain, on the captain's bed. He spent every day on the bridge. He even had dinner in the dining quarters.
Of course, my dad was totally taken aback. We had a long conversation and it was finally decided, after much protesting on my part, that we would allow Velvet to decide. My dad promised that if he chose the captain, he would get another Boxer for me (and him). I had to promise not to entice him in any way, and to let him decide.
One of the captain's crew came and took him from the captain and then brought him over to my dad and me so he could see and sniff us. Then he walked a distance away and unclipped Velvet's leash. Velvet ran to the captain and my heart broke.
But then, after licking the captain's hand, he turned around and came running straight to me. It was one of the best moments of my life. The fact that he had to go apologize to the captain said a lot about how he had been treated.
If only Velvet could have talked about his trip! He went through the Panama Canal. He was a most special dog and friend.
