Westley the 3 Legged Wonder Dog Has Landed

Westley arrived in Taipei on Monday afternoon.  His afternoon arrival made it impossible for him to go to the quarantine facility until the next day.  Our customs agent took care of his well being over night, and Horatio made arrangements for us to go to visit him today.

I took the bus to the metro to Horatio’s office so that we could go to the facility together.  I packed some essentials to make Wes feel more at home: his teddy bear, a rawhide bone and a pair of pjs that Harold has been sleeping in for a few days, so that Wes could have his best buddy’s scent with him when he sleeps.

The Veterinary Hospital of National Taiwan University houses the quarantine facility, so a veterinarian greeted us upon our arrival and led us to our boy.

You can see the video here:

The doctor gave us an update on Westley’s condition and disposition and I’m relieved to report that she says he’s happy and eating well.  That’s a huge relief.  She says he “has lots of energy.”  A fact we know very well.

He did seem a bit stressed.  He was clearly very happy to see us, but he was panting a lot, which he does when he’s nervous.  I’m going to go back to visit him tomorrow and I will take his bed so he can sleep comfortably.  I can stay for an hour and a half, so I’ll just go hang out with him to make him feel more settled.  Visiting hours are 10:00-11:30 and 2:00-3:30 only on certain days and only by appointment, so the boys cannot visit until next Friday, when Bob and Harold don’t have school and the following Friday, when Zack and Dwight don’t have school.  Yes, they all go to the same school, but different sub schools have parent-teacher conferences on different days due to extremely limited parking.

Horatio took the crate apart so that I could transport it home in a taxi.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a large crate.  Luckily, I had a very nice taxi driver who helped me unload it into our entryway when we reached my house.  He was eager to chat on the 45 minute drive home.  He spoke a little English, about as much Mandarin as I speak.  He said he speaks Japanese much better than he speaks English!  We managed to have a nice conversation about the dog, life in Taipei, Japanese tourists, families, America and France (I’m not sure how France came up.)

I’m extremely relieved to know that Westley made it through the flight in good health.  Now the countdown begins to when we can bring him home on November 4th.