Size of Pets

I’ve had occasion lately to think about the size of pets. For one thing, my older son and daughter-in-law are visiting from Chicago with their Puli, Piper, who, though not very big, was too large to fit in the cabin of the plane. She is crate-trained and rode in the plane’s appropriate compartment and all went well.

I’m also a lurker on a loop of people who, like me, love Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. One of the recent posts was about how someone acquiring a Cavalier can be sure it’ll stay of a size that will fit in a smaller bag that can fit under a plane’s seats. The answer? No guarantees, although some remain that size. Not necessarily our Lexie, though Mystie certainly would fit.

And then there was the news story about a six-pound Chihuahua named Tinker Bell who was picked up by a 70-mph gust of wind picked up the and carried away. The owners contacted a pet psychic who told them to look in some nearby woods--and there was Tinker Bell! I’d really be freaked out if either my 20-pound Cavalier Lexie or her 10-pound Cavalier friend Mystie got picked up in a windstorm--like Toto, in The Wizard of Oz!

By the way, I attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the UCLA campus last weekend. It was great! I signed NEVER SAY STY at two booths and had a lot of great feedback from readers who stopped by to buy or say hi. And, yes, some people brought their dogs along to the festival--pups of all sizes.

Yesterday, I participated in the Melody of Words, an event celebrating the published word, at a local high school. No pets there, but a great group of interested students, faculty and other interested members of the community.

How big is your ideal pet?

--Linda