How Many People Does it Take to Fly a Dog to Germany?

Answer: 20

2 women must walk the dog, drive her to the cargo area at the airport, and fill out paperwork.
1 man must unload the kennel from the car.
1 man must weigh the dog and the kennel.
1 man must be in charge of getting paperwork signed and entering information into the computer.
1 man must look over the computer man's shoulder to make sure he is doing things correctly, and of course confuse him with every comment he makes.
1 man must stand and pleasantly smile, every now and then chiming in with comments like, "Haven't you been here before?" and "You look very familiar." and "How many countries has this dog been to?"
1 man must know the computer codes and the airfare.
1 man must explain how to enter the codes and calculate the airfare on the computer.
1 man must roll his eyes and actually enter the codes when the others can't figure it out, then promptly leave the room again.
1 man must attempt to get the computer to say the correct airfare when it suddenly changes on the screen, since the check has already been written.
1 man must ask questions about professional basketball, since the topic of why the dog has flown all over the world has come up.
1 man must make photo copies of the paperwork.
1 man must confuse the man trying to make copies of the paperwork by referring to the paperwork by the wrong names. Said man must then stuff the paperwork into the correct baskets and envelopes.
6 men and women must pet, fawn over, laugh at, and adore the dog until she is loaded into her kennel and ready to go.

So, the Grand Total: 20

And that's not even counting the preparation involved before arriving at the airport: vet appointments, Department of Agriculture documentation, German paperwork, dog sitting, etc. Nor does it include transfers and layovers en route to Germany and customs and pick-up in Germany!

So, the New Grand Total: A LOT!

As you can tell, Emery and I had fun last night on our adventure dropping off my sister's dog, Harley, at the airport for her trip to Germany, where my sister and her family will be living for the next 10 months. We then spent another hour waiting for Emery's friend to arrive from Lithuania. The friend never did arrive, which was actually no surprise at all. (If you knew her, you wouldn't be surprised either.)

By the time we got back from the airport, my mom was due to arrive from from LA. She stayed in Utah for the night and brought me a birthday present: a new chair for my half-empty bedroom! Yay! Today she continued her drive to Idaho where my older sister just had her fourth baby girl, Jacey, early this afternoon. My mom said baby and mother are doing well. The baby "is perfect" and has her daddy's nose, as do all her sisters.