Clifford The Big White Dog

Cliffie is my "Sherpa replacement dog". Although Sherpa was a once in a lifetime kind of guy, Cliffie resembles him so closely it's a little astounding. After Sherpa died, the house was just not the same without a big fluffy white critter. So a few days later, I got on Petfinder and behold -- there he was! In Spokane Washington, at an animal shelter. But his name was Clyde, and he was surrendered with his sister Bonnie. They were 3 years old and described as German Shepherd and Great Pyrenees mixes.
I called that shelter, and the poor person on the phone was skeptical...someone coming from Alaska, please hold the dog for a few days. She put the manager on. He was skeptical too, but I convinced him to hold Clyde for 3 days so I could make flight arrangements.
My husband is a genius at organizing travel; he got a flight (had to transfer from Seattle), rental car, and dog friendly Motel 6. There was a PetSmart in the area where I could buy an airline kennel for the return trip. I called the shelter back and let them know I'd be there in 2 days.
The shelter was enormous, like a warehouse. There was 1 long row of dogs, all with chain link indoor/outdoor runs, 60 of them, and all full. I checked the row and no Bonnie or Clyde. I asked an animal tender, and he said wrong row, go out and take the next door. There was ANOTHER row of 60 dogs. Wow.
Bonnie and Clyde were kenneled together. She was definitely the dominant dog. She was more like a White German Shepherd in appearance and manner. And high-strung. Clyde was just the opposite: taller, longer coat, quiet, polite. He kept out of his sister's way. Their owner surrendered them for killing chickens.
I was allowed to walk Clyde around outside. I called my husband on the cell phone right away and said we were leaving. I renamed him Clifford since Sherpa and I always watched the cartoon "Clifford The Big Red Dog" and changed the words to the song around.
Cliffie at the shelter

We were given a card for a free vet check, so we went to the vet indicated and got a health certificate for travel for the airline. Then we went to PetSmart and tried out an extra large crate. Note to self, forget "economy size" rental cars in the future.
After a lunch break, we pressed on to the motel. Cliffie was nervous but did whatever I asked, until he saw a housekeeper vacuuming in the hallway. He was completely terrified.
At 5am the following day, we were at the airport. The extra-large crate did not fit properly on the slanted luggage carts in the parking lot. So I had to walk Cliffie thru the airport. Fortunately the place was pretty empty.
A few hours later, we were stranded in Tacoma with a mechanical problem. Cliffie and another dog were pulled off the plane, and their crates left standing in the sun on the tarmac. I had to wait my turn in the irate crowd to speak to an airline person...could someone walk the dogs, give them some water, move the crates into shade. The person at the desk was surrounded by angry customers, but I pressed that the dog had been in the crate for almost 9 hours now. He radioed the crew.
The crew went out and walked, watered, and played with the dogs. The other owner and I weren't allowed out onto the tarmac, but we could watch through the window. The pilot really liked Cliffie and walked him 4 times.
After a 4 hour delay, we were given a new plane and on to Fairbanks. This is why I would never let a dog fly alone, he needs to be accompanied!

Cliffie and Glacier