Albert’s little road trip
It seems like quite a while now but it was just two weeks ago that Albert Claude and I were on a road trip back to the UK. It was a quick decision to go and visit my mother, catch up with some friends I haven’t seen for ages and do it before the busy holiday season hits. Michel’s work pinned us to school holidays for years, so we enjoy the freedom to avoid peak travel times. And seeing reports every holiday of long queues at border controls to get across the English Channel, any trip this side of summer had to be decided swiftly.
Angel’s veterinary travel paperwork needs updating and as I didn’t want to delay the trip, her and Cerise remained at home with Michel. They all kept each other company and had a perfectly peaceful time. We will do a road trip all together later in the year. In fact we have an exciting one planned which will take us somewhere new for us all and involve the campervan, a ferry and a small island. More on that soon.
Travelling up through France, crossing the English Channel and getting his sea legs (in the comfort of a dog friendly cabin) was a big new challenge for Albert. He lives a quiet and secluded life but he quickly discovered the world can be noisy and distracting and at times a bit scary.
He is noise sensitive and in the south-east of England where we were it is constantly noisy. I never noticed it much when I lived there. But whenever I return, I’m struck anew at how much background noise we absorb when we live among it. Traffic is something Albert rarely encounters and traffic was everywhere that we were. And as for the aeroplanes! Heathrow and Gatwick airports were both in the vicinity. The sky was livelier than he usually knows it to be. But he quickly learnt it wasn’t falling in on him, it was just weirdly and suddenly noisy.
Over the days we spent in England he grew in confidence. I expected him to struggle at times and was reassured how well he coped.
Albert is not a confident dog in the sense that his sister Renae was. His start in life wasn’t great and he lives quietly. I missed her many times during the trip. It was my first visit to England with a dog, without her helping me. She was with me when I went to collect both Albert and Angel in two separate trips at the start and end of 2019. She accompanied all our dogs home. Now she is not here it all feels harder without her company when a confident canine friend is needed.
Renae took travelling in her stride. We regularly crossed the Channel with us taking a road trip every few weeks to our house in France and she never worried about a thing. She also lived the first half of her life in England, getting used to the busy environment in which we lived from eight weeks old. She would have helped reassure Albert that there was nothing to worry about when we got on the ferry. She’d have snoozed through the 600 mile drive. She would have strode into my mother’s new house to explore. And Albert would have followed his sister, picking up from her that all was well. Instead, he did most of this (he didn’t sleep much of the time) but much slower, constantly looking to me for reassurance. He is a sensitive little chap.
I gave Albert his heritage tour of my home town, retracing some of Renae’s old haunts. We tripped down memory lane, remembering when she helped Susie-Belle and Twinkle adjust to their new lives. He did his best to seem interested.
The highlight of Albert’s holiday was enjoying a schnauzer walk in Friston Forest. The day was hot but the shady forest was perfect and turnout an ideal size for us all. It was wonderful seeing Albert with other dogs, confidently trotting along, not watching out for me too often.
The walk was organised by friends who I did the very first walks with when Renae was a puppy. It was with Mike and Sharon that the idea of Schnauzerfest walks were first mooted in 2012. They have been with me for a long time, many dogs have left us over the years, but our collective memories are rich and strong.
The trip was full of memories and one I am grateful I could make. I’m already looking forward to the next time.
